My honest opinion after playing in working bands for 30 years: I played tube amps for over 20 years (fenders, Mesas, Marshalls). I switched to Fractal about 6 years ago with an FXII first and then the Ax8. I have had the AxIII for about 2 years now. I originally made the switch because I was having issues with tube amplifiers being affected by fluctuating power supplies in some of the bars and smaller rooms we play. In some cases, I would have to try several outlets to get one that wouldn't make the amp sound like crap. I tried an FXII and I wasn't really impressed by the tone at first but I really liked the fact that it sounded consistently good, even when the power was weak or fluctuating the room. Honestly, I didn't really understand how to properly use the FxII when I had it. I bought the Ax8 and invested some time to get to know the unit. I used the Ax8 with a Matrix SS amp and a Matrix 2x12 cab and I absolutely loved the tone and feel. Honestly, not quite the same feel as a really good tube amp but the benefits far outweighed the small difference in feel. I was not able to use the cab sims because of the amp but I never had a problem creating very convincing and consistently great sounding tones. To me there wasn't much difference between that and my Mesa. I started gigging with the AxIII about a year and half ago. I bought a Mission Gemini II to be able to take advantage of the Cab sims. I invested a lot of time learning how to use it. I use the Gemini II for small room and bar gigs and go direct toFOH for festivals and larger stage gigs. In both cases, I have been very happy with the tone. The feel of the AxIII has definitely improved and to my ear sounds better than the Ax8, especially with the firmware updates in the last 12 months. I occasionally miss my Triaxis and Stereo 2:90 power amp. The tone was really amazing when it was working right but there are trade offs in life. My current rig sounds great in any room and direct and it's a heck of a lot easier to load in/out. I can get incredible tones with great feel and amazing effects that sound consistently great in any setting. To me, that has made me a believer in amp modeling. The technology was great 4-5 years ago. It's even better now. I played through a Helix while sitting in with a friend and it sounded OK but not great. It's not fair for me to try to compare the Helix based on playing it for 10 minutes.