Ok I got my Pod HD 500 today and have been playing with it for a couple of hours. At first I thought the models were kind of boxy, mid-rangy without a lot of presence and touch but then as I got into it I really started liking some of them and appreciating the better fidelity and touch. The edit software was also a bit confusing at first but after a while it's super easy to use and absolutely fantastic for assigning virtually any footswitch to anything. Love the Dr. Z amp model. Too soon to tell how well I really like the others. I will be doing a comparison recording with the Eleven Rack soon. Looks to me so far like the Pod HD 500 is worthy.