Emu XL-7 & MP-7 User's Group

Good morning everyone,
For the first time last night, I hooked my XL-7 up to my Yamaha AW16G 
and recorded it. I noticed that even with the XL-7s volume at full, 
it wasn't very loud. If I used the preamps that are built-in to the 
AW16G to increase the volume, it worked, but it added a noticeable 
hiss to the recording (this is the AW16Gs fault, not the XL-7. I've 
always had that problem with the G). So here's my question: What 
brand of preamps are you guys using when recording your XL-7, and are 
you happy with what you've got? Currently, I've got a dbx 286A, but 
it's a "vocal strip" processor (ie: it's made to record vocals - it 
has a compressor/de-esser/enhancer/noise gate built-in). I'm not 
really sure if I can use it as a preamp for the XL-7. I mean, I'm 
sure I could, but I wonder what the results would sound like? I'm 
here at work, so I can't test it out right now. So if anyone has any 
suggestions on a good preamp that works well for you, please let me 
know. Take care,
Fab