I had a GC 20% off coupon and decided to buy a Helix a few weeks ago. I was thinking, and maybe if I'm honest, hoping that I could replace my KPA and Remote with a single unit and make my rig that much simpler.
I wanted to like it. I really did. The build quality is amazing - like a tank. The pedals with the scribble strips and color coding is awesome. The interface on the pedal is pretty good. The computer interface/editor is everything I wanted it to be.
The problem came down to the amp models themselves. The Line 6 really just didn't hold up compared to the KPA. It wasn't bad at all. I have nothing bad to say about it. It's just that to my ears the KPA rigs just sound better.
If Kemper would make an editor that's as good as the Line6, to me, it would be almost perfect. I'd still love to simplify to a single unit...but I'll manage with the toaster + remote. I'd still love to see effects plugins, but that's not even close to a deal breaker.
So, it's not a detailed review, but I've spent two weeks with the Helix now. It's head and shoulders above Line6's previous offerings...and I wouldn't fault anyone for buying it. It has a lot of excellent features that I'd love to see from Kemper, including some excellent effects. That said, the amps tones have to be great for me to keep it.
The Helix is shipping back next week.