Well, as far as the obsolete thing goes, nothing becomes obsolete unless you stop using it. For the Virus products, their synths have been and still are very popular and very good sounding.

The TI is special because of how it integrates with the computer. You could even use it to control any soft synths you may get in the future.

As for the upgradability of soft synths...I haven't seen it. I've seen new versions, but you get charged for them. Still, a new VST is cheaper than a new synth.

Yes, soft synths are much less expensive than the TI Polar but I would imagine that there isn't one out there that does what the Virus does.

I love my synths old and new and the more I have the better. But I also like plug-ins and I been finding that if there is a sound I need and it's just a vst away, I'll load that rather than patching in one of my synths. That said, there is always the case where the VST just doesn't cut it so I have to go to the synth to get the sound I want.

So it comes down to, what will give you the sounds/functions you want. The Polar is $2500 bucks. That can buy you quite a few soft synths and probably give you a broader range of sounds...but if you never use them then it's a waste.

I don't think there is a VST synth that compares to the virus, other than the virus for the powercore. But there are some that come close.

http://www.robpapen.com/synths/albino/
http://www.sytrus.com

For some good advice, check out link removed. Search their forum because many people have asked if there is a vst out there that compares with the virus.

If it were me and I had that much money, I'd get a Poly Evolver or Andromeda before I get the Virus. Why have analog modeling when you can have analog. But the virus is pretty awsome and tops as far as analog modeling goes.

That's great advice. Personally I tend to be a fan of VSTi synths and I think you can get great results with them for most practical applications. 8-)