The internal preamps, well, I was a bit disappointed

I find the preamps to be more than adequate - they are clean, not very noisy, and have LOTS of gain available

The mic preamps suck for 1/2 input, and there is an audible noise floor when direct monitoring silence

The battery run charge makes it no stress situation when it's time to record and did I mention the preamps are fantastic

The Shure SM58 and XM8500 sound MUCH better with the H5's improved preamps

Incredibly quiet preamps, tons of features, fits well in hand, etc

The internal preamps, well, I was a bit disappointed

The mic preamps sound really good and can give you a good recorded sound

Like the H4n, the Preamps in this H5 start to make a little noise around half way, so it is best to use a mic with a good strong signal whenever possible.