Line 6 has just upped the ante in the battle for amp modeller supremacy with the launch of its flagship Helix Stadium series, a pair of amp and effects modelling units for which the term “feature-packed” does not quite do them justice.
Ten years on from the launch of the first Helix Floor unit, Line 6 has radically reimagined the platform, upgrading the hardware, increasing the connections, and boosting the dynamic range on all of its analogue inputs. Even the headphones output has been improved.
Available as the huge Stadium XL Floor, complete with 12 footswitches and accompanying OLED scribble strips, and an integrated expression pedal, and the slightly more compact Stadium Floor, both with 8” touchscreens, the Stadium series is a quantum leap for Line 6’s amp and effects modelling – perhaps for electric guitar tone itself. And it is all delivered upon the back of Line 6’s revolutionary new AI modelling technology.
“Our powerful new platform isn’t just for more stuff; it was mission critical to help us deliver the single biggest leap Line 6 has made in its near 30 year history of modelling amps,” says Eric Klein, Line 6’s chief product design architect. “We call it Augora. But Augora isn’t HX on steroids. It is an entirely new subcomponent behavioural modelling methodology.
“There’s all-new tube emulation where we actually measure detailed parameters of the actual tubes used in these amps – voltages, currents, capacitance and more.”
Line 6 promises unparalleled authenticity in tube amp emulation. And yes, we have heard this before, but with each new flagship release from the leading amp modelling companies – be it from Line 6, Fractal, HeadRush, Neural DSP or Kemper – that has typically been the case.
Digital technology is capturing more details of what makes our beloved old-school analogue gear tick. We'll let Klein explain what makes the Helix Stadium different.
“We’ve invented a new way of modelling power stages, both push-pull and single-ended, in conjunction with the power supply so we can sample accurately capture the interaction between the signal and power supply,” he says.
“Agoura also models circuit feedback more accurately than has been possible before," continues Klein. “Even things like capacitance between runs of wiring within the chassis were accounted for.
“There’s also detailed plate and grid voltage data, all-new sag, bias, ripple behaviour simulation, double-precision tone stacks, inter-block communications so cab blocks can communicate back to the amp block for dynamic speaker impedance curves. And a lot more.”
There is a lot more. Like the tantalizing prospect of a Hype control that “morphs between ultra-authentic and idealised amps sounds”. Both units will come strapped with a proxy guitar amp, speaker cabinet, and effects cloning engine based in the cloud (yes, has wifi and Bluetooth, and an automation/playback engine called Showcase).
This might be Line 6’s great evolutionary leap of the 20ele20s but it isn’t leaving the legacy Helix platform behind. All of your old Helix and HX presets are compatible with the Helix Stadium units.
The Stadium XL is described as the “most comprehensive and integrated guitar processor” that Line 6 has ever made, and it has the stats to back it up. It offers a pair of variable impedance instrument inputs, with over 126dB of dynamic range. There is an XLR mic preamp with 128dB of dynamic range.
There is a ridiculous – read “professional” – amount of inputs/outputs, with support for four effects loops (again with 120dB of dynamic range), four external expression pedals (remember, this already has an integrated expression pedal), four external amp control outputs and up to four drum trigger inputs.
Although smaller, the Stadium similarly shares the dynamic range bona fides, and it has a cornucopia of connections around the back — where the XL supports four effects loops et cetera, the smaller unit supports two. That’s still a lot. Integrating your hardware pedalboard should be a breeze either way.
Perhaps the most newsworthy connection is the Nexus port. Both Helix Stadium units have one, and this connects to the Expand D10 (sold separately, priced $219) digital input/output expansion unit via a Cat6 cable and – as the name suggests – expands how you can use them with peripheral devices, guitar audio interfaces, mixers, Powercab active FRFR speakers and so forth.
The Helix Stadium range also includes a padded and water repellant gig bag backpack ($249) and the EX2 expression pedal ($149).
The Helix Stadium XL Floor is priced $2,199 while the Stadium will set you back $1,799. UK and European priced TBC. The Stadium XL ships in the autumn 2025, with pre-orders open from 25 June. The Stadium ships in winter.
For more details, head over to Line 6.
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