What is that makes a good mic preamp? There's such a large range to choose from. Starting at a 100 dollars/pounds to many thousands of dollars/pounds. I assume low noise and distortion are a major consideration, but even the relatively cheap ones seem pretty good at that. I've never had the chance to play with an expensive piece of kit. My experience up to know has been limited to three pre's at the bottom end of the price range- Behringer ultragain mic2200, a Joemeek VC 3Q and a Mindprint DI Port Preamp AD/DA converter. Each of these has it's own characteristics. What exactly could I expect for my money, If I went up a level or two?

Jim