I would not buy too much at full price. CLA Sig could be as low as $99.00 on sale. I have it and think it's great. Gold is the stuff at that price. About $5.00 a plug. There should be some good things on sale in the next few weeks.

WAVES has many top notch plugs...as do several other companies. But, as always, it's the person USING the tool that makes the difference.

First,  I appreciate that I am in a position that I can pick up a plugin from Waves every once in a while.  That said,  Without knowing your skill level, I think you will find that there are enough tools inside Sonar Producer X3 that it might be a smart idea to choose what you add instead of buying the larger bundles - but they are nice to have.  I like to read about the effect, then see if I don't already have it in Producer and try to mimic it just so I can tell if I need the darn thing anyway.  Thats' probably the cheep skate in me talking.
 
I had trepidation early on when they used a hardware dongle to authenticate, but that's now history.  I really like the ability they have built in to put keys on the PC, or store them other places so you can use them virtually anywhere.  I have used that feature to work at home, then head over to another place and use them on a different machine.  That's a welcome feature.
 
My current purchasing has centered around mastering.  I started with the L products (L2, L3, L3-16) and added Linear Phase EQ and C 6 multiband compressor, the latest was Vitamin.   What I learned is,  I benefited from waiting and taking my time.  First, I could not learn everything all at once - the cash outlay was not being converted to anything useful. Second, there are great deals, but none of them occurred when I wanted them.  Its funny, I use these tools the most, and are a welcome addition.
 
I have also bought some tools that I have only used a few times like vocal rider.  Great product, but I am blessed somehow in working with singers who have good control. Or Aphex,  its a sweet tool but I use it sparingly, and not at all on most of my mixes. Thats me, your milage may vary.  
 
Some plugins I use whenever I get the chance, like MaxBass.   I record with a a great old Pbass and run that through an SW900 - that combination gets a really sweet growl and low end, but I still lightly hit it with that MaxxBass every time.  It helps translate that bass onto many devices like iPOD, cheep car stereo systems and the like. 
 
My point - you might try the 'I have a need, therefore I try to understand and shop' process.  But heck, its fun to fill the cart and just buy, isn't it?   
 
L 

Yeah, the stuff with sonar is fine, I first started off with Cakewalk back in the Pro Audio 8/9 days, always kept up with the upgrades, but never really used it, moved on to Pro Tools for a while, and then to Reaper where I have remained until earlier this years, I'd always check in with Sonar every now and then, but always went back to Reaper. Then Earlier this year I gave X3 a whirl, came across some things that were so easy to do in Reaper, but seemingly not so in Sonar, checked into the forums, got it all sorted, actually spent the time to become familiar with Sonar and that's where I have stayed, at long last :) Now if I drop back to Reaper to check a project I started there or something, the familiarity it had is gone, and I can't wait to get back into Sonar. Never really use any off the bundled effects except for the PC modules, I got all the cakewalk modules and do use them quite a bit, but don't go much on a lot of the other effects I have tried for one reason or another. 
 
I probably don't 'need' anymore than I have, T Racks, Ozone 5 and 6 Advanced, Alloy 2, Nectar Production suite, whole Toneboosters catalogue and various other bits and pieces which I use all the time to varying degrees, Sometimes you'll use this, and sometimes that will sound better depending on the situation. I just want a few more tools in the box, you know how it is :)
 
The CLA stuff, I think is a good deal, both the CLA Classic compressors and CLA Signature Series for $240, still under half price for what they charge for just one of them at normal price. No, I wouldn't pay the full price :) but I have been wanting these for a while.
 
It all helps the end product sound better, at least to me, and ultimately that's the only person I have to please, so it's all good, I'm having the most fun I have had in my 50 years on this rock, and the money isn't a problem, not that I like to throw it away :)
 
Thanks

jih64
Not quite sure if Mr Mccue...

Just telling you my opinion. The first DAW I operated in the early nineties came with a everything Waves makes bundle... at some point I bought a x86 Diamond license for my DAW... later I bought a x64 license for my x64 DAW... at some point I just moved on to using plugins that I like. Over the years I have observed that people seem to feel obligated to treating themselves to some Waves. I've done it. It seems like everyone does it.
 
Enjoy!

I like Waves plugins because I get versions (VST2, VST3, AAX) that can be used in every DAW program that I own. I have the Gold bundle and a pretty good collection of the "boutique" plugs? All of which I bought on sale over the last couple of years.

I use Waves plugins in nearly every project I've done since I got started with them.

I like the CLA comps  - very nice and they get used a lot.
Got the Q10, SuperTap & C4 when they were on one of those $20 sales.
 
All of them are worth it, but the WUP is almost as much as what I paid for the lot, so I'm WUPless.
 

mike_mccue

jih64
Not quite sure if Mr Mccue...

Just telling you my opinion. The first DAW I operated in the early nineties came with a everything Waves makes bundle... at some point I bought a x86 Diamond license for my DAW... later I bought a x64 license for my x64 DAW... at some point I just moved on to using plugins that I like. Over the years I have observed that people seem to feel obligated to treating themselves to some Waves. I've done it. It seems like everyone does it.
 
Enjoy!

Yes I appreciate that, waves for whatever reason seems to be one of those things that is ubiquitous in this pursuit, and one of those things that people either love or hate, or at least have strong feelings/opinions for. They have a fairly high profile, and the marketing is certainly there. Just when I read your post some of the comments regarding advertising etc and how you owned them for so long but never used them, came across to me with a certain air of sarcasm which I found it quite amusing, my comment was meant in that same spirit  ;)

Well I bit the bullet, and took a little dive into the waves, I just got the Abbey Road Reel ADT and while I was there I grabbed the Scheps 73 to compare it with the T Racks 73. The ADT was as expected, like I seen on some videos, not something you would use all the time, but does what it does nicely, and I have just the place for it. Although I love my T Racks '73, I must say that I think the Waves Scheps 73 has a better quality sound to it, to my ears anyway, I messed around with the T Racks version for a while trying to match it, just couldn't get it there.
 
Installation, registration and Authorization all went fine, without a hitch, although I would prefer the old fashioned way, just download the individual plugins and have backup copies etc, but I guess it's not that different/bad.
 
So all good, off to get the rest on my list :)

One thing you can say in favour of Waves plug-ins is that, in term of longevity, they eclipse or at the very least equal pretty much everything else out there. 
 
People were using Renaissance Compressor and Q10 to make records in 2001 on their Windows 98 PC and they are still using it on their Windows 8 machine in 2014...
 
Other plug-ins have had their hot minute but globally, not many remained at the top of their game as long as Waves. And that's also what you buy when you buy Waves. 
 
This doesn't only speak of quality (which can be subjective and a matter of personal taste) but of actual product life. Personally, I've lost count of how many of my favorite effects and synths have been discontinued since I've started making music on a computer.
 
And not necessarily obscure ones - Steinberg, Cakewalk, Native Instruments, Novation, Antares, Rob Papen... They've all dropped support for some amazing products, some more regularly than others. 
 
All things being relative (especially in today's market), buying from an established company (and taking its history into account) does have its advantages, and even though it's often frowned up and spoke of in a dismissive tone, paying for brand name isn't always as futile as some like to make it sound.