Alright here goes. I'm looking to make some quality sounding music and was about to buy HALion Symphonic Orchestra, but thought I would check in on opinions of fellow forumers first.

Anyone have any better ideas? I've tried the trial version of halion and the violin samples was like injecting warm chocolate directly into my bloodstream. I know I could probably get this free somewhere but I aint no thief.

any thoughts would be appreciated.

Blake Robinson (synthetic orchestra) has compiled a pretty solid list of software, hardware and samples that he uses. As some what of a musician, I consider his music to sound quite authentic -- not that it should mean anything.

http://syntheticorchestra.com/used/

i guess it mostly depends on what you'd be using it for and what your budget is. KVR lists it for €500, which is waaaaay too much unless you're straight up starting a multipurpose studio, but i can't actually find it for sale anywhere.