Great for practice and for stage monitoring during live performance

Paired with hx stomp

I had high hopes, when I saw that Line 6 was offering powered speaker cabs, I thought wow ! Like the Tech 21 Power Engine but better !!!! Wrong... I sold my pair of Tech 21 Power Engines when I purchased a pair of these cabs... wrong move. I unpacked the Power Cabs and thought .. BEAUTIFUL !!! Sturdy, stylish... when I plugged in my HELIX.... I literally could not get a usable sound out of it, I fiddled for hours. After a few days of fiddling with new presets I was able to get a decent basic sound so I thought I was golden. I took it out for on gig doing a outdoor surf meet event... OUCH ! Fizzy, treble ridden, buzz saw city. I could not even get a decent volume from it, the tone because it was so "HIFI" was so buried in the mix I could barely hear myself. Besides the lack of volume, I could not believe the absolute atrocious tone I was getting(think BUZZSAW). This is not a good match for a helix or any floor processors or modelers. I regret getting rid of my Tech 21's they were a tad noisy but they sounded 100% better than these. I keep hearing and seeing the reviews for the Plus version, but seems odd that for something that is supposed to simply amplify the sound you get from your Helix would do such a poor job. WIth the covers and the shipping I paid mucho dinero so saying I am unhappy is an understatement. I've been told with tweaking you can get the cab to sound good, I've spent hours doing this. I don't think its possible. Avoid this... I have been using my cabs as vocal monitors, just because I would get smashed if I tried to sell them. I've used this for one gig, maybe 6 times at rehearsal, sadly they are horrible, giving it 2 stars is quite generous....

I was hoping this Powercab would keep up, Volume wise, with my Fender Bassman RI but no luck. No good for live work unless you mic it.

I love my Helix. It literally sounds good through almost anything. I either use it through the FX return on my Mesa Mark V or as a pedalboard on the front end of my Pro Jr. (also into my JBL studio monitors). I love the amp emulations, so I was very hopeful that the powercab would sound equally as good. Unfortunately it doesn't. If you're looking for a tube amp sound "in the room" as they say, this does not cut it. All of the detail that the Helix provides somehow is lost through this cab. To my ears it sounds as though there is a blanket or a wet towel over the cabinet. It varies depending upon the speaker emulation that you select, but overall it definitely does not feel like a tube amp. Which is unfortunate because the helix has blown my mind at how amazing it performs sounding just like a tube amp. If I were providing feedback to Line 6 I would say to forget the solid-state power amp idea and go with a built-in EL 84 tube power amp section.

I have been gigging and recording with digital modelers since the day they became a thing in the late 90s. my preferred live performance setup is a digital modeler front end going into a tube power amp and real guitar cabs. that is the very best of both worlds; the flexibility of digital with the warmth and punch of tubes and real guitar cabs. i've owned/gigged over 150 tube amps and various $$$$ rack rigs over the last 35 years and running my Egnater or Fender tube amps in 4 cable-mode (4CM) with the Helix is pretty much my favorite. now that i'm almost 47 and also have to set up all the PA and run sound at gigs, i just wanted less to carry and a faster set up. Running Helix right into the Powercab feels much more like a real amp than any FRFR active speaker i've used. It does NOT have the percussive "knock" or punch of any tube amp, but that's not what it's for. It's a reasonably loud, lightweight, affordable & elegant amplification solution for modelers. Fast setup/transport and sleek. Definitely worth the money.