I am happy that I read this post. I also have a lot of (too much) gear and have been weighing setup options. I just unboxed my Matrix GT1000FX that I purchased from Great Britain two years ago (I've been busy as a rented mule at work for the past two years). I am going to use the advice from your experience - I will be using the Matrix through a Z Best 2X12 and through a Kustom 2X15 with 1965 D 130's. Your may have saved 10 years of my life. I will let you know. Thanks!
I think you are on the right track for "cab in the room" but not sure about speaker selection. I went through a year-long process with literally 20+ speakers. I have a "cab switcher" which allows me to run amp into a load box that will let me switch between 6 different cabs. I have tried a lot of speakers and only really succeeded with the EVMs. Even a 2 x 12 w/ an evm and a second choice didn't cut it because that 2nd speaker always colored too much. I'm a big fan of the D120, had a twin w/ 2 D120s that SLEW! Had a Mesa Mark with a D120 that rocked. But, here I am trying to get "cab in the room" While still maintaining the FRFR sound as best I can. I could not find another speaker that would do this well.
I still quite like the Axe-Fx into my Marshall 20/20, either into a cab or as set of FRFR Yamaha CBR12's,
You can never have too many toys, guitars yes, toys, nawwww
The one thing I know for certain? There is no "right way". I still believe that you absolutely cannot beat the aAxe fully FRFR into FOH or into a recording board. I don't do much live work anymore. But, in my studio, I have the axe running direct, via AES into one of my Lynx Aurora 16s then into Pro Tools HD. The sound in the mix is perfect and I can manipulate it in any conceivable way. I always record the dry signal too so I can reamp. However, that same sound coming thru studio monitors (even Bryston/JBL or RCF NX12) absolutely does not work for my creative needs. Without that cab in the room, my playing style changes. The sustain of the guitar is not there. The air is not moving. In short, I do not get what I need to play my best.
So, this is kind of a weird solution. I am both:
1.) reaffirming that for your FOH and recorded sounds, FRFR is the absolute best way to go, using IRS, reamping, all the great tools the axe gives us.
2.) confessing that, for me, that same FRFR signal does not do it at all for my ears in the room as a player. However, I could not find another amp/ speaker combo that was "flat enough". For me, I need that cab. Now, if your "Dream cab" is a 4 x 12 w/ greenbacks, awesome! But, I'm trying to get as close as I can to that FRFR sound while STILL getting kicked in the balls by a pair of EVs powered by the Matrix
So, I'm straddling the fence here. I do not believe that the cab is a replacement for your FRFR signal to board or FOH. It is just an additional tool for me to hear what I want to hear.
Interestingly, I am still experimenting with micing the EV cabs with a pair of U87s as room mics (not close mics) to see if I can capture some of that immediacy and power. But, honestly, so far, this has not really added anything but mud to my awesome FRFR signal at the board. Experiments continue...