Mario's answer is very good.

I've moved up from even before the SONAR line, when it was Cakewalk Pro Audio. Version 5 was great and stable. Version 8.5.3 was the end of that line where everything worked the same way. I still have 8.5.3 on one older PC and it's fine; very stable.

When you go to the X series, you need to learn the differences in the interface and you will be confused at first. Now that I've worked with it, I like the workflow in the X series better, though I wish they had kept the Save icon. X1 to X3 is just evolution, and X3d is also very stable for me.

The X series is clearly designed to take advantage of a 64-bit OS, notably the increased RAM and even the touch screen capability of Windows 8. They won't be updating any of the older versions, so if staying current with OS and hardware is important, go to X3 and get comfortable. The good news is that they have reduced prices considerably.

Mike, Drag 'n Drop from BIAB works great in X3. SONAR is one of the DAWs that does not require keeping the temp files during this, which is great because that Temp folder can get huge fast.



BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.