i'm with flamin-gitar on many accounts....
i use it, own it, and love it...have had it for many years and the only problem i ever had was the plastic washer on the input broke, and i had to replace it...
also like him, i use mine with a mesa boogie power amp, specifically, an older (early 90's i believe) 50/50...although i've never tried it with a marshall power amp....when i was younger on tour my amp broke, and the band we were out with had this setup and i used it every night and fell in love...
DI'ing with it WORKS, but i can't say that i've really tried my best to get insane amounts of success with it...just used it for scratch...
unlike him, i love the clean sounds i can get out of it...but i don't go for SUPER clean...i like a little mud in it...
i'd suggest buying one for the overall tone and versatility....
IF ANYTHING, i'd suggest buying a low wattage power amp (a 20/20 or something) and a low wattage speaker you can really crank that into...
then build yourself a simple ISOBOX with the speaker...you'll have far better success than just DI'ing that way, and it'll be just as quiet