Akai M7

The Akai M7 mic dual/stero pre amp is about the best deal out there. I picked mine up for 80 USD mounted in a practice amp box. Generally if you find these they are attached to a 4 track reel to reel.

I have been recording vocals with it on an album and it is hard to tell the Akai from the Summit, or the Universal Audio pres. There is a wide dynamic range, but also warmth and some compression in the sweet spot. I used this unit for several vocal overdubs in my mobile rig. People never knew their bedroom or bathroom sounded so good.

The M7 is also a great DI box, especially if you are running a stereo signal. It will restore shape and color back into old stomp boxes, tape echos, etc.

The downside:
There is no phantom power, 1/4" jacks only, it's not properly grounded, and it's heavy.

The upside:
As is, these pre amps sound great. I've seen a studio with a rack of 10 of these that the engineer usually uses to record drums with. If you want to put a few extra bucks in it can be modified to have phantom power and cleaner electronics.

Over all these pre amps are not for every application but they cost less than low end tube pre amps and sound generally high end. As I mentioned above, I usually bring this with me for mobile sessions and so far so good. One time I had some problems recording with poor grounding but the Akai was not the only thing upset by this.

Also, the Akai M8 and Roberts 997 are very similar.