Is the Stadium Junk?

[IMMikeMurphy]

My wife bought me the Helix Stadium XL for Christmas.
It's not here yet and our local store has no idea when it will arrive but I heard end of February was likely.

Since we live in Canada, the unit was $3,389.99 after tax which to me is insane.
I had every intention of keeping my Helix Floor until it dies or I did...but my wife is generous and loving :-)

I logged in today to see if anyone knew more about delivery dates and it seems like most threads in the Stadium section are negative and stories riddled with problems.

What's the general consensus out there?

Are you happy with your Stadium or is it riddled with bugs?

Thanks for your feedback.

Mike

[PierM]

Keep in mind that A); this is a brand new product and these days there is no new product without things to fix and big room to improve...and B) this is a support forum, so it's pretty obvious to see lot of people with problems asking for help.

 

Dont overthink and just wait the unit to test it yourself.

 

Cant say more as my HX Stomp already does all I need so I need no Stadium. :) 

 

 

[Nos402]

I love mine. Honestly, I thought it was a bit of an unnecessary purchase as I love my OG Helix floor just fine and I had no desire for a touch screen. After getting it, I do not regret it at all. It has some quirks, it has some things I like better about the old Helix, but overall I think it's an improvement and will only get better. Line 6 has said that most folks said they'd rather have it sooner than later even if that meant more features and bug fixes in later updates. I've come to LOVE the touch screen that I initially thought was unnecessary (for me). 

 

So yeah, I don't think it's going to be any huge world shattering game changer for you, and it takes some time to get used to the new ways of doing things (set lists, presets, and such are very different now and I do still prefer the old way better, but I'm getting used to the new work flow). 

 

I've gigged with it, and it is now my rig of choice going forward. I use it with every band I play with as well as a MIDI controller for my Nord Stage 3, so as with my old unit, it will get used a LOT, but I've gone all in on it now.

[silverhead]

On 1/20/2026 at 3:10 PM, IMMikeMurphy said:

...

Are you happy with your Stadium or is it riddled with bugs?..

Being a brand new product there are a number of bugs that have been discussed in this forum. As already mentioned, being a support forum that is to be expected. People don't generally post here to report that they are completely satisfied.

 

Also, a bug fix firmware and software release was dropped just earlier today. By my quick count it resolves more than 50 bugs. Some other remaining bugs are identified and workarounds provided. Helix Stadium is quickly becoming a very reliable product. Let us know what you think after you've tried it.

[Limonsutil]

I was a helix Floor user and with new product I'm more than happy, the sounds alone, i'm getting really better sounds than with the previous helix, but for the live use i'm  still avoiding heavy use of snapshots and other reported bugs... i trust the team and can say that the wait is painful but the reward is coming....  just this past weekend i used the stadium in a gig and everyone on the bar came to me and talked about the incredible guitar sound...  that's all I have to say about this topic right now

[mike-w]

Yeah, there are some things to work out, but it's been a major step up from the OG for me.

[jpdennis]

I really enjoy using the Helix family.  Over the 10 years I used the Helix Floor, Line 6 came through with feature updates they hadn't thought about that the user forum engaged in discussing then feature enhancements that would work with the hardware and software that where submitted to the developers for review.  The enhancements that many users requested using the feedback to developer links had priority over the requests that one or two user only requests.  So, the users of this forum would make sure everyone would submit the request to the correct link since Line 6 doesn't monitor this forum for the purpose of identifying fixes and enhancements, as a norm.  Software/firmware bugs where addressed as well as more modeling amps, cabs, and effects added to the device.

 

So, now that I am using and learning about the Helix Stadium XL, as I did with the Floor, I am very satisfied with it and know from past experience the Yamaha/Line6 support engineers will get it working as it has been presented or go many sleepless nights to get it working as expected.  I am sure we will have even more modeled devices added.  For me, I am looking forward to the coming years with the Stadium and hope I can learn to use it to its fullest.

 

jpd

[Kfletchah]

Loving my stadium. 
 

huge big fix just dropped like 32 days after releasing the showcase update. 
 

looks like most major bugs are fixed. Line6 is obviously working their tail off while pushing forward into uncharted territory. 
 

I think they’re crushing it. Hope yours comes soon so you can try it out. 

[syphus]

This biggest point here is this:  Line 6 asked the community if they would be willing to wait  or get it earlier - most said they could ride it out and get the updates as the bugs were worked out . . . it sounded like most wanted the unit sooner rather than later (I know I did).  Since I'm not using it to gig with at this time,  I'll push thru the problems for now.

 

Syphus

[IMMikeMurphy]

Thanks so much guys, this all puts my mind at ease.

I'm a long time Helix floor user and the support has been world class.
I also have a small pedalboard with an HXstomp on it so I wasn't planning on upgrading (my wife kicks lollipop).

When I opened the box with the "You have a Helix Stadium XL on order" I was pretty pumped.
If all goes well I'll sell off the Helix floor and that will recoup almost half the cost (all our dough is from the same pile but still...)

Thanks again

[theElevators]

I've been curious about people's feedback on it, and several YouTubers reported really serious bugs.  One mentioning an unusable "helicopter" sound that just comes out of nowhere and makes the unit unusable. 

 

There have been reports on slow snapshot changes, slower than on the OG.  Also a bunch of problems with the expression pedal and block parameters when using snapshots.  

 

As with any modeller, it's a computer, it can have bugs.  Bugs will be fixed, new ones will be introduced.  I'm a computer programmer, and I know all about testing, beta testing, pre-release, release, etc.  I will never be foolish to upgrade the firmware the night before the show and expect everything to work.  Plus in certain scenarios the upgrade can brick your Helix, and you can only bring it back to life with a Windows computer... anyway...  Over the air upgrades are great, until they don't work. 

 

This thing so far to ME (if I were to buy a new modeller today) would be a risky purchase.  But it all depends on what you play and what approach you use.  

 

1. Bedroom noodlers -- I say go and buy it.  I am a bedroom noodler myself at the moment as I'm not touring anymore.  

2. You have 100s of Helix presets that you've built on the OG -- wait a bit.  There have been weird issues importing existing presets, and they do not sound the same anymore.  Arguably... better!  But that may require going back to the drawing board and wasting countless hours.

3. You are in a touring band with people who drive for 5 hours to see your show / you're in a wedding band -- wait until all the bugs are worked out.  Or else risk looking like a fool onstage while your processor stops behaving.  That's a nightmare scenario that I don't ever want to experience... I've come close to it a few times in my life.

 

 

I remember every time I updated the firmware on the Helix Floor, having to do extensive testing to make sure nothing got broken.  And a few times things got broken, and at one time I had to downgrade.  I also remember first getting the Helix, and right off the bat finding several bugs (on 2.8)

 

The OG is a complete solution in a box, with all the sounds that I would possibly ever need (personally).  But some people like new toys, which is understandable.  Really expensive toys with an absurd amount of processing power to...noodle in their bedrooms.

 

[jpdennis]

On 1/22/2026 at 6:44 AM, theElevators said:

The OG is a complete solution in a box, with all the sounds that I would possibly ever need (personally).  But some people like new toys, which is understandable.  Really expensive toys with an absurd amount of processing power to...noodle in their bedrooms.

 

 

theElevators,

 

I agree that the Stadium will not be for every guitarist.  I know from experience that modelers may not be the choice for every guitarist as well.

 

While I wasn't part of the "I want it now and will deal with the bugs" crowd that requested early release, I did order it as soon as the early ordering was available.  What I am interested in is the modeling improvements with the Agoura models.  And, once Showcase is fully implemented and rock solid the best use case I see is the ability to have a "rig engineer in a box" so to speak.  For me this opens up the "one man band" concept with reduced footswitch dancing as well as stage lighting controls.  My Helix Floor was perfect for everything but the foot switch dance for complex songs and/or cover songs that require the "band leader wants the exact sound for the songs" demands.  I am very interested in the Showcase feature as well as deep diving into the latest update that did fix several of the issues.

 

[SIDEBAR]

 

We had the helicopter sound rear its ugly head in the OG Helix as well back in 2017.

 

And I did a search finding hits concerning DSP stress tests on the Stadium XL creating strange sounds.  However, for my OG Helix, as well as the Stadium XL, I usually kept to presets that did not push the limit of the DSP capability; and I would create a "goto" footswitch within presets on the OG Helix if I needed to link presets for a very details song.  That will be another test of the Showcase feature for me.  Though, I may not be a typical user. <YMMV>

 

jpd

 

 

[bbehrens]

I routinely squeezed every drop of DSP from the OG Helix (down to hundredths of a percent). And I have come close to maxing out one of the DSP's so far in the Stadium. But I have never had any issues except for the Stadium not respecting the MAX DSP in one of the blocks, that I feel may still be there, but I have not had time to test. It appears that Line 6 has been a little conservative in the their DSP block estimations on the Helix Stadium. It appears to allocate DSP memory per block as the OG Helix did as well.  So far my analysis has shown values quite different from the OG Helix which I did not expect. Also, I can clearly see that the FX Loops and Splits have also been allocated more than I thought they were ever on the OG Helix. The Cab block has been maxed out to something similar to the OG Helix but it is a dual Cab block by default anyway so that just simplifies things. I have had no problems since the 1.2.1 update but I have been building my DSP spreadsheet (which I am sure will change if it has not already with the 1.2.1 update) and so I have not properly Stress tested it.

 

I am interested to know of any issues with DSP allocation and bugs.

[narichey81]

the only issue i was experiencing was there was a lag between pushing the footswitch and the snapshot changing, and they immediately fixed that in an update.  i have full faith in line6 supporting the product, they gave me 10 years of continually making the old helix better and better.  the stadium will be no different.  you can beta test a bunch and you are still gonna see new bugs revealed when hundreds of thousands of users start hammering it.  thats just the way stuff works. 

[bbehrens]

On 1/24/2026 at 12:31 PM, narichey81 said:

the only issue i was experiencing was there was a lag between pushing the footswitch and the snapshot changing, and they immediately fixed that in an update.  i have full faith in line6 supporting the product, they gave me 10 years of continually making the old helix better and better.  the stadium will be no different.  you can beta test a bunch and you are still gonna see new bugs revealed when hundreds of thousands of users start hammering it.  thats just the way stuff works. 

I agree...

 

...mostly.

 

You have never used Reaper DAW. The number of bugs in that software and the inconsistency in it's documentation you can probably count on one hand since it was launch over a decade ago. Best developer I have ever seen. It is THE ONLY software that I will update without even thinking about compatibility issues or bugs. And that is saying something about Audio processing on multiple platforms.