I currently have the first configuration. I find direct profiles to be hit or miss because there are a lot of variables with the Power Station and some direct profiles just sound thin and need help. Studio profiles are typically not as satisfying running through this config. I normally use MBritt studio profiles and also some from Tone Junkie and Selah Sounds...but MBritt for sure in live or rehearsal applications. I could just go repurchase a Kemper Direct box, "borrow" a Marshall SV20, and do up my own tailored tones.
I'm pondering a simpler set up that is more flexible though. I'd basically go get a few Kemper Kones (if I could find them available) and stick then in my closed back Port City 2x12...in place of the Greenbacks...and then get some type of SS power amp as I read it allows the Kones to do their thing better. If I did this, it sounds like I could get amp-in-the-room feel and tones with studio rigs + I could virtually substitute new speakers into some of those studio profiles. That sounds pretty intriguing to me. However, I do worry about the sounds being too artificial with all of that going on.
I guess the question is out to those who may have tried playing through both configs (or close to it) in the subject line and the pros and cons of each for you.