Arturia V Collection 11 Review: Is It Worth the Upgrade?
By now, Arturia’s V Collection has become a staple in the plugin world—an ever-growing museum of synth history, preserved and digitized with stunning attention to detail. But let’s be honest: not every update is a thrill. Some versions feel like maintenance releases—some UI polish over here, an update over there. Useful, sure, but not exactly inspiring. V Collection 11 is different. This is one of the few times where the update brings in new instruments that aren’t just nice to have—they might actually change what kind of music you make. One is a long-time wishlist item for dance producers. Another pushes the company into a genre-focused space they’ve only flirted with before. And there’s a deeper rethinking of some of Arturia’s more experimental tools that makes them finally click in a new way. If you’ve slept on the last couple of V Collection announcements, I don’t blame you. But this one? It’s worth a closer look.
Arturia V Collection 11 Review: What’s new? And is It Worth the Upgrade?
JUP-8000 V
Pure LoFi
MiniBrute V
The Augmented Series, Reinvented
SynthX V
What About V Collection Intro?
Alternatives to the V Collection
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something through these links, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
JUP-8000 V
This is the one that got people talking. The Roland JP-8000 has been a longtime wishlist item for producers in the know—especially those rooted in trance, techno, and early 2000s dance music. Unlike the Minimoog or the Prophet that have been endlessly emulated, the JP-8000 always felt like a bit of a ghost in plugin form: requested often, delivered rarely, and usually with caveats (and YES, I’m looking at you Roland Cloud!).
Arturia’s JUP-8000 V finally brings it to the masses, and more importantly, they nail the sound. The Supersaw oscillator—the one that powered so many anthems—is alive and well here, but what’s impressive is how much character this synth has beyond the presets. It’s sharp, it’s digital, it’s unapologetically of its time.
But Arturia didn’t just stop at emulation. The JUP-8000 V adds a modern modulation section, a powerful sequencer, and a tidy advanced panel that borrows from Pigments’ workflow without cluttering things up. It’s more flexible than legacy VA synths like Sylenth1 and feels much more immediate than something like Hive 2. If you’re making hard trance, techno, or anything rave-adjacent, this one could easily become your go-to. It’s not just a nostalgia trip—it’s a workhorse.
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Pure LoFi
This might be the most unexpected addition to V Collection 11—and the one that signals Arturia’s future more than any other addition. Pure LoFi isn’t based on a specific piece of vintage gear. Instead, it’s an idea, built around the aesthetic of degraded, dusty, vibe-forward production. Think cassette warble, hissy samplers, warped tape machines—all baked into an instrument that’s part sampler, part synth, part FX unit. It feels less like a tribute and more like an exploration—closer in spirit to Arturia’s Augmented Series than their more literal emulations.
What’s cool is how genre-specific it is. It’s clearly aimed at the LoFi hip-hop and ambient crowd—the YouTube-loop types, the score composers who want that nostalgic smear, the producers building hazy textures into their trap beats. You can do a lot with it, but it’s not a chameleon. It’s a sound sculptor for a mood that was everywhere a few years ago, and still lingers in the undercurrent of a lot of beat-based music.
Yes, the LoFi wave may have crested, but in a way this plugin refines what similar tools have been trying to do. If you’ve ever layered RC-20, SketchCassette, and a Kontakt instrument like Playbox together to get that VHS haze, Pure LoFi might simplify your workflow—and still sound better.
PS - Is it me or does the UI hint at Sonicware’s LIVEN LoFi 12?!
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MiniBrute V
If you think soft synths are too clean, too polished, too safe—MiniBrute V is here to make a mess of that. Based on Arturia’s own analog mono synth from 2012, this virtual version brings back all the gnarl, unpredictability, and aggression that made the original hardware so beloved. What’s fascinating is that this isn’t a museum piece. It’s not a vintage revival—it’s Arturia covering themselves, and in doing so, they’ve proved they can model their own sonic signature just as well as anyone else’s. The Brute sound, with its Steiner-Parker filter, wave-mixing oscillator, and gnarly Brute Factor feedback, is alive and wild here. It’s rough around the edges in the best way.
MiniBrute V also arrives at a moment when people are hungry for plugins that don’t just sound nice. Alongside the also-included MS-20 V, this adds some dirt to a collection that can sometimes lean too hi-fi. It makes a compelling case for monophonic synths in your plugin folder—not just as bass or lead machines, but as texture generators, FX monsters, and expression tools. And now that Arturia’s dipping into their own catalog, you can’t help but wonder: will we see a MatrixBrute V someday? A PolyBrute 12 in software form? It might just happen.
Download here
The Augmented Series, Reinvented
The Augmented Series always felt like Arturia’s weirdest move—and maybe their boldest. These aren’t traditional synths or faithful emulations. They’re hybrids, merging sampled acoustic instruments with synthesis engines in a way that blurs genre and function. And in V Collection 11, the whole series gets a proper revamp. Every instrument—Strings, Brass, Voices, Woodwinds, Grand Piano—is updated to version 2.0, with a new interface that finally makes the potential of these instruments easier to access. The new Play and Layer views feel more like Pigments, and that’s a good thing. This redesign helps the whole series feel like part of a larger creative toolkit rather than a scattered experiment.
But it’s not just a visual overhaul. Augmented MALLETS and Augmented YANGTZE are brand-new instruments in this release, and both are sonically rich in a way that makes you think less about their “augmented” origin and more about their creative potential. MALLETS blends vibraphones, marimbas, and bells with soft, swelling synth textures for cinematic or experimental layering. YANGTZE is more culturally specific, drawing from traditional Chinese instruments like the erhu, pipa, and xiao, but it’s not just about authenticity—it’s about emotion. The synth layering makes both instruments far more than sample libraries. If you’re scoring, sound designing, or just looking to add something unfamiliar to your palette, these could easily become your secret weapons.
Download here
SynthX V
SynthX V might be the most under-the-radar addition in V Collection 11, but don’t sleep on it. Based on the Elka Synthex—a cult favorite from 1980s Italy—this synth is best known for its shimmering PWM leads, lush stereo choruses, and haunting pads. It’s the kind of instrument that doesn’t show up on every “classic synth” list, but those who know it, really know it. Jean-Michel Jarre built entire sonic landscapes with it, and for good reason: it’s smooth, spacious, and full of character, with a voice all its own that sits somewhere between analog warmth and digital precision.
Arturia’s take stays faithful to the original while adding modern niceties like expanded modulation options, MPE support, and some extra polyphony under the hood. It feels vintage, but it doesn’t behave vintage—you won’t be wrestling with clunky controls or limited architecture here. Instead, it slides right into contemporary workflows, offering everything from crystalline ambient textures to thick synth-pop chords. It’s not the most hyped release in this bundle, but it might quietly become one of the most used—especially if you lean cinematic or synthwave.
Fans of analog synth tones will be happy to learn that the V Collection 11 also features a revamped version of the SEM V!
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What About V Collection Intro?
Not everyone needs—or wants—the full 45-instrument deep dive that is V Collection Pro. That’s where V Collection Intro comes in. This new tier is more than just a stripped-down version—it’s a smartly curated gateway into the Arturia ecosystem. You get ten instruments, including essentials like Mini V, Jun-6 V, Prophet-5 V, and the genre-bending new Pure LoFi. It also includes MiniFreak V, DX7 V, Stage-73 V, and two instruments from the Augmented series—plus Analog Lab Intro, which lets you explore a massive bank of presets from across the entire suite, even if you don’t own the full versions.
The trade-off? With Analog Lab Intro, you can play presets from other instruments in the collection but can’t fully edit or tweak them beyond macro controls. Still, for anyone on a tighter budget or just dipping their toes into software synths, Intro is genuinely useful. It’s not a demo pack—it’s a real production toolset, and a great way to get familiar with Arturia’s interface design, sonic character, and overall philosophy. And the upgrade path is always open if you fall in love and want to go deeper later on.
Download V Collection 11 Intro here
Alternatives to the V Collection
As powerful and polished as V Collection 11 is, it’s not the only game in town. Whether you’re after more niche instruments, a different price point, or a totally different creative philosophy, there are other bundles worth considering.
Native Instruments Komplete 15
Komplete remains the king of the all-in-one music production suite. While it leans more into sound design, scoring, and instruments like pianos, drums, and cinematic tools, it still delivers some strong synth options—like Massive X, FM8, Monark, and Reaktor. If you’re after variety across genres and want effects, orchestral tools, and more all under one roof, Komplete offers unmatched breadth. That said, it doesn’t focus as tightly on classic analog synth emulation as Arturia does—so it’s more of a Swiss Army knife than a vintage synth museum.
Cherry Audio Synths
Cherry Audio has made a name for itself with incredibly affordable emulations of vintage hardware synths. They may not always match Arturia’s level of polish or deep modulation, but the price-to-sound ratio is insane. Synths like the Atomika (Polivoks), Memorymode (Moog Memorymoog), and GX-80 (Yamaha GX1/CS-80 hybrid) are full of personality. If you’re on a tight budget or just want to pick and choose individual synths without buying a bundle, Cherry Audio is worth a serious look.
TAL (Togu Audio Line)
TAL doesn’t release flashy bundles—they release synths that punch way above their weight in sound quality. TAL-U-No-LX is a near-flawless Juno-60 clone that many producers swear by, while TAL-Pha is a rare perfect emulation of the Alpha Juno II. They don’t offer the sprawling collection that Arturia does, but each release is laser-focused and built for working producers who care more about sound than screens.
GForce Software
If Arturia covers the greatest hits, GForce covers the deep cuts. Their synths aren’t just about recreating the classics—they’re about pushing them into new territory. OB-E is a massive Oberheim homage with an almost orchestral spread. Their Minimonsta2 reimagines the Minimoog with more modulation than the original hardware ever dreamed of. And they often focus on sound design tools and quirky synths that Arturia hasn’t touched, like their new emulation of the Novation Bass Station. GForce is more niche, more specialized—but for some producers, that’s exactly the point.
So, Is the V Collection 11 Worth the Upgrade?
If you’re already deep in the Arturia ecosystem, V Collection 11 is more than just a routine upgrade—it’s a real creative expansion. The addition of JUP-8000 V alone answers years of requests from trance and techno producers, while Pure LoFi opens the door to genre-focused, mood-first sound design that’s rare in plugin form. MiniBrute V adds grit. SynthX V adds depth. The Augmented Series finally feels cohesive and inviting. This isn’t just a preservation effort—it’s a statement that Arturia’s still evolving.
That said, it’s not for everyone. If you already own a few of the individual instruments you love and rarely touch the rest, the full bundle might feel like overkill. And if your workflow leans more experimental, modular, or acoustic, other ecosystems might fit you better. But for producers, composers, and sound designers who want a near-complete suite of classic and modern instruments—with a rock-solid UI and tight integration across the board—V Collection 11 is as close to a no-brainer as it gets.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something through these links, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.