I recently completed a diy load box so I can run my recto > reactive load > line out to my axe FX for effects > matrix solidstate power amp > cabs.
Way overkill for home use, and too cumbersome for anything else, but it works fantastically well, and I can now use effects, eq, and gate after the amp without the phasing issues of the amps loop, and I can turn the recto to ear-bleeding levels into the load.
with the master up higher than I can play at home (still only around 9:00 or a bit higher, deafening in the room), the amp smooths out quite a bit, and the difference with loop on vs loop off is not so bad. Still a big tone change but not bad, just different.