The OP's post is like throwing red meet to wolves! And I get the reaction by some as we have all spent money, time and effort on the product. And most are also appreciative of Fractal's efforts to improve the product. But I also have some questions about the updates:
1. Under Q6 we were told that the Axe was accurate to the amps with video and presets to boot.
http://www.fractalaudio.com/accurate.php
Q7 was then released with note that said: "Note that this change may be significant and initially alarming with certain amp models. While the new algorithms are much more accurate they may be disconcerting to those who are accustomed to the old algorithms."
If Q6 was accurate then what is Q7? And now Q8?
2. My Kemper sound has really never changed for the past 2 or 3 years I've had it. In that sense, it is even more reliable than a real amp! Interestingly enough I got a splitter and ran the signal to my Axe with Q8.01 and my Kemper and pulled up similar amps and they are pretty much indistinguishable from each other with minimal tweaking. When I toggled the switch so I lost track of which was which I had a 50:50 shot at getting it right.
3. Do the reference amps at Fractal really change in sound so dramatically? I get that amps can sound different from day to day and depending on how long they have been on etc but is it really so different that the difference in sound could be described as "initially alarming" and "disconcerting" enough that the algorithm for its sounds have to change so much to match the new sound?
Personally I sometimes I wonder if the new FW is better (which for me is defined as being as close
To the sound of the real reference amp) or simply different (like if you played several versions of the same amp and the all had slight differences). Based on my A/B testing with the KPA, I think 8.01 is pretty close to the actual amp it is modeling. To those who say "Well just don't update" I will preemptivly answer that if there is a way to load bug fixes, new amps and any new effects without changing the current amp sounds in future FW updates, I would be happy to keep the sounds that I have now.
Edit: If I just profiled my Axe amp and Cab with the KPA I guess I could have exactly what I want.