Well, I must say that it has more gain than anyone could ever need. I love it with a SM7b. The 'HI's' eq is pristine in gentle amounts. Really brings out the good stuff in vocals that a condenser tends to give, without the havoc that a poor or noisy room creates. Not that I have a problem there anymore. Mid and low end frequency adjustments are quite bold. Clean as hell but I use them sparingly. The thing is built like a tank. Knobs are solid.
Other than that, I have used it with a 57 on snare, 421, 57, and MXL 144 on guitars. In all cases it has performed really well. Much color from the pre when wanted. Also quite clean at low gain levels.
The price is a bit high because of the external power supply ($225), but once you buy that you can run 3 other Vintech products from it. Speaking of which, you reminded me that it is time to buy another!
I use it as my 'sweet channel' for everything. I would give it a personal improvement rating of 10% above the preamps in my UR824's. Probably 20% over the ones I had in the
Tascam US 1800.
I am guessing there is at least $500 worth of parts in it. lol