Orchestral Libraries: Lay Of The Land As Of Spring 2012

I may stumble into a little bit of money shortly, so I am beginning to look at moving from my fairly budget library (GPO4) to another orchestral library, or perhaps supplement it. I'd like to solicit opinions on the lay of the land as of spring 2012, and I'm interested in any comments the denizens of this forum have regarding them.

I would like to stay in the ballpark of $500 if at all possible for whatever library I might buy. I can move the ballpark fences in our out some, but I cannot double it.

Also, I am beginning to thing seriously about investing in separate libraries for each instrument family instead of a complete orchestral library, starting with strings. On that note I am wondering what people think of the new Cinematic Strings 2.0 (currently right at my price point) and the upcoming Adagio by 8dio.

One particular goal I have with any library is to be able to capture a fairly full range of orchestral expression and sound, not just the current Hollywood cinema craze. So I'm wondering if, for example, Cinematic Strings (or Hollywood Strings) have this capability despite their name, or if there is some library more suitable.

Also, I would really like to avoid getting too bogged down in controllers and settings, though I know they are a necessary part of synthetic orchestral composition. It seems to me some of the newer libraries are trying to make this a more achievable goal. Out of the box good sound is preferred. I can tweak it from there.

Yes I can, have, and will look at demos. But if you have some knowledge of current orchestral soft synths I value your input. I do not want to narrow the focus of your responses, so feel free to comment in whatever fashion suits you.

Yes, the Kirk Hunter products look good. 

Adagio is looking great for violins and is soon to be released. Be prepared for jaw-dropping realism, here. I think the 8Dio boys are on track for a stellar release, any day now. http://8dio.com/?btp_product=adagio-violins-vol-1

Introduction Price: $399 ($599), Release Date: May 7th 2012, Deep Sampled Orchestral Violins, Direct download on cloud server system, Requires Full Retail Version of NI Kontakt 4.2+, Deep-Sampled Orchestral Violins, Recorded in rich church w/ 3 mic. positions (Close, Combo, Far), Ensemble Violin (11). Divisi Violin (3). Solo Violin (1)., 10 Uniquely Recorded Legato Types, Legato with 4-way Round Robin, New Articulations (ex. Dynamic Bowing & Loure),

NI (retail) Kontakt +4.2 or later, XXGB harddrive space, Ability to download, PC 2.4GZ+, 4GB ram, MAC 2.6Ghz, 4GB ram,

In the $500 range, I would also consider Kontakt  and some of the other offerings form Native Instruments. 

The orchestral stuff (and more) included in Kontakt sounds pretty good for that price range. In addition, many of the 3rd party vendors are building their libraries and samples to work seamlessly with Kontakt. 

Have you looked at the Native Instruments web site?  They are constantly coming out with new samples and sounds. 

Are you looking for strings, or an overall orchestral program? Consider VSL Special Edition. It's still the best overall orchestral program (though I would've liked to have seen a little more personality in the woodwinds). I have LA Scoring strings, I have EWQLSO, I have Miroslav, etc, and they're great but if you really care about a good overall orchestral program, and not just strings, accept no substitute.

You should ask yourself what you feel you're lacking with your current program, as it's very good for the price.
There is Kontaktas well that has some snippets from VSL but there aren't as many velocity layers or articulations. 

Kreative: Yes, it was looking at the upcoming Adagio that got me started. The interfaces on some of the new products like this appear to be a step forward in the state of the art, and that is one reason I initiated this thread.
 
Glyn Barnes: I went to the Kirk Hunter site and Diamond does look worthy of slotting in beside EWQL and Vienna as an complete orchestral option.

Guitarhacker: It does seem that some key instrument libraries are Kontakt dependent, so I have considered postponing the purchase of a dedicated orchestral library and making a fundamental purchase of Kontakt. The advantage there would be a consistent interface should I in the future add libraries from different sources, at least I believe that is the case.

Monkey 23: Ideally I'm looking for a new, complete orchestral base to anchor my work and replace GPO4; but I am also considering starting with quality sectional libraries like CinematicStrings 2. For complete orchestral, the VSL Special Edition Bundle, while somewhat more than my target price, looks like a superb option, and it has the advantage of having special pre-built scripts for Notion, which I use a lot.

BristolJonesy and LpMike75: Yes, EWQLSO packages do seem like the most cost-effective solutions when on sale. And it has the advantage, admittedly minimal, of me already owning an EWQL dongle since I have Symphonic Choirs, which I never use and regret buying because the vocabulary interface is so crudely implemented (any lengthy section becomes extremely ponderous to edit, making it necessary to break them apart into separate tracks, which in turn becomes a pain to manage.)

Again, thanks to all for your comments, and any further ones are welcome.

windsurfer25: Thanks, yeah and that makes VSL a whole lot more attractive.
 
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To all: In poking around a bit more it looks like Kirk Hunter has a pretty doggone good bundle right now that would improve both my "base" orchestra and my string and brass sections, Diamond Orchestra plus ConcertStrings AND Concert Brass for $948. That would leave me to add a woodwind section at some point in the future and be pretty well-equipped. Unlike EWQL apparently KH is intended to sound dry, leaving more mixing flexibility.

I'm extremely happy with the quality/price of Kirk Hunter Strings Diamond Collection (of course I got this for dirt cheap on their last group buy) and it's quite an inspirational library. Whichever product you decide to choose, a little patience in waiting for a sale could save you quite a bit. More importantly John B., I'd like to know how I can also stumble into some cash?? (clumsiness comes very naturally to some of us, but can never seem to land ourselves in cash)

Well, re: coming into some money, there was a path that had to be traveled in order to get there, and it was FAR from easy. In fact, since I suffer from heart failure it just about broke me (not financially, literally). The money is a small inheritance from my mother-in-law, who passed away a month ago. I had to take care of her for nearly three years, dementia-and-all the last year, while my wife went off to work. She could be sweet, but when she wanted to she could be oh so sour. Anyway, caring for her took most of what little life energy I had for three years.
 
We'll probably just use most of the money to pay off debt anyway, so it remains to be seen whether my aspirations for a purchase are, hmmm....... how do I say it, POLITICALLY feasible in the eyes of my dear wife.
 
So be careful what you ask for, sometimes you get it at a price that's more than you bargained for.
 
Don't mean to be pedantic, I really appreciate your comments and those of everybody.