The concept behind the SFP-30 is simple:  Take the exact audio and power circuitry from the SFP-60, put a single channel into a tabletop format, and make it less than half the price of the SFP-60.  Done.  Everything about the SFP-30 signal path is identical to the SFP-60, except that the SFP-30 lacks the DI input. Other than that, you can now get the finest, most flexible tube preamp available -- with the legendary variable second harmonics from the SFP-60 -- in a compact package costing only $1299.  A better sonic toolkit for recording simply isn't available at this price.  Anywhere.