bokchoyboy
...did you ever get the routing thing ironed out besides the workaround?...

 
Yes, I got it working, but I can't remember the details of the settings off the top of my head. I'll get back to you later.

That would be great...
 
No rush, Thanks!

There are at least two ways of achieving the same result. One is to use the External Insert in the fx bin of a track or bus. The problems that I was having were due to quirky behaviour of Sonar and Audient's mixer software which is not very intuitive (not to me anyway). Sonar seems to require the solo button to be on. And it doesn't seem to work if there are any Aux track anywhere in the routing after the insert. With Aux tracks involved, put the insert on a bus instead.
 
The Insert's output needs to be set to Alt Out. The Alt faders need to be turned down on the mixer, but up in Sonar.
The same result can be achieved without the External Insert. Just send or output to Alt Out. Obviously the outboard gear needs to be outed into the interface inputs and a track needs to be armed for recording in Sonar.
 
Anyway it works, although I'm away from my DAW so I can't be specific about every detail. I've marked this thread as "solved".

Thanks for the quick response... still on the fence about the iD22... its either that or the babyface pro, and that software mixer isn't very intuitive either...at least for someone as thick as a brick like me...
 
Salud!

bokchoyboy
...still on the fence about the iD22... its either that or the babyface pro...

 
When I was shopping around for an interface I ruled out the Babyface immediately. I hate those UIs where a single control has many uses depending what was pressed last. Some users are ok with it but I'm not. The iD22 has 4 rotary controls, 8 switches and 5 buttons, each for different functions. I prefer that.
 
I posted some of my subjective impressions about the iD22 a while back:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Audient-iD22-first-impressions-m3420348.aspx

cool... I will take a look at the link after work.   Offhand, my only concerns about the iD22 are the drivers and the lack of input gain meters on the unit itself.
 
Salud!

bokchoyboy
...concerns about the iD22 are the drivers...

 
I'm not aware of any issues with the drivers.
 
EDIT:
I'd forgotten, but the iD22 was initially Mac-only and apparently there were some reports of problems when the first Windows drivers were released. Not unexpected really. Anyway, that's all in the past.

Read your thread... good one with a lot of real world info... sounds like you are pretty happy despite some of the imperfections...
I 'm still torn between the iD22 and the Babyface Pro(the UI doesn't bother me)
 
Thanks again for your insight...
 
P.S.  When I was googling reviews for the Babyface, I came across a comment by a poster from Victoria...lol