Yep google also tells me that Elvis is alive and well ​

 

lol, I understand your point. I guess I should have said "people have posted reviews/their usage/recommendations, including professionals who own the unit, on their own blog which you can find by Googling".

I don't have the Lexicon unit so I can't say if it sounds like hardware, but since the mentioned IR samples are free I don't think people are trying to bullshit that it sounds like the hardware. The IR sample is an actual recording of the hardware so it (and other IR samples of the hardware) will be the closest you'll ever get to a true Lexicon hardware unit without having the actual hardware.

How to make an IR with Altiverb: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAKuMLu5Dus

 

Summer discount on Lexicon: http://www.lexiconpro.com/en-US/promotions/lexicon-plug-in-to-summer-50-off-plug-ins-offer

 

The difference between algorithmic reverbs and IR revers is the same as using a sampled DI guitar routed through an amp sim and a sampled distorted guitar: algorithmic reverbs are generating reverb, whereas an IR is, basically, a sampled reverb, and as such, tends to be static. I prefer algorithms over IRs for "regular" music (pop, rock, etc.) and I tend to use Altiverb for film scoring stuff, especially since a lot of the orchestral samples I use have a "wet" option and it's easier to find a similar sounding "real" hall, switch off the early reflections for those samples with early reflections already on them, then have a separate Altiverb auxiliary track with the same hall and the early reflections on for everything else.

It's always a good idea to use sends for reverbs, rather than place one on every track; people wind up using fifty different reverbs that muddy up the mix and keeps every element separated, rather than having everything going to the same reverb and tying the mix together. I usually set up a room for drums and rhythm guitar and a hall for everything else. Then, I can set up a third reverb to use as a special effect that stands out from the "regular" reverbs.

There's actually a couple of reverb plugs on the market that use both algorithms (for tails) and IRs for early reflections. I know of one for sure: VirSyn's Reflect, though I could also swear that Valhalla might operate this way.