dvandenh Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 Why is there no Variax direct in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Two main reasons, I think. This is basically meant to be simplified, two channel amp. It can be expanded to 12 presets with MIDI, but it’s not really meant to be an entire complex rig in the same way a product like the Helix or other Line 6 products are. Also, adding the VDI jack adds probably at least another $50 to the price tag… I think they were trying very hard to make these budget-friendly. And, really, the VDI jack doesn’t really expand the potential user base by very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dvandenh Posted February 16, 2022 Author Share Posted February 16, 2022 True, but why would I then go for the Catalyst.. I will stay at my Bose Katana i guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 15 minutes ago, dvandenh said: True, but why would I then go for the Catalyst.. I will stay at my Bose Katana i guess For those who already have a Katana I guess the reason would be an improvement in the quality of the modelling. And if you don't feel there's any improvement then there's really no reason. Glad you're happy with what you've got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voxman55 Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 Catalyst is aimed squarely at Katana but with Line 6's own take. I think Catalyst is aimed at those who want to get back to a very simple 2-channel plug n play amp with a simple choice of amp models that will cover pretty much any genre, with a few nice reverb options and the ability to add one more effect for 'colouring' (what Line 6 refer to as 'a bit more'). There is an interesting vid here comparing Katana to Catalyst: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 An EtherCon female RJ45 connector (Variax) would cost a manufacturer about $3. Add a few more circuit components, and it wouldn't have added cost much. But I'm guessing Variax wasn't a "must" for the amp's target market. My gripe is that there is no Variax on the Stomp!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 21 hours ago, soundog said: An EtherCon female RJ45 connector (Variax) would cost a manufacturer about $3. Add a few more circuit components, and it wouldn't have added cost much. But I'm guessing Variax wasn't a "must" for the amp's target market. My gripe is that there is no Variax on the Stomp!! Well, the connection itself is more than just the actual jack, of course. It involves running power and data for that connection… Not to mention dealing with the additional programming and support side of things. A few years Eric estimated the VDI connection adds about $50 to the cost of hardware. And that’s probably gone up now. Variax users would probably say that extra $50 is worth it, but you also have the vast majority of the market who aren’t Variax owners who aren’t getting any extra functionality for that premium. And this is a highly competitive segment of the market. I think for the higher priced items like the Helix and Helix LT, the cost isn’t as noticeable, and those products have more features than any one person can use at the same time, that people don’t think of the cost/value proposition in the same way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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