A couple of points:

1) When thinking about the Pro Tools decision, you should be thinking about what the intended end use is.

Do you need Pro Tools because you need to have compatibility with other studios? Because your clients demand it? If the answer to either of those questions is a REAL "yes," well then, your decision has been made for you.

If the answer is NOT a firm yes, you should consider other options.

2) When considering options, you need to be realistic about what Pro Tools offers that others don't and vice-versa.

*Pro tools is NOT the easiest DAW application to edit audio on. Not by a long shot. Nor is it the most powerful. A simple inspection of the available functions and how they are implemented in a few popular DAW programs will show you that.

*Pro Tools is DEFINETELY not the easiest to sequence MIDI on. MIDI implementation is essentially an afterthought to DigiDesign/Avid.

*Pro Tools is NOT the ony DAW out there that uses or can use DSP cards/effects. And even if it were, the native power you have available in a decent modern box pretty much dwarfs all the DSP that the original Pro Tools system built its hallowed reputation on. So, where is Pro Tools' proprietary, closed-ended DSP really going?

*Even with the DSP and the fact that it is an industry "standard," Pro Tools seems overpriced (to me, at least) for what you get. It's a virtual monopoly and DigiDesign/Avid is clearly milking it for all it's worth.

*Nonetheless, Pro Tools is a standard that has not yet been unseated. Being "Pro Tools literate" as an engineer and Pro tools compliant as a studio can only help you.

So, you really end up asking yourself a) Do I NEED to have Pro Tools to keep my business going? and if not, b) is it worth the cost to have Pro Tools just to be "one of the boys?"