I have all the AD libraries I want and usually don't do much sound design or mangling.  I usually use direct outs and add my own FX but add in some AD room.  Is AD 2 better? Does it sound better?  Upgrade is pretty cheap right now but I have other things I need.  Any opinions?
 
Thanks!

I upgraded and I thought it was worth every penny / cent!
New kits are very good and come with the upgrade, or they did when I upgraded.
The browser has been improved as well.
A good upgrade and I like to support them anyway as I a have always found them a great company to deal with
Cheers
nigel

Love the upgrade, and was pleasantly surprised that you can drag old presets from AD1 into AD2. They really boosted the limits with the upgrade without losing how approachable and easy-to-use it is.

+2   I prefer the new UI, additional channels, the FX/layout routing, and the new kits are great.    The Transform feature is pretty cool too, similar to EZ2's ability to generate groove variations on-the-fly.
 

Do your old presets sound any better or different?

Do you need it? No. Is it worth it? Yes, if you want to grow your collection of kits. I could remain completely happy with AD1 but I'm glad I upgraded and got the Fairfax collection in the process.
 
Rocky

bluzdog
...but I'm glad I upgraded and got the Fairfax collection in the process.
 

Another +1 - love the Fairfax kit.  
 
I can't add much to how AD1 kits & presets translate to AD2 since I only got on board with AD by way of X3.
 

vintagevibe
Do your old presets sound any better or different?

All the kits sound better VV...they are quite stellar.
If you have a LOT of AD1 kits...it's a no-brainer..
33% off right now...If I were you I'd get the upgrade + 1 kit and get the Fairfax Vol 1.
It's $129 with 33% off making it $87.09....just the kits are normally $89.95 on the site.
So that's a steal!  The Fairfax is worth that alone...

If you already own all of XLN's libraries, then it's worth getting AD2 IMO. It is a great, and very flexible program and sounds amazing.

OK so I bought it.  I don't really hear much sound difference except for the new reverb but the did good job on hte update.  For $53 it really was a no brainer.   Thanks for all the feedback.
 
One question... how do you get the direct outs to be sticky like version 1?  They seem to be tied to the preset now which means I'll have to re-save all the factory and all of my patches!