Preamp thoughs?

[abemcconnell]

I'm looking to upgrade my rig a bit and move to a preamp. I'm primarily play praise and worship (Hillsong United style) and I love my Trace Elliot AH500X head amp, but I'm seriously considering either an Avalon U5 or the Eden WTX1000N. I've also considered units like the SWR Mini Mo. If I go with an Avalon I'll likely keep my Trace Elliot. If I grab the Eden I'll sell the Trace since the WTX1000N is the WP100 per with 2ch @500w amp built in.

I mostly play in a youth center with IEM setup and easily can play DI. On regular occasions I'll need a stage monitor (which I can use my BA115T for) and rarely I need my full rig (vintage Ampeg 410 and 115).

Anyone have experience with these or other preamps? I like the Eden because it could work standalone, with my combo, or push my rig to the max. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[Son of Bovril]

I have the Eden Navigator Pre and the Avalon U5

The Eden has a big range of sounds because of all the eq (although I really only want 1 good sound from it) but the compressor is really handy, while the Avalon only really has 1 sound (it's eq presets are lame IMO) but it does that sound really well. I find the Avalon gives my sound quite a bit of added heft in the deep low end, which to be honest, I don't really need and it drives my amp and cabs harder when using it as a pre

The Avalon as a DI is great, but as a pre, it has no Eq to adjust for the room, while the Eden Nav has proved to always get a decent tone in every situation

I don't think you can go wrong with either, but I think the eden will probably sound more different to your trace than the Avalon

[abemcconnell]

Thanks! That confirms a lot of what I had been hearing. Have you had any problem with the build quality of the Eden? I've heard some reports of the DI output failing on these.

Thanks for the input!