Absolute 2 VST Instrument Collection?

I’m considering purchasing the Absolute 2 VST instrument collection from Steinberg; I note that it requires a USB e-Licenser. Does anyone have experience with these sounds? Would they make a good addition to the included HALion Sonic SE sounds? (I hope I’m not stepping on any toes asking the question, since the sounds are from Steinberg.)

This is coming from someone who’s mainly an orchestra/chamber music composer, with experience in Sibelius, Logic, Max, Kyma, etc. - but I’ve never used any external sample libraries. Thanks for any advice!

The Halion Sonic 2 soundset is different from Halion Sonic SE 2. HS SE primarily uses sounds from the Motif Classic (2001), while the ones from the full version of Halion Sonic 2 are on par with the Yamaha Motif XF and Montage, which are much newer synths. They’re definitely a noticeable upgrade over the stock HS SE sounds.

IMO Absolute 2 is the best affordable big box of acoustic instruments available right now.

That’s very helpful, thanks! A related question for anyone: if you’re using Dorico with Absolute 2 and you don’t have the USB e-Licenser handy, can you still use built-in sounds? Or will Dorico not work at all?

You can still use the HALion Sonic SE 2 sounds, as those are licensed by your Dorico Soft-eLicenser, but you won’t be able to use any of the Absolute sounds unless you have your USB-eLicenser connected.