If you are willing to spend $100,000 for a vintage Neve, you might find it pleasant, that is euphonic, not particularly accurate. The problem is the complexity of the signal path. Nothing even remotely affordable and that weighs less than 400 lbs would begin to match any decent preamp of the type spoken of in these pages. I would venture that best bang for buck would be something like a Django or, for a little euphony, an Eastern Electric MiniMax. I'd bet that either of these would absolutely trash any analog mixing console as a preamp.
These days almost no "audiophile" grade recordings are made through the electronics of a mixing board, at least when tracking, and certainly the mic pres in the board are seldom used, except for the less critical tracks. Outboard mic preamps are usually used straight into outboard A/D converters. Mixes are sometimes still done through them, though, for various, often logistical, reasons.
