I Bought the Sweetwater demo, just received it today. I cant complain about the price of 2600.00. I was told it was a store demo, not a return. But, its brand new. I have played it about 1 hour today in the variac mode through a Bogner 2x12 Helios cab dry with no no effects with my Luxxtone El Machete. So Far, So Good. Lots of gain, especially in Eclipse and Eclipse + mode. The Hot an 80's mode sound the same as the original Helios, but, i was playing that through a Bogner 4x12.
I am comparing this with the Friedman BE-50 Deluxe i just sold. I loved that amp as well, and probably will regret selling it. The Bogner has more gain than the BE50 even in the HBE channel. The Bogner is not as compressed as the friedman, thats why the Friedman is more tight and focused, its really suited for 80's Hard rock/80's Metal. The Bogner is more spongy(i have only played it with the Variac on) and again has lots of gain but it still retains clarity. Notes are really articulate in the Eclipse+ mode as well.
The clean channel is very good, not as good as the BE50, but good enough. I wish Bogner dedicated an EQ like friedman did, very simple Bass, Mid, Treb. Bogner's shares the EQ with the rest of the channels, although it has the 3 mode N B1 B2 switch.
Anyway, Have to give it more demo time!