Like most of us, I have serious doubts about any product that sells for so much less than its closest competitor. I needn't have worried. This preamp is so clean and transparent with a whopping 75dB per channel, it leaves me absolutely gobsmacked.

I've never used a preamp before so simplicity was key to me. This preamp has one knob per channel to turn, that's it! Even so, I had to get some online help but that's just me. I read all of the reviews here before buying this unit. Now that I have struggled through the learning process I would like to echo the sentiments of others here. Learn how to set up your preamp before you give up on this one. Having said that, there are some knowledgeable folks here who don't rate it very highly. I appreciate your honesty. I bought this to complement my Nady Ribbons and am using it with the RSM2 which is the most difficult to use. I spent several hours finding just the right balance on my Korg D3200 (But I did figure it out) and about thirty seconds on the Echo Mona where it has dB's to spare. It makes my pair of RSM 2's usable and will be the perfect match for my RSM 5. The quality of build is a pleasant surprise. Looks good on the rack, feels expensive and it works. Nice going, Nady! I'll still buy the Behringer 8 channel but this one's for my Nadys.

Nady has created a mic preamp that delivers on quality and quantity and still manages to be your wallets best friend! For about the same price as two single mic preamps the PRA-8 delivers 8 completely independent mic preamps each with its own +48V phantom power switch, gain control and balanced TRS output (balanced TRS outs have been verified by both physical inspection of the unit and the documentation that shipped with it) in a sturdy steel/aluminum 1U rackmount case. I'm currently using this unit coupled with an M-Audio Delta 44 to bring four channels of audio into my computer at a time with pristine sound quality.

I've used the PRA-8 with an MXL 990 condenser (+48V), a Nady CM-90 condenser (+48V), two Nady SP-1 dynamic mics and a Behringer ULTRA-DI DI400P Direct box for my electric guitars. The PRA-8 has performed flawlessly with each of these devices and has done its part to keep my sound floor next to nothing. It adds no audible distortion or coloration to my lines. The only sounds I hear are the ones that I put IN. This unit does EVERYTHING it is meant to do and I would recommend it to anyone.

Sure, you aren't going to get high-end pre's when you're paying 100 bucks for an 8-channel bundle. However, I have heard much noisier preamps that cost a lot more than this little guy. I am currently using it to run condensors and other mics into my tascam DA-38 recorders, and I get a great sound from the chain. The condensors can be noisy, but that is a combination of the board I was using (crappy Behringer I recently upgraded to a Yamaha), and the fact that condensors pick up everything in the room past a certain gain stage. I have purhcased better pres for studio use, however, when I am recording a live show that requires all 24 inputs on my set of recorders to record at the same time, these work great. If two channels of "decent" preamp costs 400 dollars, I'd have to spend 4800 dollars on preamps to get that many channels. Not gonna happen, so this is a great alternative. I gave it a mediocre rating on features simply because beyond plugging in mics and adding some gain, there are no other options, its a barebones unit, and does what it should. One note: these units are in fact balanced both in input and output. I know the site here sayd it is TS outs, and the first page of the manual says so as well, but if you read further into the documentation, it definitely points out the fact that the unit has TRS outputs. I've also opened up the units to check, and they are decidedly TRS outs.

I recently picked up two of the Nady PRA-8 mic preamps to use for simple reference tracking and live recording of drums, bass & guitar, keys, and BGV's. For my purposes, they feed two M-Audio Delta 1010LT audio interfaces. I found the XLR plugs to be a little on the tight side, but I did not have to force the jack. Sound quality was better than I expected. There is noise if the gain is turned to about 7 or 8 (which is to be expected), but I rarely have to turn the gain above 5, which gives me a nice clean signal with very little noise, if any. When I have to use a higher gain setting, a noise gate inserted into the signal chain takes care of unwanted noise. The gain pots are not as tight as I would like, but again, they are acceptable. The "per channel" phantom power is also a nice feature and works great on my condenser mics - high level, clean sound, low noise. The only thing that I replaced was the power cable, which was just too thin for my liking. Overall, I think it is a very affordable preamp solution for the musician with multi-tracking needs and a tight budget.

The people who are complaining about this thing are not using it the way it was intended, and it's a great piece of gear that will instantly expand your home studio set up. It is not a substitute for a mixer, but an addition to it. You would have to spend big bucks for a mixer with 8 phantom powered mic pre amps. As for any noise that these people are complaining about, two things : 1)have you not heard of a noise gate, important stuff for a home studio! 2)there is one curious thing about the gain controls, if you set them too low there is a hiss that disappears once you raise the level above zero. I am using mine along with a DOD 8 channel mixer that has no XLR inputs, a Tascam 488 cassette 8 track and an Alesis 3630 compressor.It works great! Unless you have a top of the line mixer, you need this for the beginner to intermediate home studio.