I played a powerhead today at guitar center and I plugged in to a 2x12 Orange cab. It sounded fantastic. Honestly I didn't hear much of a difference between cabinet sim on and off. I didn't have enough time to try to just plug the Monitor out into the cab.
Would that be possible though? Monitor out or Main Out mono into a guitar cab with an unpowered version? If I enjoy the sound of it I figured I could just save money and get an unpowered one because my main use will be recording and playing through studio monitors. I do have a 4x12 can that I may occasionally mess around with, but I don't know if it will b enough to justify the extra $400.