As a Kemper owner (for now) I'm inclined to agree somewhat with the above sentiments.  That said, I'd say they sound "different" instead of "better" than the sims.  After all, they are simply "sims" too.  They just come in their own box.  For me, the difference is so slight and so meaningless that I much prefer to use the "in the box" sims.  I'm a visual guy and I prefer to see the amps, cabs, pedals and mics even if it's nothing more than eye candy.  I like working on them better than pushing little buttons and scrolling through screens of text on the small blue screen of my Kemp.  That's just me.  
 
Also, as someone who's been recording for lo these last 30 years, the "difference" is also not meaningful enough to make me want to go back to micing up amps and cabs in the studio the old school way when I can just have what I need with a few mouse clicks.  I am one lazy ol sumbeetch.  
 
YMMV.
 

Yeah, I get the laziness.  I've been at it for over 30 years myself.  That is part of why I did the little experiment over the last week with the sims.  I just came to the conclusion for my own purpose I like the sound of my amp and cab better with a couple mics on it enough that I can live with the headache.  I can pretty much set things up and leave it though, so it's not like I have to lug equipment around and work that hard for my stuff.  Also, I'm most concerned with a handful of core tones, and my amps get those.  If you really want every amp sound known to man, then the sims are a good way to get close.

I hadn't messed with software amp sims in a while, but last week after experiencing some issue with my POD HD (which seemed to be clipping internally on lightly overdriven patches, no matter what I tried), I decided to finally do what I had long been meaning to and recycled my old MacBook Pro and Focusrite Scarlett as an amp sim.
 

 
I installed a bunch of the software amp sims I own - Amplitube 3 and 4, Guitar Rig, S-Gear, POD Farm, Bias LE, and played with each of them for a while.
 
I liked each of them for some things but hated them all for some things. And I came to the very same conclusion that I always come to. Amp sims are hit or miss. I can't seem to pick one and have it work reliably for me. More often than not, they don't work, hence, I end up wasting a lot of time going back and forth between them.
 
And so, the following day, after a few attempts at recording a track using each of those amp sims, I decided to stop wasting my time and opted for the most reliable solution that I know.
 

 
I was surprised - almost disappointed - to realize that I had all the parts recorded and overdubbed in no time at all. I was expecting to spend the afternoon playing guitar...

In my line of work it would be impossible to just mike up my favorite amp in the studio and be done with it.  I have to be able to regurgitate everything from (as I often tell clients) Snoop Dog to the London Philharmonic...and all points in between.  Ton's of different amps, effects and guitars for many and varied styles of music.  
 
For me, Amp Sims...not unlike the DAWS in which they reside...are a dream come true.
 

yorolpal
As a Kemper owner (for now) I'm inclined to agree somewhat with the above sentiments.  That said, I'd say they sound "different" instead of "better" than the sims.  After all, they are simply "sims" too.  They just come in their own box.  For me, the difference is so slight and so meaningless that I much prefer to use the "in the box" sims.  I'm a visual guy and I prefer to see the amps, cabs, pedals and mics even if it's nothing more than eye candy.  I like working on them better than pushing little buttons and scrolling through screens of text on the small blue screen of my Kemp.  That's just me.  
 

I'm not trying to sell ya on Helix, but you really should check out the UI.  
The screen is a large/color display.
 
If you assign a DSP block to a footwitch (touch the desired switch and say OK), you can navigate between those blocks by touching the switches.  They're sensitive to touch (not just normal switches).
Navigation is super quick/easy.

• 4 sends/returns if you want to incorporate specific boutique pedals with Helix
• S/PDIF and AES/EBU output (in addition to balanced analog)
• Can load IRs for Cab sim and Acoustic body resonance (amazing on piezo guitar)

Have a favorite cab you like mic'd with a specific mic/s? Create/load your own Cab IRs.
Amazing flexibility...
 
 
 

yorolpal
In my line of work it would be impossible to just mike up my favorite amp in the studio and be done with it.  I have to be able to regurgitate everything from (as I often tell clients) Snoop Dog to the London Philharmonic...and all points in between.  Ton's of different amps, effects and guitars for many and varied styles of music.  
 
For me, Amp Sims...not unlike the DAWS in which they reside...are a dream come true.
 

 
Mind you, they are for me too. I wouldn't want to be w/o my POD HD, in spite of some issues that I've had with it. That is, not unless I could replace it w/ a Helix or Kemper.
 
I've always had better luck with hardware. I still have my old POD 2 (and I sometimes use it, too - it doesn't sound as scooped and processed as the HD).
 
And when it comes to trying crazy things, being creative and exploring, Guitar Rig and Amplitube are hard to beat.
 
Plus - as much as I love recording real amps, in a one room home studio operated by one man, I must say that I HATE all the cable that's involved - mics and headphones and guitars and pedals... Probably the least fun thing in the studio.
 
But I love the sound.

Jim Roseberry

yorolpal
As a Kemper owner (for now) I'm inclined to agree somewhat with the above sentiments.  That said, I'd say they sound "different" instead of "better" than the sims.  After all, they are simply "sims" too.  They just come in their own box.  For me, the difference is so slight and so meaningless that I much prefer to use the "in the box" sims.  I'm a visual guy and I prefer to see the amps, cabs, pedals and mics even if it's nothing more than eye candy.  I like working on them better than pushing little buttons and scrolling through screens of text on the small blue screen of my Kemp.  That's just me.  
 

I'm not trying to sell ya on Helix, but you really should check out the UI.  
The screen is a large/color display.
 
If you assign a DSP block to a footwitch (touch the desired switch and say OK), you can navigate between those blocks by touching the switches.  They're sensitive to touch (not just normal switches).
Navigation is super quick/easy.

• 4 sends/returns if you want to incorporate specific boutique pedals with Helix
• S/PDIF and AES/EBU output (in addition to balanced analog)
• Can load IRs for Cab sim and Acoustic body resonance (amazing on piezo guitar)

Have a favorite cab you like mic'd with a specific mic/s? Create/load your own Cab IRs.
Amazing flexibility...
 

^^^what he said...

In my Dreams I can have one...but ONLY in my dreams...LOL

In my dreams I would just have a chip in my head that would understand what exact tone I was trying to get and produce it. This is probably on the horizon. I may or may not live to see it. But I have no doubt that some form of it (probably not the chip in the head version) will come to fruition.

Ol Pal, how do you like Bias Fx Pro so far?

I haven't bought it yet.  Still trying to find out how well it behaves in Win 10.  Latest Googling says there are some issues there.