SD 7 series recorders with / without a 302

["Jez" tempjez]

Hi,

I have some simple questions if folks could give me some feedback please. Not 
sure why i've not got round to doing this kind of comparison before now - i've 
had plenty of field mixers on hand over the years !

my questions are:

1) do you get any extra gain from attaching a SD 302 mixer to a 7 series 
recorder ?  ie. with the same microphones plugged in do you get a higher level 
through the 302 into the recorder than you can get just going into the 7 series 
recorder & is it quieter that way than whacking the gain on the recorder up 
higher ?

2) are pre-amps / stages in the 302 analogue (like the old mixpre) ?

i'm looking into adding a field mixer to my kit again & looking at various 
different models. The SD website has the frustrating habit of not doing 
like-for-like spec sheets & also, though i've searched all over the net, I 
can't find any reports on this kind of simple test.

ta !