Kontakt 2 (incl vsl-lib) VS cheaper sw-samp + orch samplecds

[drjohnny79]

I plan buying Kontakt 2, mainly because of the included samplelibrary (read VSL!). K2 is quite expensive though, so I`m wondering if maybe there are better alternatives?

What would you recommend (s/w-sampler + samplerlibraries) for the price of K2?

Are there any good alternatives, when I want good orchestral emulation? From what I´ve heard so far, VSL is the best, although the "mini" Vsl library that comes with K2 has no solo violins and isnt like the big expensive VSL.

I know many like GPO but what I´ve heard from the demos so far just doesnt make me say "WOW"! (VSL demos on the other hand.. )

Thanx!