Well dude, for 300 bucks you're better off to keep it and save up some more. I am personally not aware of anything of quality in that price range, or should I say anything better than what you could get on an O.K. soundboard.
There are a lot of good posts here that discuss different pre's and their advantagesdisadvantages. I suggest you go to the site search and look through some of the posts. You will find it to be a big help in your search for a good deal on a pre.

Steve.

thnx steve

actually i just read a Sex! topic that i missed before ^^
in process i once again have focused on a dmp3 pre, just as I thought before

now, the second part of my qestion - is there any decent pre with an ad/da converter and a coax digit out in a 300 bucks range?

Elf, I'm afraid th e"more for less theory just doesn't apply here. I have heard the alesis unit is allright but I don't know about price.
I wouldn't make your decision based on price, if it was up to me. I would make it based on quality, and tone. Good preamps make good sounds with good mics, but even with an ok pre, if you know what your doing, the recording eill sound fine. It's not the gear, it's the ear.
Buy the right thing from the getgo!

Steve.