Delay and Reverb were the last holdouts in rack gear (Well, for effects, I still have a rack mount power supply and reactive load/attenuator/IR loader in a 2U rack on my head)
Why did I switch from rack gear? Mainly, because I just plain don't want to program anymore. I don't use a ton of effects, so a few stomp boxes are fine. That switch was easy for the most part, overdrive, phaser and flanger (which I rarely use, but nice to have) and a gate at the end of the chain and I'm good. But, delay and reverb, that was tougher. I've gotten used to delay and reverb in parallel even though I can live with delay -> reverb, but to my ear, it's so much cleaner in parallel. And that's harder to accomplish on a pedalboard.
On guitar, I could live without reverb, but playing electric violin more, I really like some reverb on the violin.
I ended up stumbling across the NUX Atlantic Delay and Reverb, and that ticked all of the checkboxes I wanted, and even one I did not expect! There are some good reviews and demos on that pedal out there, but here are some of the things that I really like about it that are glossed/passed over on most of the demos:
Routing: You can choose: Delay -> Reverb. Reverb -> Delay. Parallel. Awesome, and easy to setup.
Cabeling: Like most delays, it has an input, and 2 outputs for stereo. However, I run mono, and one really killer feature is that if I use a send return cable: A single Y cable with 2 1/4" mono in the effects send and return on my amp and a single 1/4" TRS in to the input of the pedal. Sweet! One less cable to manage.
. I like that a lot.
Switchable level from instrument (-10db) to line level (+4db). Anyone who's tried to use a pedal in an amp effects loop that expects line level knows the trauma that can involve. :O
Now, for the other features that are covered elsewhere:
3 Different delays: Tape, analog, digital. Labelled as 60s, 70s and 80s. They all sound really good. The 80s has just a hint of modulation on it, but it's pleasing and not overbearing. And they are really well balanced, even with higher regenerations and mix levels of 50% and a bit higher, they don't get in the way of the dry signal. They are really easy to mix in. And they are also all tap tempo capable. Very nice.
3 Different reverbs: Spring, Plate and Hall. Like the delays, they all blend in nicely without being overbearing. I am actually coming to like a bit of the reverb even on my crunchy rhythms, which I have never used before! And the reverb on/off button doubles as a hold button for the spring and hall, and shimmer for the plate. I have not used that much, but I might play with it a bit and might even experiment with some ambient stuff.
What I like most about it, is that is is really easy to use and it just sounds good. No, you cannot get deep in to it. For delay you have: Mix, Feedback and Time (and can tap the tempo) and for the reverb you have Mix and time so no advanced parameters like ducking, EQ, pre-delay but the built in parameters are very well chosen.
I don't see it being enough for someone who wants to do crazy ambient stuff, or if you want things like Lukather style circular delays, but if you want a great sounding delay and reverb that fits in a mix, it is well worth a look at, and hard to beat for the price.