RNP 8380 Pre-Amp

The RNP ("really nice pre-amp") manufactured by FMR Audio in the USA is a two channel microphone pre-amp in the company's now familiar one-third rackspace form factor. It uses an external "wall wart" power supply. Like all FMR products, the RNP has a kind of "DIY" appearance, so if you want "sex appeal", look elsewhere. However, in the "bang for buck" department, it is hard to beat.
The RNP has several nice features: first, it is two-channel, allowing for stereo recording. It's very small, lightweight, and easy to transport. Insert jacks are provided on each channel, as are front-panel DI inputs, LED meters, high quality stepped gain knobs with 6 db increments, phase inversion buttons, and buttons to engage 48V phantom power individually per channel. The phantom power is "ramped" at turn-on to prevent large spikes (and give you time to respond if you accidently hit the button, for example with a ribbon mic attached. Because of the unit's tiny size, and the small buttons with micro travel, one must take care when making adjustments.)
The RNP does not have any EQ controls, nor high pass filters. It offers slightly more than 60 db of gain, and is pretty clean and quiet for the first 50 db or so, presenting a nice, focused sound with plenty of detail and body. Despite the relatively modest amount of gain, there is excellent headroom, so it is possible to hit the pre with a lot of signal and get great results. The sound in fact belies the unit's small size, and is generally big, clear, and fully professional sounding. Certainly it is one of the best, if not the best, two channel pre-amps in its price range, and highly recommended for recordists on a tight budget.