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No regrets/remorse. Here's why. I play rhythm guitar with our church worship team. We've moved away from amps - replacing them with Kemper heads going direct to FOH. Given advancements in modelers, this January I decided to try moving away from my rather large/heavy pedalboard for a number of reasons: More control over my ecosystem. I'm not limited to the amps+cabs in the church Kempers. Have found some great clones from Signal Theory that work nicely with the guitars I play. The Helix also gives me greater flexibility in signal chain. I have a wide selection of solid drives and effects at the touch of the screen. The Helix allows me to put wet effects/modulation before OR after the amp+cab. I walk in, plug into the FOH, and play. Total set up time - 5 minutes. Workflow. Preparation for a weekend set is streamlined with the Helix Stadium software compared with programming the RJM PBC/10 on my pedalboard. I can quickly achieve the tones in my head and focus on my parts in the song set. I've also reduced the number of devices requiring software updates. Midi control. While I've been able to dial in my tones with the Helix effects and third party presents/clones, there are some pedals (like the Strymon TimeLine) that are hard to rival. I have a sidecar board (Pedaltrain Nano) with one or two pedals that sit in a stereo effects loop with preset selection and midi clock controlled by the Helix. Just finished setting that up today. I can place that loop anywhere in signal chain. Presets and tap tempo change automatically with the selection of song presets. Sound. I'm getting tone out of the Helix that I've struggled to get from my pedalboard through both live amps and the Kemper. Plain and simple. For me, it's a better tool for artistic performance. That could be me or that could be the Helix, but it's what I'm experiencing. I'm also getting rave reviews from other members of the worship team, our sound enginerrs, and from the congregation. I'm not getting any younger. Quite frankly, my old pedalboard and case (even with wheels and handle) were getting to be a pain to haul around. Heavy and cumbersome. The Helix sits on my desktop at home for practice and slides easily into a comfortable backpack for transport. The sidecar board and cables fit into an easy-to-carry soft case the size of shoebox. One trip from my vehicle to stage door (including my guitar). Support. Given the Line 6 commitment to the Helix thus far, I feel that I can count on them strongly supporting this platform going forward. So far, so good. I also see third parties providing really solid amp clones and presets. There is a lot of choice out there. That's all I got. I'm happy with my choice. It's confirmed every time I plug in.

FWIW, this is an AI summary of what I just went through to finish setting up my Stadium XL: Oh yeah...and I just bought a Stadium XL. Solved: Helix Stadium XL wouldn't connect to Windows 11 app (Code 28 / Wi-Fi Connection Required / Norton 360 Deluxe) I wanted to post my experience in case it helps someone else. System: Windows 11 CyberPower PC (Ethernet connection) Helix Stadium XL (Wi-Fi connection to the same home network) Norton 360 Deluxe Symptoms Connected the Stadium XL to the PC with a USB-C cable. Windows did not play the device connection sound initially. Device Manager showed: Audio devices were present. Helix Stadium Bulk Transfer appeared under Other devices with a yellow exclamation point. Device status showed Code 28 (drivers not installed). The Helix Stadium desktop application displayed "Wi-Fi Connection Required" even though both the PC and Stadium reported they were on the same network. What fixed the USB driver problem The Stadium itself had a notification (hamburger menu) to install a downloaded firmware update. After installing the update: Windows immediately played the device-connected sound. The yellow exclamation point disappeared. "Helix Stadium Bulk Transfer" disappeared from Other devices. A new Line 6 category appeared in Device Manager with Helix Stadium XL, and Windows recognized the device correctly. So if you see a Code 28 error, make sure the Stadium firmware is fully updated before assuming there's a USB hardware problem. What fixed the Wi-Fi connection problem The Helix Stadium application still reported "Wi-Fi Connection Required." After troubleshooting, I discovered the issue was Norton 360 Deluxe Smart Firewall. As a test, I temporarily disabled Smart Firewall for 5 minutes. The Helix Stadium application connected to the Stadium immediately. That confirmed the firewall was interfering with local network discovery. Interestingly: Program Control entries were already set to Allow. There were no custom Traffic Rules blocking Line 6. My Ethernet network profile in Windows was already set to Private. After additional troubleshooting, everything began working normally and the application now connects successfully. Suggestions if you're having the same problem Update the Stadium firmware first. If Device Manager shows Code 28 for Helix Stadium Bulk Transfer, don't panic—the firmware update may resolve it. Verify your Windows network profile is Private. If you're running Norton 360 Deluxe, temporarily disable Smart Firewall as a test. If the editor immediately connects, you've confirmed the firewall is involved. Hopefully this saves someone else a few hours of troubleshooting.

I have the same problem with the conflict between Windows 11 Memory Integrity and the L6PODHD564.sys driver for my POD HD500. I was going to buy the Helix but not so sure anymore.

I have the same issue with Win11 integrity and incompatible L6 drivers. I have an HX stomp, but it appears the HXEdit app installs Helix, Stomp and PodHD... I don't use the interface much but... these are the ones Windows lists.. It appears this was first reported almost 18 months ago, and L6 still hasn't fixed it? I prefer to run with memory integrity active, not disabled.