If you have an Axe II you already know what the AX8 sounds like. I couldn't imagine anything sounding different except maybe the noise floor?
The MFC is built like a tank so I have no idea what you mean there.
As far as fan-boy-ism you have defended L6 a few times and seem a little cynical vs AX8. You can want or even get the L6 its perfectly ok without somehow making the other unit a loser. I guess some need to do this to justify the purchase.
I have watched and heard all the L6 demos so far and I will be getting the AX8. I may even get the L6 down the road but for now I think the clean amps were nice, the crunch and high gain are really lacking.
I love my AXE FXII but it hasn't been without problems.....the MFC (a Mk 1) has had some reliability issues and some footswitch problems plus a couple of bugs.....but I wouldn't swap it .....and I will be getting an AXE8 no matter what. I am not a Fractal Fanboy and nor am I a Line 6 advocate....I simply call things as I see them and I always audition myself and don't buy into any internet hype. I do think some of the anti Line 6 stuff can be a bit unfair especially with regard to reliability. I only have a few items of Line 6 gear at the moment - some G90 wireless gear for my rigs....and an Amplifi for messing around in the den......and I have to say it has never given me one single problem......I have a lot of money tied up in my Fractal gear and being brutally honest the Fractal stuff is the one that's let me down during a gig.....but it's no worse than failures I have had with pedal boards and amps in my "old" rigs.......
As I say...I will be buying both set ups.....I think they will both have their pluses and minuses and I think both will sell well to their respective markets......here is a post I put up on The Gear Page - in a similar thread:-
"I have ordered a Helix and I am on the wait list for the AXE8......I already have an FXII and a
Load of tube amps and pedals. I want a quick set up floor rig for those "quick change" multi-band gigs and even just for regular pub and club gigs where you dont want to have to load in a truck load of gear. It's likely I will keep both and compare them in the real world......
I have only one valid observation at this stage - as I don't rely on YouTube quality sound clips through my laptop speakers.......and that is that my very favourite tones that I get at home are always where I running TWO amps ...one a Marshall style tone and one a "Fender style" tone.......this , to my ears gives a lovely full and warm tone.
I can replicate this on the FXII and get 98% of the way there ....and obviously that's MUCH easier than lugging two amps and cabs into a gig......
Now I get the "oh the AXE8 has the FXII QUANTUM modelling in it" argument - I really do - and maybe that's better than the Helix modelling , who knows , I certainly won't make my decision until I have heard them back to back.......however the AXE8 CAN'T do the two amp tones I enjoy and that I would predominantly use in any gig presets I use......
...so to me the argument becomes ....will the AXE8's single amp tones be better than the Helix's two amp tones......and I think that will be a much harder contest for the AXE8's allegedly better modelling to win convincingly?"