The build quality of the M80 is very good.

The pre's are relatively transparent.

Not a bad investment.

Would you say it's a step up from the Tampa and DMP3?

I can't say with authority.
I've never used either of the pre's you mentioned.

I wouldn't tell you to sell what you have, either way - you can never have enough toys, ya know...

Hi. This was the one with the Jensen transformer but I've decided not to get it.
To be perfectly honest, I am really happy with my DMP3 and Tampa and like the fact that they both have their own sound. I also like the versatility of the Tampa and the different sounds I can get.

The Presonus M80 cost £200 ($400)
I could have sold my DMP3 for £50-£100
I could have sold the Tampa for £150

So this is an older M80? I dont think they've made that one with the Jensens in a long while. If so, this is the ONE to have.

Wow, an M80 with Jensens for $400!!!

You could swap the socketed opamps for LT1357s ($40),
have Presonus completely go through it, and replace any faulty part for ($75) (it's their policy)

So for just over $500, you could have had 8 wonderful preamps!!! (That blows away any M-Audio pre)

Where's my tax return money???
:(

Would the M80 have been a noticeable step in audio quality?

The fact that you state you can hear the difference in the DMP3 and the Tampa leads me to believe that you would have heard a difference with the M80.

Most new recordists dont realize that you need to train your ear to the subtleties of gear before you can understand what differences there are in any two pieces.

The greatest difference in the M80 would show at mix down where the iron in its signal path would show a LACK of buildup of undesired anomilies and would naturally have a benefit of greater separation of instruments as well as clarity.