Everyone has their own unique needs/situation, but for me, this was the easiest upgrade for Cubase in years and years. Worth $100 for sure.
For me, these are big:
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Multi-thread improvements for high-core-count CPUs seem to be solid so far. Great! I’ve been asking and hoping for a while!
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ARA 2 support forthcoming. Yes! Again, been asking for this! And they are delivering! That is a big deal and a sign that Steinberg recognizes the world doesn’t revolve around them. It’s a big step IMO… and by adopting the standard and yet still giving us VariAudio 3 and audio alignment, they are striking a GREAT balance.
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AAF - finally. Also been asking for this!
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Editing to picture - at last! Can’t believe we didn’t get this sooner. Been asking for years. But now we have it.
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DOP improvements - thank you! Finally brought us feature parity with Nuendo on this! This feature in general was a bitter bone of contention previously, but it’s greatly improved since its messy first days. Still needs love, but a good step forward.
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VariAudio 3 – didn’t ask for it, since I use Melodyne… but this plus ARA is excellent! Thank you!
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Audio alignment - yes! Thank you! I use Synchro Arts, but having something like this built-in – even simple like this – is extremely helpful. Again, this plus ARA is fantastic!
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Interface improvements - thank you! Been asking for things like this… still not perfect, but a good step in the right direction.
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Various minor but thoughtful workflow improvements – great! Always welcome.
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Various other minor but useful improvements… even an improved channel strip will come in handy!
This is a totally no-brainer upgrade IMO. This is absolutely worth $100. For people who don’t have Melodyne Essential or any Synchro Arts products, this is ABSOLUTELY worth the money. All the other additions are excellent.