If you can only afford one setup, you have to make the choice, based on your needs and the tradeoffs involved. The Tone Engine approach is more expensive than a single effects unit and tube amp, but quiet even when cranked, and unusually full-featured.
Credit debt is a bad entanglement.
I took a hit in my enthusiastic research but was forced to stop short of buying the final power amp and monitor. So you can build up your system or rigs at a more conservative pace. Which is still about a hundred times louder than I and my neighbors can stand. To get power tube saturation and speaker response at low levels, you can use a power attenuator such as the Marshall Power Brake or THD Hot Plate. You should plug straight into a 5 watt tube amp such as Kendrick's model or an old Fender Champ, and crank it up to trumpet level.