EXS 24 Logic Sampler Users Group

Hello all,
Ok I did search the archive regarding this issue and didn't get that
much info.  My question is to those who have made the switch entirely
or partly from hardware samplers.  I understand items like
integration, file managment, larger amounts of usable sample ram, and
24 bit sampling put the hardware units into obsolesence.  I wouldn't
argue that for anything.  My question is how does it sound compared to
the hardware units?  How flexible is it to program?  Users of EMU EIV
and Kurzweil K2000/2500 series comparisons especially.  I have a E4XT
Ultra.  Aside from the file managment and user interface I couldn't be
happier.  Many softsamplers including EXS are fairly flexible for
modulation but how does it compare to the EMU EOS or the Kurzweil VAST
architecture?  The softs also have filters some more than other but
can they compare to the EMU's Z-plane filters?  The previous post I
dug up on this subject said the soft samplers couldn't compare yet but
those posts were pretty old.  What's the state now?