New Here.With another Mic Preamp question

[Pauly]

Hi everyone.Iwould like to ask this question in a little different way than usual.I am ready to spend a few thousanfd dollars on a great mic pre if I have to.I am considering the Avalon pres,Great River ,and similar pres.I basically ned tube warmth since my Adats are inherently harsh sounding due to the converters in them.

Aside from warmth or fatness,what makes some of the above mentioned preamps a better value than another?For instance,do the ones that come with a opto compressor perform well/poorly?Things like that.

Perhaps I am best off with a dual mono preamp that has no other features like compressor or EQ but then again,maybe I am better off with two pres that come with opto compressors like the Avalon 737.What have you guys found so far?Thanks alot

[paddyopossum]

Manley(I think) makes a pretty high end preamp comp front end. The JoeMeek line has some high end ones too. The VC1Qcs retails for about $800,,so you may want more than that,,though it uses opto compressers too, and has their enhancer,,and is mono, certainly on a par with the HHB Radius, etc, from what I see. I haven't heard it, and I only own low end ones,,MQ3, BlueTube,,etc. They're nice, I like them,,but I won't pretend they're in the same league as the Avalon.,,.They(JoeMeek) may have others,,I was just looking at that one closely.