$290 is amazing. Paid over £400 for my version lol

The seems to be the same as the crossgrade was the other day?

I'm hoping to get a demo of Cubase 9.5. If anyone runs across it please let me know. 

There are numerous updates throughout the products life cycle which are free to users offering fixes and new features.
 
All the best,
 
Greg
 

35mm

Ken Matson
Yeah while I know Cubase is fine software, the combination of having to have a hardware dongle and the lack of ARA support is enough to probably push me to Studio One.

Yes, my thoughts exactly. Also having to pay to renew the license every time there's an update - not that you have to update each time, but from my past experience, you don't get free updates within a year or anything. I am torn about which way to go.

35mm
The seems to be the same as the crossgrade was the other day?

No, the current crossgrade is $325, plus $35 for the dongle.
 
This deal saves $70

einstein36
I was reading the Cubase forums last night and the only thing that concerns me and I'm sure going to piss off a lot of cakewalk customers is that Cubase will not work with 32 bit VST plugins hence their own page about it:
 
32-bit plug-ins can't be re-enabled, since those are not supported by Cubase 9.
 
 

You can still run 32 bit plug-ins in Cubase with a 3rd party bridging solution like j-bridge.  
 
All the best,
 
Greg

Yep - $290 is 1/2 the price of Cubase 9.5 pro.  A really good deal. 
As for the eLicenser - at least you don't have the problem of server activation like where we are with Gibson.
And the Cubase updates per version are usually free = with the "version" not changing every year.
 
I have a eLicencer that I have Elements 8 on - from my old Cubase 4.x version - wonder if it would work with 9.5?

Sanderxpander
With Cubase, how does licensing work? I've heard about an e-Licenser, do I need that for Cubase? Presumably it's a USB dongle type solution? Is it a proprietary thing or can I use any USB stick? If not, can I at least use iLok? I have my Waves/IK/Overloud on a USB stick and I really don't want to use multiple ports on my laptop just for dongles.

Cubase Elements uses a software based elicenser and Cubase Artist and Pro utilize a USB elicenser which is different than an ilok.  I travel extensively and use a simple non powered hub that I got at Best Buy for $7 and run my audio interface, wireless mouse, elicenser, and ilok without any issue on multiple computers.
 
All the best,
 
Greg

Thanks for the info, Greg. I appreciate that a non-powered hub works but it's another piece of clutter to carry around (and possibly lose or break) and not a point in favor of Cubase. ARA support is another important one for me, so I guess I will mainly have to see if StudioOne is advanced enough for my other needs.

I'm not sure why people are so against the  dongle e licenser. For me it's been the most trouble free system of activation.
No use complaining it's very successful for them and the handfull of potential customers they might loose over it are more than made up for in the lack of piracy they experiance. You can't even join the forum with out a registration. 
 
 
Certainly as simple as first Install to Computer A, then move it to computer B and install Wave Lab, move it to computer C and install Wave Lab and on and on. NO INTERNET needed after the dongle has been loaded with your licences. I install Wave Lab and Cubase 5LE from the Disks and as long as the dongle is there it works.  And I think the same dongle works for a lot of other brands of software too. So you get more milage out of the $35 if you use more than one software with it. Sure it hogs a USB port but that's only an issue on a Laptop. And a cheap HUB solves the problem, share your port with your wireless mouse. 
 
Because of our numbers, I see an opportunity here  to shape the future of other DAWs. Say we all say, sure, we'll give you our money,, but could you please add these features, or at least think about them. Example I really need Melodyn to turn my Audio bass parts into midi, this is paramount to my workflow now. So Cubase is out for me until that happens. 
It would be my first choice otherwise as I'm already comfortable from using Cubase 5 LE. You want stability I can't think of even once that either Wave Lab or Cubase ever acted up on me.