I cannot in any way assess the fraction of users that do, but speaking for myself, I could definitely use some basic DAW functionality within Dorico, as this would spare me the need to open a full-blown DAW (which can be overwhelming and confusing in their own) for the limited functions I need.
I started a discussion some time ago exactly on this matter, but so far I failed to keep it alive due to other obligations and my ADD. Probably now is the time to revisit it:
On the subject of this much requested feature missing in Dorico 6: As I understand the dev team’s strategy, they prefer to set a limited number of larger functions as their main focus for a major version upgrade and they do so very early in development - and then they go all out and blow us away with what’s suddenly possible on a technically mature level. I really like this approach and don’t want them to change it.
And while there indeed has been a plethora of minor enhancements beside the spotlight features, I suppose that adding audio functionality as you described (and as I wish for as well) would fall into that category of larger functions which have to be focused on from an early development stage. What they set their focus on is of course solely their own sovereign decision, but I’m absolutely certain that once they tackle this matter, they will once again blow us away.