The preamps on this desk are way beyond what you would expect of a desk at this price! I use this desk to link up my drum kit and i find myself in the strange situation of having better preamps than what my own mics are capable of. Distortion is minimal and there is plenty of inputs for most needs such as cd player/ipod/stereo/computer or other. There is no groups section on this desk and its probably not the best desk for working with a live band due to its limited size, however for personal use (such as what im doing) or for dj's simply mixing levels and maybe wanting to add compressors or other outboard gear to their mixes then this will do the job great! The desk is also fairly heavy for a desk of this size, if that is going to be a concern. If not i highly recommend it.