Do not know what the general opinion is about this subject but to me the Synth Audio outputs in Sonar 7 make it unnecessary complicated. They need their own  track-lanes as well as their own busses. Some annoying things I stumbled upon: 

1. changing instrument can be a fuzz when you want to hear how a tune sounds with another synth 
2. you wonder why you do not get any sound while the midi lane is not muted? Oh wait, the synth audio output is muted
3. it introduces a synth rack. What if I delete my audio-synth track + buss but not the synth from the synth rack. What if I want my track-lane + buss back? It introduces some extra management I do not want.

In Logic the synth output and the lane with midi-data are just one which makes life easier. You manage it all from the mixer.         

IIRC, Instrument Tracks were introduced in SONAR 8, which combine the MIDI and audio pieces into a single entity. This was added mainly in response to users of other DAWs who preferred that model. Personally, I much prefer the versatility and control of separate MIDI and audio tracks, and don't use instrument tracks at all.

The synth rack is just an alternate view of your synths, gathered into one place for convenience. Any action you initiate on a synth from there applies to track and console views as well. You can, however, remove a synth from a track without removing it from the synth rack, a useful feature.

If you think all this is unnecessarily complicated, it's only because you haven't had occasion to use all the features that are there yet. Trust me, treating MIDI and audio tracks as separate things is definitely the way to go.

I could also add that if you think this is all overly complicated, you probably never produced records in the pre-DAW age! :)

Bitflipper types much faster than I. Newer versions of SONAR have a swap synth command for handling issue #1.

SYNTH OUTPUT???? Is there such a thing at all possible in a WINDOZE box with Cakewalk anything? I am begging you. Tell me. This used to work for me, years ago. Home studio in Win XP in 2006 or 2007. Then I got a new Windoze computer, no Mix out to record from. GOt an M-Audia Fast track with Asio, well thats frine for a MIC, but what ablout the SYNTH software output, wher ein hell can I record this on a WINDOZE computer? Does this actually work please? I contend you CANNOT record synth output to Cakewalk or anyone else using WINDOZE. If they have disabled the internal soundcard drivers, as they have. Adding another or external soundcard solves plugging a mic in. What solves playing Miraslov Vitous's Philharmonic synth, and HEARING & RECORDING the output to SONAR anything? Anyone? You want to see my frustration. Google komaramusic & sigmatel (the drivers?), you get back 2007 DELL forum. Same question. no answer. hmmmm I have to buy a MAC, that's the only way to get it done? I have bought an external interface for a laptop, and internal soundcard for a desktop, a rather good external mixer, and yet... perhaps PC Windozze is utterly incapabe of any of this? I am willing to acfept it's just me? Anyone actually do this successfully, happily in WINDOZZZZE? thx, ko

komarama,,Troll? or on   off meds? 

OP , yes that's how it works, you get used to it and it does not slow you down once you've got the hang of it all. I don't use instrument tracks either. But I will group the MIDI tracks above each synth I use. 

Looks like they've been spraying over Alameda again.

Yes, ko, definitely buy a Mac. No Sigmatel drivers to deal with there. You'll have to download the AU version of Miroslav, though. They should have it on the same pirate site you found the VST version on.

I wondered where that came from. Guess I missed the initial post.

too funny dave..  Good thing they usually forget their log on the next day. so never come back,, Remember Reader One,, he was very entertaining.. ..