Ken Winokur wrote:

What's so important about good mic pre's? Is there something intrinsic
in an excellent mic pre that can't be made up with the proper choice of
mic (with a decent mic pre)?

These kinds of questions can only be answered by messing with top line
mics and pres. Nobody can describe the essence of such experience, but
in my own, the answer is that stuff sounds better very often through
good mics and pres, and if I have a choice between mundane mics with top
preamps or fine mics with mundane preamps I will take the former.

YMMV, but IME, yes, there is something intrinsic in an excellent mic
preamp and no, I can't "make it up" anywhere else in the chain.

--
ha