I too have all HoC stuff... exquisite.  They seem to be having sales more frequently... betcha get a holiday sale... I'll b sure to post it in deals...

Vastman
I too have all HoC stuff... exquisite.  They seem to be having sales more frequently... betcha get a holiday sale... I'll b sure to post it in deals...

that is promising, I was reckoning Id wait till an aforementioned spring sale to get the dm 307-

I've got my eye on it!  I signed up to the newsletter - definitely buy it at the next sale, but I'm going to try really hard to hold until then!
 
@MachineClaw -

MachineClaw
 
I guess it boils down to how much money do you have, what type of music do you do, what do you need to add to your toolbox.

What do you think the major differences between the two are?  I'm probably going to be making Ambient Cinematic style music...  Not sure how that plays in as I'm guessing both can be useful in that regard.   This is probably opening up a Fender vs. Gibson thing... but I'm really interested to hear what people have to say about the vibe and how they use it.  Omnisphere wasn't on my radar, but now I'm stuck.
 
Also, does anyone know if Spectrasonic runs deals like Heavyocity?  If not, might go with Omnisphere now and wait on Aeon...  
 

And this might be a really dumb question - but it seems like Omnisphere does a lot of the same stuff that Rapture does.  Am I wrong in thinking that it would be just an upgrade of that and not a totally new experience?

Omnisphere is its own category. Many other products overlap its turf (e.g. Aeon), but nobody else comes close to Omnisphere's breadth.
 
And it's not just a sample player, it's also a full-featured synthesizer. It's just that the synth can use one or two of literally thousands of "sound sources" (read: samples) instead of a generic oscillator. You will not live long enough to explore all of its possibilities.
 
The downside is that, unlike many Kontakt libraries, Omnisphere's samples are in a proprietary format so you cannot add your own files.
 
Oh, and Spectrasonics NEVER does sales.

Spectrasonics never runs sales as Bitflipper stated.  I got my Spectrasonics products through Guitar Center with incredible sales coupons to save on the retail pricing.  GC often has 15% off coupons but every once in a while they run a $75 off or $100 off coupon and those apply.  Or you can buy from Sweetwater and do the 3 payment plan to help with the payments.
 
Spectrasonics does do license transfers so sometimes you can find a used copy being sold on KVR forum.  I got my Spec Stylus RMS Expanded that was and saved a HUGE amount off retail price even with a $50 license transfer fee.
 
I would say it's hard to compare Aeon and Omnisphere in a side by side comparision, they can complement each other but one is a synth and one is a sample pack with layered samples and effects you can appy.  kinda different beasts.
 
I often think of Omnisphere as buying a Roland Fantom or a Yamaha Motif hardware synth but cheaper as it's software.  Quality sounds, easy to use and just inspiring.  for cinematic composition Omni plays very well as there area TON of pads and atmospheric sounds.  I have lost so many hours just loading up a sound or going through patches just freaking inspired by quality and the fun only to look at the clock and realize hours had past.  Very few of my VST synths do that, most are just tools and they work or I fight with them and get the sound I want.
 
Aeon is samples with a scripted Kontakt interface and you can apply different scripted effects or the Damage like Punish effects.  the Arp built into the package is easy to use and fun to play with.  There is definatly a character to the sounds though, sometimes you can get a sameness from playin with Aeon.  The character is quality and the production of the interface and documentation is really good.  As with most scripted Kontakt libraries you cannot load in your own sounds your stuck with what is available in the Aeon package but there is so much there and you can multi player the sounds, it's quite robust.  If you listen to the sound demo's of Aeon and you like what you hear - your gunna get that with a lot more under the hood and tweakability - but that is what your getting.
 
I would defiantly check out the Heavyocity AEON collection review by Sounds And Gear on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WWXdEeSwi8
it's 18 minutes and really covers a lot of the interface and different sounds, you get a feel for what's there in the AEON collection.
 

Thanks.  I watched that review.  Pretty awesome stuff, but Omnisphere has me hooked.  I think I'm going with that and I imagine it will keep me busy until next Black Friday...  (Or longer).  Seems to be more what I'm looking for.
 
I watched a few of the tutorials on the website and I was sold.
 
Thanks for all the input.

I have both Omnisphere and the AEON Collection.    They are entirely different.   But if you are aiming at ambient cinematic style, you cannot go wrong with Omnisphere.   I've had it years, and always discovering new things.   Its incredibly easy to use, yet extraodinarily deep if you want to go that far.   They never have sales, but there is nothing to touch it for value for money.  Without doubt the best bit of software I ever bought.     
 
AEON is much more limited, with only a relatively small number of sounds, and not so easy to edit, nothing like Omnisphere at all.    It does have its own unique sound though, and compliments Omnisphere well.  If you are thinking one over the other though, no contest, you will never regret buying Omnisphere.
 
 

Maybe I'm the only one who's ever experienced this, but I actually DID regret buying Omnisphere - at first.
 
That's because I'd really been looking for more bread 'n butter sounds and lead voices, not pads and weird effects. For my first couple weeks with Omnisphere I really thought I'd made a terrible mistake. 
 
But determined not to waste that money, I'd try to find a way to squeeze Omnisphere into every project. Over time, I bookmarked favorite patches and found more and more applications for it.
 
Then I learned to program the synth, first to modify factory patches and later to build my own. This turned out to be the crucial factor - many Omnisphere patches are so thick that they need to be dialed back to find their place in the mix.
 
Fast-forward 3 years, and today Omnisphere is a vital component in my creative process that I'd truly hate to be without.

That's all great input.  I've been creating sounds in Rapture and have finally figured out how to get close to what I am envisioning in there.  It's not very easy to use.  I know that Omnisphere has the sampling side of things, but is the synth side basically similar to rapture?  
 
Also, I've found a bunch of places where you can buy additional patches - like this:
 
http://www.audiority.com/
 
Any of you have any experience with these?  It's kind of cool that these seem reasonably priced - you can buy a set of patches for Under $15.