LOL, I don't either Greg.  
 
I buy a lot of used gear these days.  The HD500 just came out in an updated version...the HD500x, with twice the processing power for FX.  I know a lot of HD500 buyers are kind of pd off about that and I am thinking the units will be showing up on the used market shortly.  Again, if you don't play with much for FX than an occasional delay or something, why would I need all the processing power.

Funny.... and typical....
 
Next time, bring your own headphones with you....and don't ask permission.... just do it.

Good idea Herb!

 That's a pretty lame explanation from the GC guys ,and one that certainly doesn't make sense.I don't think you got a very good playing example of what the unit can do in that setting.If you used one of their guitars that makes it even worse.  The POD sounds best through a full range amp which is why it sounds better on a good set of cans or from a decent PA or keyboard amp on stage. In the studio it sounds great on a decent monitoring setup. I never got a good sound from a POD through a guitar amp. I'm not saying it isn't possible but for me I bought a POD so I wouldn't need an amp. Yes I know you can hook one through a guitar amp which is usually hyped midrange and then you get whatever coloring is happening in the amp, not to mention the increased noise. For me it kind of defeats the whole purpose.One day I might consider something like the DT25 just as a tuned adaptable tube section made specifically for the purpose.
 
  I can get some nice amp tones through the PA I play through when I play it out,speakers firing from ceiling not speakers on sticks and that was using a really cheap DI box. I plan to look for a decent radial box,they are tough to beat. I think stereo/mono also can make a huge difference. Only taking left mono out into a guitar amp probably kills at least half the joy right off the bat.
 
 Youtube is a great place to hear what some have done with the HD500. There are a lot of these things on the market . Like you say a whole lot of gassers are going to want the HD500x and will try and sell their HD500 to get it. 
 
  You could take one home from GC .They have a 100% money back guarantee if you're not satisfied. You could play and tweak for up to 30 days at home.If no like..no buy. I have done this on a few occasions where really taking the time to try something out was almost impossible at GC.

I agree with the advice to bring your own headphones.
 
Our local GC has some pretty cool guys...
They make sure I get setup with whatever unit... and they leave me alone (just the way I like it).
They know if I like something... I'll buy it.
 
FWIW, Check out the Zoom G5.
IMO, It sounds better than the POD HD500... and it's less expensive.

We always ran our POD gear through either a Peavey Classic 50/50 or a VHT 2/50/2.  It added just a little coloring, but pretty much just what the gear needed to sound awesome.  In the studio, it went through active JBL EON's for exactly the same reasons Starise mentioned.

I was in Guitar Center two days ago, and frankly the retail store is a complete mess.   
 

1. My favorite strings that I have been playing with for 10 years are Dean Markley Signature Regular Size.  

• Guitar Center now refuses to carry these strings in their stores.  Why?  Cause these strings are kind of cheap.  They are only $4.99 a pack, and when I started playing with them, they were actually $2.79 a pack.  Online you can still buy them, but if you go into the retail store, you now need to choose from the assorted array of more expensive strings that Guitar Center will actually carry.  I only play nickel wound, and I really like Dean Markley, so I had to buy a $7.00 pack of strings.

    2. My favorite picks which I have been playing with four 13 years are Dunlop .96mm Gator Grips.
 

• Guitar Center, in its store, and online is trying to charge $5.95 for my favorite picks.  This is insane!!  I started using these picks during my 2nd or 3rd year of playing guitar.  These picks were like a $1 a pack.  Nowadays if you by them from sweetwater online you can get them for $3.95?  I had Guitar Center do a price match.

The inflation, and online stores have made shopping in brick shops a total journey to stupidity.  Its unbelievable.
 
By the way, Sam Ash brink n mortar is doing the same thing...  I was in there several months back, grabbed two packs of picks, and bit my tongue as I paid $12.  I couldn't believe it...   Its only in 2012 or something, that they started doing that with Gator Grips.   I've been trying to do 100% of my shopping online, but sometimes, "you just need some strings n picks."
 
Anyways, after that Sam Ash experience, I instantly became aware of the pick pricing.  That is why, when I was @ Guitar Cent last monday, I went right up to the register and said, "how much are these picks?"  Great..  I had my smartphone in hand, and showed them Sweetwater's price, and said, "match it."  

 The HD 500 just came down 100.00 new. You could get the zoom and the HD500 ;)
 
 Since I have the HD500 and some effects I have no need for the HD500x or whatever it is. I am quite happy with the HD500 when it's tweaked a little here and there. For me it was a no brainer because I had the Variax which talks to the HD500 in good ways. 
 
 I might change up when line 6  comes out with something a little more ground breaking than simply effects. Heck most of these kinds of units have an effect loop in the back including mine. If they ever come out with something like a chameleon copycat modeler, IOW something that I can take to a Marshall of my choice and simply copy that amp and store it and do it for a good price, I might pee myself. I know at least one company makes one now but it's way out of range for what I would be willing to pay.
 
 If you want good tone for not a lot of clams and have an ipad try Jamup pro. You will need something like their input device or the iRig to play it but MAN, some of those tones are nice. I haven't tried to record them yet, can't vouch for the quality there yet. Jamup has a similar thing to the pack idea that IK uses. They sell additional packs only they don't bug you to death to buy them like some others.

I haven't given up on the HD 500 yet, Starise, I really want to like it. I have all day next Thursday off, and 1/2 a day with no other family members around, so hopefully I will get up there with a set of my own head phones and get a better demo of the unit.

Starise
If you want good tone for not a lot of clams and have an ipad try Jamup pro.

The only clams I have now happen when I play - lol!