Just a few questions regarding the POD HD500... Just picked one up the other day and printed out the manual.... ( heh,,, thanks to the lighting fast printers at work.... it's a long manual.. )

My primary reason for purchasing the POD-500 is for effects only, but in the future it I may use the amp modelling stuff for other amp sounds and also to use it in case my amp goes down, I can plug it into the PA directly and run it off the power amp.

First question.... Can I plug my guitar into the POD 500 and use it with headphones without needing a power amp?

And lastly, my rig consists of a Mesa Boogie Mark V head and a recto 2x12 cab.. I want to use the HD-500 for just effects. I've heard about and read the 4cm. I understand the benefit of this is to place certain effects before and after the preamp, as certain effects tend to sound better in such cases. For what I can think of now, I will be using different choruses, some delay, flange and phaser and also using the expression pedal for a wah... How and what effects sound best before and after the pre-amp? Would I be better off with the 2 cable method or is 4 better in my case using effects only? My primary concern is preserving, best I can, the tone from my mesa... Anything else, regarding the type of amp I have, I may need to know to get the best results from this setup?

The manual seems so daunting, don't know where to start, except give it a good read over when I get some time over the weekend.