I received the 676 well packaged. It's own box is nicely made, and inspires opening it, and pride of ownership.
The 676 itself is smaller than I expected, and has a nice weight to it. It feels very nicely made.
Installation was easy, and the controls are fairly simple to understand.
I'm not really impressed with the VU meter, which seems a bit imprecise, and didn't really correspond with the input readings on my Tascam DP32SD. But I was able to get good levels without distortion fairly quickly, with some tweaking.
One thing to note, is that if you are used to milliseconds on your compressor attack and release buttons, then these controls are reversed on the 676. Clockwise for fast attack and for fast release. Not a problem, just needs some getting used to.
The compressor has no threshold control, but using the level control on the preamp section seems to give a similar result. The tone controls do their job with no fuss.
The sound quality is excellent. This is really what I have been looking for for years. It has excellent clarity, and some nice sweetness.
I have been through many preamps such as by Joe Meek, DBX, Focusrite, ART, and Digitech, but none of them are able to produce the natural clarity I'm hearing with the 676.
I do not feel tempted to upgrade the tubes.. It sounds great, so I'll leave it as it is.
It has no de-esser, but it doesn't seem to be a problem, and in any case, they often seem to affect the clarity. Best to adjust your singing technique, or deal with it in the mix, in this case.
I'm very happy with this purchase. It looks great in the rack too.
