There are quite a few SONAR users on this forum, and SONAR has always worked great with BIAB's Drag n Drop Plugin Mode.
In case you missed it, the new SONAR version, called X1, now available as of midnight. It appears people are busy ordering it.
The main changes are the revamped GUI called Skylight and the addition of a one-stop plugin called ProChannel that runs on each track. The system requirements changed and are pretty steep, but the company also stated that it will work if SONAR 8.5 worked.
I'm hanging back before ordering, until the smoke clears. If anyone here buys it, please check if it still runs well with BIAB.
I don't plan to upgrade until at least the first bug fix. maybe not until this time next year when the deals start again.
Matt, I'm going to wait until the smoke clears also. They have a bit of history in terms of releasing a post-main release bug fix release, er, as it were.
John
Well, as a Sonar Studio 7 owner, I was considering upgrading to 8.5, I think it was $100, and they said they would throw in X1 for free.
Gary
Hi Gary. I fear that offer is not relevant any longer, now that X1 is released. That was for folks who purchased 8.5 between November 1 and yesterday. But who knows? You could ask them.
It's okay Matt, I don't use Studio 7 enough to upgrade to 8.5 anyway. I'm not really interested in the latest and greatest. If I was, I'd probably go back to Pro Tools, now that they've released 9, which will work with just about anybody's audio interface.
Gary
I'm running Sonar 8.5 and am quite happy with it. I purchased the X1 but am quite dissatisfied with trying to download the huge files. Their server was beefed up before the release but it wasn't enough for some unlucky folks like myself. I think the boxed version is $30 more and I believe I may have to go that route. I just upgraded from 16 kbps dialup last week to DSL and thought everything was going to be smooth sailing.
I plan on upgrading to BIAB 11 soon but I will probably wait for the DVD instead of trying to download.
The download is fast on BiaB, but you need the DVD to download the RTs. Or ask for them on set at a time to download.
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I plan on upgrading to BIAB 11 soon but I will probably wait for the DVD instead of trying to download.
If you do upgrade to BIAB 2011 and ever need help, be sure to refer to it as such. BIAB 11 is ancient.
R.
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I purchased the X1 but am quite dissatisfied with trying to download the huge files. Their server was beefed up before the release but it wasn't enough for some unlucky folks like myself. I think the boxed version is $30 more and I believe I may have to go that route. I just upgraded from 16 kbps dialup last week to DSL and thought everything was going to be smooth sailing.
Don't take the download problems with X1 as being typical of broadband performance. I have cable, and I still had a big problem downloading all of the X1 files. It's 2 days post purchase and I still haven't sucessfully downloaded everything. The Cakewalk people are getting it addressed but it was evident that both the store and the download server were completely overwhelmed by the amount of traffic generated. I had better luck with the FireFox browser since it will allow you to pause and restart a download. The download stream was constantly stopping and I finally gave up on IE for the download since there is no way to restart a stalled download (that I know of). I still had frequent interuptions even using Firefox, and was able to restart some downloads, and had to start others over from the beginning.
The only thing IE is good for is to download another browser and it's not even very good at that. LOL.
Yes, oh course I meant 2011. Move forward, not backwards, heh?
Firefox couldn't restart any failed downloads for me and Orbit downloader, which I have had luck with on other large files, couldn't connect to Cakewalk's server. I tried again at work today on our partial T1 but it failed after over eight hours. I still haven't decided if I'll pay $30 more for the box or just take a $99 loss.
I'm definitely going to upgrade my BIAB 2010.5 to 2011 shortly. I have been spending more time with BIAB lately anyway and Sonar 8.5 works well enough.
And I agree, IE stinks and gets no use from me.
Keebo,
If you haven't done so already, I suggest that you download "Free Download Manager" as it will allow you to resume your downloads if you get cut off (providing servers support resume which most companies like PG Music do). Makes getting things over the net a whole heap easier.
You can get it at...
http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/download.htmI'm just about to update my version. I suggest that you don't install "Software Informer". My experience is that programs such as Software Informer usually just end up being annoying.
Regards,
Noel
Thank you for your suggestion, Noel.
Orbit was recommended by Camel Audio when I was having trouble downloading Alchemy and the sound sets. It worked perfectly for that and other files. I'm not sure why it will not download from the Cakewalk site.
I guess it won't hurt to try FDM on Sonar before throwing in the towel. Perhaps I will try it on BIAB first.
Thanks again.
Well, no one has mentioned that Reaper has released an alpha version of its long awaited v4. It tends to change daily taking imput from the entire community. An interesting business model.
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no one has mentioned that Reaper has released an alpha version.
Probably because no one else thought it would be okay to highjack a thread on SONAR for another topic. 
Well I downloaded and installed the Free Download Manager. I am using it to get the first RealTrack file as I have also purchased the BIAB 2011 DVD upgrade. I went ahead and successfully downloaded the program and add on files via regular download method. I like how the RealTrack files are under one GB. I wish the Sonar files were too. I am going to see if the FDM will connect to the Sonar site after the RealTrack file gets here.
Thanks guys.
Free Download Manager is working great for the RealTracks but the saga continues with Sonar.
It was able to connect and download 90% (2.3 GB) of one file and 82% (2.4 GB) of another before it quit. I tested the resume feature before I let it run all night and it worked fine. Now it will not resume no matter what I try.
Thanks for you help anyway.
Keebo, that's too bad, because one common comment on the SONAR X1 forum is that the download went quite smoothly for us this time. Mine was a breeze, but you're right, the two main files are large.
Be sure to clear your browser cache before trying again.
Thanks Matt, I will do that if I try again tonight. I'm working on the important things that work like the RealTracks right now :-) . I left all of the files downloading on my PC at work before I left Friday but I can almost guarantee that they are dead as we speak.
I am glad you and the other were successful on getting Sonar downloaded. I can hardly believe that some were able to get them in as little as an hour and a half. That is smokin'. So how do you like X1 so far? I see that there are a few things that need addressing and Cakewalk is releasing an update soon for the major issues.
Well, I haven't spent a lot of time on it. I really like the ProChannel. As for the rest, I'm struggling a bit with the new interface, looking for icons that aren't there anymore. Others say that once they learned the new interface, they liked it better. Be aware that it installs completely separately from other versions of SONAR, so I still have my 8.5 to use too. That makes it no pressure to learn the new program.
I have read both good and not so good things with the new edition. It is quite wise to keep the old version to use while you learn all of the ins and outs of the new features. I am very happy with 8.5 but I, and a lot of other users I think, look forward to updates/upgrades on the software that we enjoy in making music.
Good luck and enjoy.