Is Aardvark 2496/Pro Audio 9 a good deal?

[songs4Him]

I'm considering buying an Aardvark Direct Pro 2496 which comes bundled with Cakewalk Pro Audio 9. I have the following questions:
1) Is Pro Audio 9 going to be out of date soon considering Cakewalk's move to Sonar? (will I want/need to update shortly anyway)
2) Am I always going to regret settling for the cheaper Pro Audio 9 rather than spending extra for the Cubase I've always wanted?

Thanks to all of you for great questions and great advice in these forums!

[songs4Him]

good question,I'll have to think about it!

[Jackyl]

I am currently using the Aardvark Direct Pro Q10 with Pro Audio 9. The Aardvark cards are good quality and I would definitely recommend them. I know a few people using the aardvark products and have heard good things. As far as Pro Audio 9 being outdated-- depends on what you need to do. Check out the Cakewalk site for a comparison of Pro Audio 9 to thier new release Sonar. From what I hear Sonar is pretty awesome. Right now the aardvark cards to not support WDM drivers (which are needed to use Sonar in the most optimal way). Pro Audio 9 is my first real software multitrack package-- it's an excellent choice to get started learning and it can still do a lot. Once the WDM drivers are released, I plan to upgrade to Cakewalk's Sonar package. The upgrade is only like $139 for registered Pro Audio 9 users.

[gascap]

Originally posted by Jackyl:
I am currently using the Aardvark Direct Pro Q10 with Pro Audio 9. The Aardvark cards are good quality and I would definitely recommend them. I know a few people using the aardvark products and have heard good things. As far as Pro Audio 9 being outdated-- depends on what you need to do. Check out the Cakewalk site for a comparison of Pro Audio 9 to thier new release Sonar. From what I hear Sonar is pretty awesome. Right now the aardvark cards to not support WDM drivers (which are needed to use Sonar in the most optimal way). Pro Audio 9 is my first real software multitrack package-- it's an excellent choice to get started learning and it can still do a lot. Once the WDM drivers are released, I plan to upgrade to Cakewalk's Sonar package. The upgrade is only like $139 for registered Pro Audio 9 users.

I have this rig also. I agree with Jackyl - it depends on what you are doing. Currently I use CWP9 and Acid in equal ammounts and I am happy with the results. Once the Ark card gets the WDM drivers, I'll probably switch because Sonar looks like it has Acid-like features, which would make things more efficient for me. But really, everything works great as it sits, and I could survive with multiple apps....there's always going to be attractive upgrades and goodies, I just have to be careful not to lose site of the music.

Good luck!

[songs4Him]

Thanks