After extensive negotiation with a robot from Google, here is the thread I was thinking of. Not as good as I thought. It's the second post in particular, I thought might be of help to you.
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Review-of-installing-EWQL-HO-Diamond-with-iLok-Machine-License-m3323321.aspx
 
 

 I have both AlbionOne and Hollywood Orchestra Diamond. At some point I wrote a comparison (I'll see if I can find it). Both are excellent, but in very different ways

 
Allan -
 
That was very well put and the chef vs. ingredients analogy is appropriate. Which is precisely why I keep coming back to HO - I can make it do what I want to do (admittedly with effort). I also own Albion One but usually prefer HO for what I want to do. That doesn't mean Albion One is bad or inferior - it's different. It's a great library if it fits your needs.
 
- Dave

The engineering part of it is important, and I spend a great deal of time on it, but it's still the least enjoyable part of the whole project

 
I completely understand what you are saying. That's why it is good there are different kinds of libraries available for different people. Personally I don't think of the work needed to tweak an orchestral library to make it sound "alive" as engineering. In my thinking, I have divided the overall process up into 3 stages: Composition, Performance and Production. To me, working with CCs and using just the right articulations is part of the performance phase. There is no way I can mimic a section of violins just by playing notes on a keyboard - there are just too many nuances of performance to capture in real time. That means I need to spend serious time doing things like getting the length of a portamento just right or adding Expression (CC11) to create subtle swells when the string section holds long notes. Yeah it is a lot of work, but I find the rewards are great, too.
 
That said, I really do understand what you mean and where you are coming from. I had another thought too: Have you looked at any of Kirk Hunter's stuff? Maybe it would be something that would work better in your workflow.

I have Albion I in addition to my EW stuff. They are very different as others have said. I prefer EW to Albion but Albion may be what you are looking for. Great sound, simple keyswitches and all articulations in one patch. It doesn't do all the things that the EW stuff does but it can produce great results. I usually use it to layer with my EW instruments for a bigger sound. The only thing is IIRC it almost never goes on sale so you may be disappointed there.  

I joined Composer Cloud over last Summer.But then I upgraded to Windows 10 and I cannot get the iLok software running AT ALL. I had to cancel my subscription.

jamesyoyo
I joined Composer Cloud over last Summer.But then I upgraded to Windows 10 and I cannot get the iLok software running AT ALL. I had to cancel my subscription.

Just in case: there is a well-known issue with the PACE licensing manager that needs to run as a "delayed start" services on Windows 10 for some.

DRanck
I've been fortunate in iLok works fine after a Win 10 upgrade. Still not a fan. I should switch to the hardware license.

Dan - what you describe is very close to my workflow. Though lately I've been composing just the main theme and then completely fleshing it out with articulations and CCs. Then I move on to other sections. Probably won't work like that all of the time though.

Yes, I hear what you are saying. For me, a lot of my workflow depends in large part on how "jazzed" i am about the section I'm currently working on. If I'm really digging a section, I'll stick with it and spend a lot more time before moving on to other sections. It really depends on the song. But I do try to avoid getting too deep into the weeds 'cause I know it'll just kill my momentum.
 
Dan
 

Same here, Soop. The cloud option is interesting to check out libraries for a month, though, as an elaborate demo session.

I understood that Soop just wants to own the libs to use them whenever he wants.

Fleer
I understood that Soop just wants to own the libs to use them whenever he wants.

Me too.  Sometimes with subscription models you can lose track of how many you have and don't realize there's quite a bit of money coming out of your account every month.