CONFUSED Possible buyer needs HELP!

[luces]

Hello, I have been trying to gather info from the site,but I am still very confused as to what I actually need/want. I have noticed that many people are excited by the new VI-SE and I might be,but I am not sure of a few things.

First off, I am interested in GOOD solo strings (mostly violins,but all solo strings would be good). I have listened to the available demos and the Horizon solo strings sound good,but I see that they are 16 bit and I am not sure how much of a differenece it makes. I would really like to get a complete orchestra with GOOD solo strings, but like MOST people I have budget issues. I am very disappointed that there are not any demos for the Opus 1 library because that might meet my needs but I can't tell.

The Epic Horns sound really nice also. Judging by the demos they (Epic Horns) sound better than the VI Horns. The demos are much more exciting.

I am a Kontakt2 user and I am not really sure how powerful Kontakt2 is compared to the VI Player.

So,these are the questions I have:

1) which is a better player...Kontakt or the new VI Player? Which will give me the most performance possibilities?

2) do I have to get a "main" library in order to use the "extended" libraries or is it possible to ONLY use the extended library? These appear to contain more samples and playing styles and seem to offer more of the articulations I want.

3) is there a big sonic and performance difference between the 16 bit and the 24 bit samples?

4) if Kontakt is a good format,would you recommend the Horizon series?

Question # 2 is the most important question for me, so please try to address this if possible.

Thanks sincerely to all who take the time to guide me in this issue.

luces

[JWL]

@Another User said:

4) if Kontakt is a good format, would you recommend the Horizon series?

It's difficult not to recommend anything VSL makes. If you prefer to use K2, then go with Horizon (albeit @ 16-bit)

For sound quality, ease of use, smooth integration-- my vote would be for the VI Cube collection over other collections being used in Kontakt.

By the way-- the VI Cube collection French horns include the sounds in Epic Horns plus more... It's very easy to misjudge a collection based solely on the demos. In truth, the VI French horns are actually *better* because they are the same samples in Epic at 24-bit while being a MUCH bigger collection of sounds.

Regardless, 90% of the success of any orchestra library is the user-- something you may have already experienced by listening to the demos.