The mic preamp Patch jack allows you to route the signal from the first amplifier stages into an external device, like an equalizer or a compressor, then return the signal back into the mic preamp’s output stage. The advantage of this is that you can use a wide variety of different input-level equipment (like –10dBv unbalanced) in your signal chain and still get the benefits the NV Series output offers (like Class-A, transformer-balanced operation).