Universal Audio Preamps, -who loves them? Options

[holli]

Hi all, anyone out there have any experience of Universal audio preamps et el? Having been blown away with the UAD I looked into their preamps, they seem to be modelled on some great vintage design approaches.

More concisely, what are the pro'sand cons of the 2-620 vs. the 2108?

I'm mainly recording sax and want something to plug my U87 into, be nice to push some other sources through as well. I'm a big fan of the Rudy sound and some of the work that comes out of Avatar (Breacker and so forth). Does anyone who uses them regularly fancy penning a few thoughts on the matter. All the best, Holli.

[Fluddman]

This is a real pandoras box and your budget is a major issue as preamps range from $100 bucks to infinity.

I am currently considering purchasing some dedicated voice strips (preamps with a few other goodies such as compression, EQ and de-esser) in the under $2000 Australian dollar range (under US $1000).

The choice is daunting but I am narrowing it down to a few that are worth a second look such as

SPL Channel One
Focusrite Voicemaster Pro
TL Audio 5051
Drawmer TSI (Tubestation)

Of these only the TL Audio features more than one valve and the Focusrite I think is only tube emulation. All of these are really designed primarily for vocals but should be ok for accoustic instruments. I am looking for something that will be vastly superior to the pre's in my Mackie VLZ Pro (and they're pretty reasonable).

If anybody has been using one of these I would really appreciate your thoughts. I am leaning toward the SPL Channel One or the 5051 but would really appreciate getting feedback from an owner as a few minutes in the shop does not give the full picture (or sound either).

cheers