SlyRuby:

You alluded to the reason I said you may not need the Audiophile version - if you are just going to put your songs up on the 'net for download, I doubt if many people could tell the difference between the Audiophile and the "regular" version (as per LtKojak's comment above.)

If you were going to produce your music yourself, including mixing, mastering AND burning to CD, then selling them, then perhaps the Audiophile version would make sense.

You said that if you paid extra for the Audiophile version, you likely wouldn't be able to upgrade to the new version every year. That seems a shame to me. I would rather have the regular version and update it yearly, and have all the new features and the new RealTracks.

Matt's idea would be a good compromise. Buy Audiophile, then upgrade "regular" versions until you can once again afford Audiophile. Or as I said before, buy "regular", work with it for 30 days and see if you get the sound quality you're after. If not, upgrade to Audiophile.

Good luck!
LLOYD S