I only know an older version of Cool Edit and that was only a sample editor - no comparison to Cakewalk. But in the last four years so many things could have happened. On the other hand the makers of Cool Edit should have a long and good experience.

Cakewalk is IMHO a professional studio software. In this field you'll also find Sonar4 and last but not least Cubase SX/MX.

My personal choice would be Cubase because I'm working with Cubase so many years (12 years) and it's really easy to use AND strong in its abilities. Also Steinberg were the initiator of the ASIOdirect standard which allows you to use your PC as a professional studio system.

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Greetings from Frankfurt (Germany),
Sheriff ;-)