Designated mic pre vs mixer mic pre's

So I'm looking for a mic preamp. My budget is about $200. I found a cheap 2-channel m audio one, but some of the reviews for it said it was lacking. One even went as far as to say that he noticed very little difference from his mixer preamps, therefore, the money could just be spent on a nice-ish mixer. What I'm wondering is this: Does anyone know of a decent mic pre (preferably 2-channel) for about $200? Or should I just buy a lower line Mackie mixer? I've always heard good things about them, and this way, I get some EQ options as well. Thanks for any help.

for that sum of money, it's not worth even bothering.

save up.
get what you really need and want, and do it right.

gonzo said:

for that sum of money, it's not worth even bothering.

save up.
get what you really need and want, and do it right.

Click to expand...

Yep

Thank you both for the sound advice. I'll admit, I'm getting a bit hasty. I've been wanting to put this album out for like 3 years now but have been too broke to afford everything. I'm on the tail end of the stuff I need to buy. Normally I'm very patient and do save up instead of getting something cheaper and lackluster sooner than waiting for something that's worth it. But I looked into this mixer: http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Mackie-402VLZ3-Compact-Audio-Mixer?sku=630342 To me, it looks awesome. It's nothing more than I need and it's gotten great reviews all around, except for like 1 person. Do either of you have an opinion on it? As I said, I think it looks fantastic. Like it was tailored especially for me.

Double yup. You can get a pair of pretty good sounding preamps for right under $500 in the Really Nice Preamp.

Bob

honestly, having owned everything from art tube pres, 1093's, your best bet is to save if you can't wait any more, art tube pre w/ v3 or presonus blue tube is where it is at

I don't know. I personally can't stand ART anymore when I found out all their stuff is starved plate. I don't have a huge problem with it, I just really hate it when a company is blatantly lying to me. However, everyone does say the sound quality is really good. Some of their quality control stuff really bugs me too. I opened up one of the preamps I got from them and I swear, everything was soldered in at an angle.

I have the ART Tube MP and its really not all that bad.Warms things up a bit.