LA2A - use mic preamp for line amplifier?

[Fenris]

I'm planning to build a pair of LA2A-ish optical compressors in the near future. Is it possible to omit the line amplifier and use an external mic preamp instead, like you can do with a passive EQ? I have 4 channels of Scully 280 electronics that have both mic and line inputs.

 

[Kingston]

Yes it's possible. Just make sure the replacement amp input is reasonably high impedance (+50k or so). The amp needs to have maybe 30dB of gain to be useful. The original amp has more (+50dB) but it's mostly wasted in a modern studio.