I know there will probably be a lot of differing opinions on this and it's ultimately about taste and technique - however...
 
I'm not a classical composer, but I've read a few books about orchestration and like to think that I'm hobbyist classical composer...  I've been doing some scoring for some projects, but they have not been orchestra scores and I've used mostly Omnisphere for those.  I'm hoping some projects that are in the works will give me the opportunity to use some more traditional scoring sounds.
 
I currently own Hollywood Strings, Woodwinds, and Brass Silver editions.  I like them enough, but I want to buy something more. I'm interested in Symphobia and am interested in other opinions.  Do you like it?  Also, between Symphobia 1,2,and 3...  What's your favorite? What would you recommend I buy?  Are there any other suggestions out there? 
 
Symphobia is really pushing my budget...   

i personnaly went for albion series (1, 2, 3)  but if i would choose the best symphobia serie , it would be the first , solid , and complete !!!
 
be sure to also consider : http://forum.cakewalk.com...kthrough-m3345452.aspx

While not cheap, Albion One is a very nice fOrchestral Tool.

I have East West, but only about 10 products, and they are good,
and especially good when on sale.

Vienna Symphonic also has a good reputation....but very pricey...

There are a lot of tools out there...ranging in price from free to thousands...

I think the first thing you need to ask is, what are you missing? Since you have silver editions of the EastWest Hollywood series, I'd look into upgrading them to Gold. There you basically have everything you need to write pretty much everything that uses an orchestra.
 
So what are you looking for? A different sound? Something for fast and easy writing? Something bigger? Something special?
 
All of the scoring tool packs have a different character and their real differences come from the fact that they have a slightly different sound. Spitfire Albions are recorded at Air Studios, Orchestral Tools Metropolis at Teldex. Symphobia's are for the quick and easy writing and are not for traditional orchestra writing. Vienna Symphonic Library is recorded very dry and silent, so they need a bit of work with a good reverb, but are excellent for layering.

Kuusniemi
I think the first thing you need to ask is, what are you missing? Since you have silver editions of the EastWest Hollywood series, I'd look into upgrading them to Gold. There you basically have everything you need to write pretty much everything that uses an orchestra.
 
So what are you looking for? A different sound? Something for fast and easy writing? Something bigger? Something special?
 
All of the scoring tool packs have a different character and their real differences come from the fact that they have a slightly different sound. Spitfire Albions are recorded at Air Studios, Orchestral Tools Metropolis at Teldex. Symphobia's are for the quick and easy writing and are not for traditional orchestra writing. Vienna Symphonic Library is recorded very dry and silent, so they need a bit of work with a good reverb, but are excellent for layering.

Yes!  I think I should spend some time really figuring out what I need.  I guess it's hard for me to justify spending 600 on upgrades...  Am I really getting that much more with Gold?  I am thinking about getting the silver version of Percussion just to round everything out.
 
However, I think what I really want is the preset ensembles.  As I learn more, I'll be able to create my own, but I think it would be nice to have those presets ready to go.
 
The Albion series looks great!  Plus, I'm a teacher and could get a 30% discount.  Which makes a $350 price tag for Albion One very attractive...  I could get One and Two for the same price as Symphobia.
 
 
 
 

You may want to check what the upgrade to Hollywood Gold gets you on top of Silver. And while you're checking, you might think about the older EastWest Symphonic Orchestra, including solo instruments. Still sounds great at bottom price.

Fleer
You may want to check what the upgrade to Hollywood Gold gets you on top of Silver. And while you're checking, you might think about the older EastWest Symphonic Orchestra, including solo instruments. Still sounds great at bottom price.

I've looked into it.  I would definitely be interested in having the Gold edition, but I'm not sure I'm up for paying that much for an upgrade.  I looked into Symphonic Orchestra when I bought the Hollywood stuff - however, users on this forum suggested that the Hollywood stuff was significantly better.
 
In the end, I have a bit of a bitter feeling about EWQL.  It's nothing big, but a bunch of little things - if it was only one it wouldn't be a problem.  The ILOK thing is odd.  The instruments are really heavy on the system.  I emailed customer service once and they didn't respond.  Their pay structure is funky to me - they have sales so many times throughout the year - I don't understand why they just don't mark their products down to reasonable prices.  The different editions seem to be designed to just take away features for no reason other than to entice you to buy more.  I don't think they did it to allow users who might have less money to still get some of the experience...
 
I don't get that impression from many other Virtual Instrument companies.  For instance - Spectrasonics gives free updates to patches.  When I've emailed them, they always respond within a day or two.  You can just really tell that they care a lot about audio and the business side of things is second priority.  No scams.  I really liked how I got a free upgrade to Omni2 because it had been announced when I bought Omni1.
 
Spitfire Audio gives me a similar impression.  Being a high school teacher, I often get educational discounts, but every now and then I get the opportunity to make money.  It's never been a problem, but it's always in the back of my mind.  Spitfire expressly says "If you get a side gig for some extra cash - great!"  That little stuff means a lot to me.  
 
Enough of the rant...  I think I just want to try a different company besides EWQL.  Although the Composer Cloud option is very enticing.

I think you're right, if you're not considering prices. 
You can't find Spectrasonics lower than 20% off list price, or Spitfire lower than 30% off, so you'll always be paying at least $300 to $400 for Omnisphere or Albion. And that includes any educational rebates.
Compare that to EWQL's educational pricing, even for the Hollywood collection. When I got their Complete Composers Collection, the price I paid for Hollywood Strings Gold, Hollywood Brass Gold and Hollywood Woodwinds Gold was $40 each.
That's why I gladly accept iLok or even slow support, although my experience with their support department was just fine. They were very responsive indeed. 
 

ARK 1 is a brand new huge library by the highly acclaimed Orchestral Tools (Berlin Strings).  It is very powerful, it's "CAPSULE" GUI/control system is just smashing...and intro price of 299 euros is a huge savings till end of the month...  we have a couple threads on it in software and deals and VIControl is all ga ga about it too... 160 GB, choir, sectioned orchestra, percussion, drums, guitar, bass... a real powerhouse... 22 pages and growing at VIC.  I think ARK is by far the deal of the year whereas Symphobia is shall we say, a bit dated...Symphobia 1 is the best of the Project Sam line but pales in comparison to ARK1...  (I have both OE 1&2 and rarely use them)
 
AlbionOne is lovely but cost more for way less... and you just get ensembles
 
 
 

Vastman - you're not making this easy on me!!!
 
I still Albion is probably the way to go for me.  I can get an educator discount, which makes it slightly cheaper than the Ark.  Plus, I think I'm actually looking for some more subdued options.  The Loegria and Uist seem like they would fit into many of my projects easily...  
 
But I'm also digging into my silver set of EWQL and getting great results.  I might just sit on this one for a bit...  
 
I appreciate all the input.