Spitfire Audio’s Spitfire Symphony Orchestra is the company’s flagship orchestral instrument, recorded in Lyndhurst Hall at AIR Studios. Besides strings, brass, woodwinds, harp, piano and percussion, a 2025 update added solo strings and Motif Brass, and it contains more than 600 playing techniques.
An orchestral instrument plug-in lets you play the sound of an orchestra, such as strings, winds and percussion, on a computer.
In this article we compare Spitfire Symphony Orchestra with 10 orchestral instrument plug-ins and rate how well it serves its purpose on three criteria. The basis is official manufacturer information.
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Score 3.8 / 5 (average of the 10 products compared: 3.3)
- Specs last checked
- 2026/09/27
- Instruments and techniques
- Solo included, 600+ techniques
- Microphones
- 4 mics
- Size
- About 368 GB
- Price (store, date)
- ≈$667.31 [Official, checked Oct 26]
Summary
Among the 10 orchestral instrument plug-ins, Spitfire Symphony Orchestra is rank A. The ranks run S, A, B and C, and A is second from the top. Averaging the scores for each criterion (out of 5, with the one criterion that matters most for the purpose counted double) gives 3.8.
Strengths
- Range of instruments and techniques (5 points): there are many instruments and playing techniques, so you can express detail.
Things to keep in mind
- Light on storage (2 points): it needs a very large amount of storage, so check the free space on your computer.
Who it suits: people who want to program a full, film-style orchestra, solo instruments included.
Main features of Spitfire Symphony Orchestra
A complete orchestra
This is Spitfire Audio’s longest-running orchestral instrument, with strings, brass, woodwinds, harp, piano and percussion. The strings contain 175 playing techniques (including 9 kinds of legato) played by 60 players, and the manufacturer explains that there are more than 600 techniques in total. It suits cases where you want to build a rich, film-style piece with a single product.
Solo strings and Motif Brass added in 2025
The 2025 update added solo violin, viola and cello. It also added Motif Brass, made up of 3 trumpets, 4 horns and 5 trombones (7.8 GB). The performance legato, which joins notes to follow your playing, has also been updated.
Four microphone positions
The strings, brass and woodwinds were recorded at four microphone positions: Close, Tree, Ambient and Outriggers. You can mix from a close sound to the ambience of the hall to create a sense of distance that suits the mood of a song.
System requirements and size
It runs in the free Kontakt Player and needs the Spitfire Audio App. The total download is about 368 GB, which is large, so check the free space on your storage first.
Video: “Introducing: Spitfire Symphony Orchestra Discover | Spitfire Audio” (official Spitfire Audio YouTube channel; narration in English) Watch on YouTube
Where it is useful
- Using the solo strings and the brass Motif to make the main melody stand out
- Switching between the 175 string techniques to give each scene its own expression
- Mixing the four microphones to decide the sense of distance in the hall
Rating by criterion
Range of instruments and techniques: 5 / 5
We look at the instruments recorded (including solo instruments) and the richness of playing techniques and legato, as stated officially.
It is stated to include solo instruments in all sections (strings, brass, woodwinds, harp, piano and percussion), with more than 600 playing techniques and performance legato.
Microphone and ambience adjustment: 3 / 5
We look at the number of microphone positions (mixes) you can choose.
Strings, brass and woodwinds can be chosen from four microphone positions: Close, Tree, Ambient and Outriggers (percussion, piano and harp have three to four).
Light on storage: 2 / 5
We look at the free space needed for installation (the less, the lighter).
The total download size is about 368 GB (10 GB of that is the 2025 update).
If “light on storage” matters most to you, BBC SO Discover (5 points) is a better fit.
How we score (Orchestral instrument plug-ins)
| Criterion | Basis | 5 pt | 4 pt | 3 pt | 2 pt | 1 pt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range of instruments and techniques | The instruments recorded (including solo instruments) and the richness of playing techniques and legato (as stated officially) | All sections plus solo instruments, with 400 or more techniques or rich legato | All sections, with 300 or more techniques or stated to have rich techniques and legato | All sections, with basic techniques | Only some sections and techniques | — |
| Microphone and ambience adjustment | Number of microphone positions (mixes) you can choose | 10 or more | 5 or more | 3 to 4 | 2 | 1 (cannot choose) |
| Light on storage | Free space needed for installation (the less, the lighter) | 1 GB or less | 50 GB or less | 200 GB or less | 500 GB or less | More than 500 GB |
Each criterion is scored from 1 to 5 on how well the product serves one goal: making music such as game and video background music, or strings for pop songs, on a computer. Scores follow the conditions in the table above, and the rank is based on an average in which "Range of instruments and techniques" counts double. "Light on storage" is a guide to how easy the product is to use for people with little free space on their computer, and it is lower the more is recorded. The basis is official manufacturer information (EastWest does not publish the number of instruments and techniques for its two products, so we judged from the official description). Sound quality has not been compared by ear, so it is not scored. Price is not part of the score. Features that cannot be confirmed from the manufacturer's or a retailer's description are scored as if absent.
Spitfire Symphony Orchestra system requirements and getting started
| Operating system | Windows 10 / 11, macOS 11 or later (Apple Silicon supported) |
|---|---|
| Plug-in formats | Runs in the free Kontakt Player. The Spitfire Audio App is required |
| Standalone | Kontakt Player standalone |
| Other | About 368 GB of download, 4 GB or more of memory (6 GB recommended for large instruments) |
Checked on the manufacturer’s official pages on October 17, 2026.
Compared with other orchestral instrument plug-ins
Click a heading to sort. On a phone, the table scrolls sideways.
| Product | RankAvg. score | Instruments and techniques | Microphones | Size | Free | Price (store, date) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spitfire AudioBBC SO Discover | C 2.5 | 34 instruments, 47 techniques | 1 mix | 360 MB | Free | Not listed |
| Spitfire AudioBBC SO Core | B 3.3 | 44 instruments, 344 techniques | 1 mix | 28 GB | Free version available | $449 [Official, checked Oct 26] |
| Spitfire AudioBBC SO Professional | A 4.0 | 67 instruments, 468 techniques | 12 mics + 3 mixes | 632 GB | Free version available | $999 [Official, checked Oct 26] |
| EastWestHollywood Orchestra Opus Diamond | A 3.8 | All sections + solo | 6 mics | 944 GB | — | $209 (sale; regular $399) [PB, checked Oct 26] |
| EastWestSymphonic Orchestra Platinum | A 3.5 | All sections + legato | 3 mics | 194 GB | — | $104 (sale; regular $199) [PB, checked Oct 26] |
| Spitfire AudioSpitfire Symphony Orchestra | A 3.8 | Solo included, 600+ techniques | 4 mics | About 368 GB | — | ≈$667.31 [Official, checked Oct 26] |
| Spitfire AudioAlbion ONE | B 3.0 | All sections, 63 techniques | 4 mics | 55.7 GB | — | ≈$533.58 [Official, checked Oct 26] |
| Orchestral ToolsBerlin Free Orchestra | C 2.3 | 33 instruments, 67 techniques | 1 mix | 3 GB | Free | Not listed |
| Orchestral ToolsBerlin Orchestra Full | A 3.8 | Solo included, 800+ techniques | Multiple mics | 404.4 GB | — | ≈$895.61 [Official, checked Oct 26] |
| Orchestral ToolsBerlin Orchestra Pro | A 3.5 | 141 instruments, 1,200+ techniques | Multiple mics | 538 GB | — | ≈$1,568.16 [Official, checked Oct 26] |
Features checked on each manufacturer's official website on September 27, 2026. Check the store page behind the buy button for the price.
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