How important are pre-amps?

Ok, so I was doing a bit of research. Torniojaws suggested a good list of preamps but the API 3124+ was too pricey for a first choice. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with an Avalon AD2022 and the best use you've found for it?

Thanks!
 
The Avalon stuff is badass. But, if you want bang for your buck, I personally dig on the dbx stuff. We have a couple of 586's and 386's. Very nice.
 
I personally dig on the dbx stuff. We have a couple of 586's and 386's. Very nice.

I used to have a dbx 376 in our project studio, and happened to compare it with a TL Audio PA-1 and my Firestudio's pres... it was pretty badly beat up by both! I personally didn't like it, and found it way noisier than the others. It did have some cool features, though, and actually it could be an ok unit for a beginner for what you get for the price, but soundwise... meh.
Then again, I haven't tried other dbx pre's, so my experience comes down to that single one...
 
Does anybody have any experience with the Mindprint Envoice MK II? We're considering picking one up to use together with our FireFace 800. Comments?