I am looking for a replacement for Miroslav, which refuses to run on my new box. 
 
I'm considering Garritan Personal Orchestra as a replacement. It's not my first choice, but it's the one I can afford. Listening to demos, it seems wimpy when it comes to forte articulations in both brass and strings. And no choirs. OTOH, it's got a decent palette of instruments, both solo and sections. And it does have cowbells.
 
It's $129 at Sweetwater, and I know of nothing else in that price range that might serve as a single-solution general-purpose orchestral library. What do you think? Keep saving up for something better?
 
Also, can anybody clue me in about the "keycard" thing? Is this a Waves-type DIY USB dongle?

I hate to be the one to suggest it, Sample Tank 3 could import your Miroslav. I only have Sample Tank 2.5 and the last time I checked it was still working. Strange how some people have a ton of problems with it and some don't. In fairness someone like you would use it...mine just sits on my hard drive waiting to be needed.

I found this thread on the GPO forum, in which GG himself asks for enhancement requests for GPO5. Apparently, the most-often given answer is "better strings". Since strings are my primary focus, this does not encourage confidence in this potential choice.

Clint, ST3 was actually my first instinct, as it's the logical choice to replace ST2.5. But listening to the demos, every patch I heard sounded dull, making me think a lot of tweaking would be necessary. The great thing about Miroslav is that it always fit with minimal fuss. I believe it's possible to import ST2.5/Miroslav/Sonik Synth instruments into ST3, so maybe that's a justification.
 
But the biggest barrier is that it's $350, a bit of a stretch. I've got a stack of hospital bills sitting here and $350 would pay for half of a CT scan.
 
Correction: I see that the upgrade price from 2.5XL is only $200. That does make it more attractive.
 

Don't you qualify for the ST3 upgrade? If so, it is $120 (in cart) at jrr http://www.jrrshop.com/ik-multimedia-sampletank-3-upgrade. If not you know it will go on sale in the not too distant future.

Bit,
 
If 350 would pay for half a CT scan, you are in luck relatively in this sick, abominable healthcare system.
I got GPO and Miroslav. Each with its strength and weakness but a washout in end point capacity under the hood.
 
For me, bottom line these days is what you do with the samples using what you already got, without having to spend a lot of money that won't really add anything in the long term. I can take Miroslav to East/West function by properly layering and panning the samples, couple vst effects in the chain.
 
GPO is cool, but do you really need it. If you already have Miroslav, would focus on the expanse of creative soundscapes by maximizing the product you already have. Spend the money instead on debts if it will keep the creditors at bay and get you in the clear.
 
John
 

heck...aren't you a keyboard player?  Dig out the old Roland orchestral expansion cards (vol 1 and 2), and pop 'em into your JV1080. 
Sarcastically...but half serious, I subscribe to what John says above...that it's in the operator...which I know you know how to drive.  Shoot...that rack stuff (technology) aint that old, is it?  In "digital years"...I suppose it is... but...
BTW, I use my JV2080 all the time....cause it holds 8 expansion cards ;-D
 
Oh...you want to probably mess with the MIDI....bummer.

Yikes, $119.20 at JRR! Thanks for the tip, Steve. That may seal the deal. Thirty bucks less than GPO and it's got cowbells.

Steinberg has a sale on HALion Symphonic Orchestra.  regular $99 but it's 50% off with
BLACKWEEKEND14 coupon code.
 
does work as a standalone VST or can be used with HAlion sonic if you have that.
 
sale ends this weekend so ya'd have to be fast probably.
 
there is a trial to test it out prior to buying which is a plus.
 
I have the trail that came with my Cubase 7.5 discs. 
 
it's not bad, sounds pretty good.  older product but the strings are okay and usable.  I thought they were better than the strings in Sampletank.  Not as good as the more expensive string packages.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I've decided to spring for ST3 after scook tipped me off to the JRRShop price. 
 
I'm confused, though (I think I've gone through the same confusion with every IKM purchase) -- what's the rest of the purchase process after "buying" the product from JRR? The email just has a license number and the instructions "please visit the company's website to register and download". But I see no download options at IKMultimedia.com, just a purchase dialog.