Hi Guys, the last thing I asked about all this was what the whole I.R. thing was all about. To that end, I had pretty much planned on getting the logidy EPSI everyone suggested. However, SW has the other mentioned, in it's pedal form, for a good bit less than normal. Even reduced, it's still double the money as the EPSI. Is it worth it?

I like the idea of the GUI I saw in a demo, btw. I have not looked for it yet, but does the ESPI have a decent, usable GUI?

I've seen other threads mention that the IR loaded doesn't care which unit it is. (The ownhammer?, or whatever it was spelled ... I have it saved off...) Is that still the concensus?

fwiw, most of what I do is in a home project studio setting. I do have analog amps to play with and a GT-001 downstairs to noodle on, but I'm mostly an 11R into Pro Tools with a side of GT-100 on the side. (going into back of 11R)

Short answer: if you're not planning to use it live, go with the EPSi.
Long answer: both are "just" IR loaders/players. This means they don't have a "sound" -- they sound as good as the IR you load into them. However, the EPSi is a simple version of such an IR loader, it can only be switched manually (turn the dial and hit "recall" to get another IR). It can load a lot of IRs from an SD card but you can't switch it e.g. coordinated with the 11R. So if you want an IR of 2x12" open back cab for your Fender Twin sound and a classical 4x12" for your Marshall sound, you'll have to switch it manually. Not suitable for live.
It does have some parameters to tweak the sound of the IRs (simple internal eq).
The Torpedo Cab is a more complex unit. You can save 512 IRs, you get a 5-band eq switchable for guitar or bass frequencies, headphone out and (most important) MIDI in. This makes the CAB switchable in conjunction with the 11R. Simply put your Fender cab on the slot that corresponds with the MIDI program change that calls your Fender Twin, and the 4x12" on the slot that corresponds with your Marshall.
When do you need this? Live. What do you do in the studio? You switch manually anyway - or you can do so at least.
I am pretty happy with one of the factory IRs in the EPSi which works equally well for clean and overdrive sounds, e.g. all types of amp sims from the 11R. So I decided not to go for the Two Notes which is 2,5 times as expensive and will basically sound identical apart from the EQ (wich, I think, you don't really need, the 11R has a good one on board).

Do you find yourself wishing you had the GUI functionality like what's in their videos? Example being a nifty move the mic around for different tones thing.

I don't own the Two Notes Torpedo, so I can't comment on the GUI. But I went through the specs again and I must correct myself a little, there are even more options like power amp tube simulation (including choice of tubes), mic selection (including positioning) etc.
So it seems the CAB is something like a AXE-style module for the cab & mic part of the signal chain, bringing you comparable tweakability as in the AXE FX or BIAS. Could be a big expansion for the 11R, which is quite limited in this area.
However, I'm not a fan of all these parameter choices. They surely are great, but trouble is you can get lost in tweaking. I prefer to play IRs and look around for some time til I find one that fits my needs and focus on tweaking the 11R parameters, that's enough for me. But again, if you're in the studio or if you're ambitious or just a geek, this might be an all-day-sex-toy.

The sound that resulted in moving that mic around sounded like it has the potential for us in a home project studio environment. The back of the mix or front of the mix placement kind of thing.

That's just one notion floating around back, deep in the cavernous recesses of my empty head right now.

Hmmmm, stand alone usability seems like it'd be a nice option to have to play with when headphones are required to play. I'll have to dig deeper and see if it can store backing tracks. That could get big. There's some more digging to do.

Thanks for all your input so far, btw. I appreciate it lot.

I run my eleven through my sgear plugin , not ideal position in the chain, but I couldn't tell a lot of difference, at the end or in the loop, iam not one to tweak either, more due to being lazy than anything else but as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for, iam sure if money is not an issue ,the CAB is worth the extra change

I believe you only have a mono in and out, so lose the ability to have a stereo spread or use reverbs like with the EPSi. The Logidy EPSi has the same R in/out and Left in/out as the Eventide stomp boxes did. I tried the Logidy with just the mono in/outs and wasn't the same. With the stereo funtionality, you can choose to run it at the end of the FX chain too, so it sounds more like running your FX through cabinet speakers. The Torpedo Live is a bit better in that respect, but then you're spending quite a bit when the Eleven Rack doesn't need much more than the Logidy and some decent impulses to make it perfect.

I have a Torpedo CAB. I like it. I will have to check the I/O - but it does have line/amp level switches for both the input and output. It also has other features the EPSi doesn't - for instance, power amp modeling, EQ, as well as the ability to create your own presets from the 2 Notes cab/mic selections. You can move the mic placement anywhere you want to create a custom cabinet all your own. It also allows you to use an IR in conjunction with the power amp modeling and EQ.

Of course - it's more than double the price of the EPSi.

I can't speak to the exact functionality of the EPSi - but I am under the impression that you load a single IR in there and then toggle it on/off. I could be wrong here (I haven't done any research on it). The Torpedo allows you to store multiple presets and select them (scroll up/down). If you like the ability to match say a Greenback with your Marshalls and more a Jensen with your Fenders then the Torpedo allows you to easily do those things.

The 2 Notes software is simple to use - as is making adjustments on the unit itself... at least in my opinion.

So, where they are similar products they are different. I don't know that it is fair to say one is better than the other. They fit similar but potentially different needs. If you are looking to use one IR for everything and you are looking only to improve on the cabinet modeling found in your specific MFX then the EPSi is a less expensive option. If you want to have more flexibility, including but not limited to creating your own cabinet/mic presets, and the ability to easily change presets live - then perhaps the Torpedo CAB is a better solution.

The cool thing is that there are options.

No. You're right in your summary of things.

For the most part - yes. But you can have 999 IRs loaded on an SD card and select one at a time (or preset an independent stereo with one for right and another for left but you have to do that in the computer). The EPSi also does allow eq adjustment for low, mid, and hi as well as a couple other utility things, but it is a pain to switch IRs mid-song..