why does my music sound worst when exporting!

Hi all after ive made my track mastered it as best i can and export it it sound worst then in did in sonar platinum! is there a reason for this? also when exporting should i be recording in 16bit 24bit ect and 44,000hz 48,000hz ect and is it better to just go to a pro studio and get them to eq and master my song! thanks

To add to this:
On your mix downs, leave some headroom for mastering. I typically leave 4-6 but you can go as much as 8 in quiet spots. Master should be pretty close to 0 db leaving some headroom (around 0.3 / 0.5 is what I leave) if its an MP3, leave 2 db's of headroom. Peak is not the only important part of a good Master but also RMS. In a typical pop song this should be some where around 10 RMS. We could dissect the P out of this as im sure some might want to but I suggest 10 as an even.
 
With doing detail work (what I call mixing and mastering) there are tools needed. Meters. For peak and RMS.
I also use a VU meter during mixing but we'll save that for another story. Brainworx makes a great meter. and its my meter of choice because it also supports the K system
Brainworx BX meter
http://www.brainworx-music.de/en/plugins/bx_meter

Yes +1 to what Craig said (go to a pro studio), sometimes its not worth the head ache.
You will even find many able mixing/mastering engineers on this very site.
Count me out though  Im in the middle of my own project.

Your export should sound exactly the same as it does when you play it in Sonar.
If it doesn't, you have some settings in the export that are wrong (very easy to do - I do all the time).
 
If you could tell us in what way it sounds worse, we could guess at which setting is wrong on your export.
 
Is it distorted?
Is it mono (not stereo)?
Could some instruments or tracks be missing?
 
44,100 16 bit WAV is what you need for CD and therefore also good if you intend to deliver MP3s.
48,000 is more for video.

Thanks guys some great tips! so i should never really move the master bus fader only adjust the track faders? I think the problem also is ive been using windows media player to sometimes play back the song and its colouring the track with extra bass and reverb! So what do you guys play you song back in? sonar a audio editor windows media player?
thanks
Nathan

Anderton
Windows sometimes defaults to including audio "enhancements" that any rational person would consider a manifestation of evil incarnate. Disable that garbage ASAP!! You'll probably need to dig deep into the Control Panel Sound, or disable a plug-in in Windows Media Player...or both. (Don't forget to take a shower afterward to wash off any traces of the "enhancements.")

I had to laugh when you said ill need to wash off any trace off enhancements lol best comment yet One last thing does the pro channel flow from top to bottom or botton to top? cheers guys... 

I can sympathise because I have experienced it myself, but I have still got the results I wanted out of Sonar. 
 
The recordings I have produced with Sonar easily rival (IMHO some even surpass) a lot of professional studio's. 
 
Every music tutorial will recommend that you listen to music on many different speaker setups. You need to do the same with your Sonar mix. There may be something in the export process or drivers that are creating a subtle difference, but these will be apparent on different speaker setups through different systems.
 
This is the advice I've heard from... professional studios. 

Ah, you found it!
Yes, that's it.

I'll use WMP to check a file for corruption after being uploaded to an online repository. Other than that, playing back files on the same computer they were created in isn't going to reveal anything useful, since it's going to be affected by the same factors (speakers and room) as when you made the file.
 
Burn your music to a CD and listen to it in your car, and in anybody else's car who'll tolerate you. Put the files on a thumb drive and take them to friends' and relatives' computers. If you know anybody who still has a real "hi-fi" in their living room, definitely give your music a listen there. That includes crappy little bass-hyped sound systems like those awful Bose units intended for TVs. Each playback system, even bad ones, have something to tell you about your mix. Yes, even earbuds on an iPhone. Or the speakers built in to your television.
 
My own favorite alternate reference is a high-quality portable MP3/FLAC/WAV player, first through some good open-back headphones and then with some just-OK IEMs. Between them, they'll consistently let me know if I've made some dumb mistake.