Best DI boxes

[mattaudio]

Tips for the best value DI box?

I have 3 Whirlwind DIs from my local shop, they were about $30 each.

Looking to find the best reasonable DI for under $60 or so for live use. Suggestions? Thanks

[Zack Brock]

Radial JDI and CountryMan are the best IMHO, but they are more expensive than $60.

Do you not like the Whirlwind units?

[novasak]

A few years ago we compared a handful of inexpensive passive DIs. The whirlwind imp2 was the cleanest sounding with the best output. The others were either quieter, lost hi freq response, or distorted the low freq. I think we compared it to a HK redbox, rolls, proco, and art passive DIs. All using passive bass, a keyboard, and a CD player. It was a listening comparison, no measurements taken.

[gdougherty]

Check Audiopile for some decent quality DI's. They have both active and passives for under $60.

[bgavin]

My vote is for the Radial.

I saw them opened up when Leland and I attended the NAMM show... very disappointing to see cheap Chinese caps on the boards. They can be recapped, but spending a few pennies more per board would have avoided this.

I use a Countryman Type 85 with the battery removed.
It sounds a whole lot better on 48v phantom.
These are OK for passive instruments, but don't handle active electronics and higher outputs very well.

[venez03]

I picked up a couple ART dPDB. dual channel passive direct box with pad for higher output signals. (0, -20db, -40db) Less than $43 for 2 channels

http://cgi.ebay.com/ART-dPDB-Dual-Passi ... 3a5b49b251

[Greg Plouvier]

Radial PRODI 's are pretty good. If you can pull the $$ together get the Radial J48 or Countryman Type 10. I've used CBI's DI with OK results too - they're pretty affordable

http://cbicables.com/DBGL.gif

[bzb]

Do any of you guys jack your instruments straight into something like a MOTU Ultralite or Traveler (and use it as your "DI" or Z box, as well as effects)?

I still haven't quite figured out how some folks use GarageBand for effects and such. I got too many dang projects going on at once.

[Ron K]

Countryman or Radial all good advice.

[Fish]

One regional sound company here that provides for a lot of major tours coming through the area uses primarily Whirlwind IMP2 DIs; the only reason they also own Countryman Type 85 active DIs is because they are on so many riders. I personally prefer a good piece of iron (a passive transformer) over almost any active DI, and the IMP2s are so simple and bulletproof plus easy on the wallet. I have four IMP2s at a local coffee shop and have done quite a few multitrack recordings with them with no issues whatsoever; I have yet to wish I had used something "better."

My personal preference is towards the Radial JDI, but they're far pricier and harder to justify, even for myself. I think their street/minimum advertised price is $200 each. At least have a look at Radial's comparison to other popular DIs; there is a lot to learn, like just how far out the phase response of the popular Countryman Type 85 gets. Their Green Report compares their top-end passive DI to a few popular higher-end active DIs; later when they introduced their active DI they redid the tests to provide a more apples to apples comparison and published them as their Blue Report. (Hmm. They're both dated the same, but I remember reading a paper copy of the Green Report before they had the J48. I can't tell quickly if they retested or if the charts are identical between the two.) I haven't seen specs like these from any other manufacturer, and transparency in real-world complete specs with tolerances and test conditions makes me trust them more than the usual numbers that are meaningless without those critical details.

Unless you need more features or a simple passive DI isn't the best solution (e.g. a high-impedance source that wants megohm input impedance), I'd say keep using the IMP2 and love the fact that there actually are inexpensive DIs that are quite decent.

[Ron K]

Sorry but the blue report or any marketing driven report is basically a biased report with verbage skewed towards selling it's product over another.

A prime example:The countryman Type-85 shows a solid bottom end right
down to 20Hz but shows a disappointing top end with
severe roll-off above 10kHz

Sorry but a 2 db top end roll off above 10K is anything but severe and in high RF situations can actually have an advantage!

Most of the pro level boxes work well with the major differences IMHO being that of being able to supply long lines with a good clean signal and the capability of handling just about any input level thrown at it without breaking up and of course durability!

"Front and back panels are
integrated to a slide-in-frame.
Switch and jacks are recessed
for protection. PCB is encased in
epoxy making repair impossible."

Countryman repairs these units all the time and often when they are long out of warranty for free. The components on the PCB will remain free from physical damage due to the scheme employed. It is easy to remove epoxy if you have the right chemicals.

Not blasting Radial but marketing is just that! Take it with a grain of salt!

Radial makes a good product but can you put 220VAC to it on the input side and will it live on? My guess is no it will blow up! Unreasonable circumstance. Not really . I have had a lighting dimmer fail that was hooked to and audio signal for sound activation and it sent 220 down the chassis back to my board taking out the aux strip! It's possible on a live stage.

[gdougherty]

I'll have to admit the "Blue Report" got me into Radial J48's.

Here's my thoughts from the field.

Compared to my Type85's I can't hear a sonic difference in a live scenario.
The output of the J48 is much hotter. While it has a pad, I find myself having to go back to the box and engage it. Keyboards and active pickups almost always need the pad. Not everyone knows if their pickups are active or not.
The input of the J48 clips at a lower point, thus the pad. Depending on the preamp you're using, you may not realize it until you hear the clipped signal. It's audibly obvious when it does and not good to discover in a show.
I've never heard the Type85 clip or overload.
The foam pad on the J48 is nice so it doesn't slide around. It's not so nice when a year of road use tears chunks out of it.
The anodized casing of the Type85 scratches. The J48 chips and leaves chunks of bare metal and sharp paint flakes. The narrow edges are most prone to this.
The labeling on the J48 is all painted/printed onto the top surface of the casing. It's very durable but still exposed. The Type85 labeling is in a protected recessed area.
The merge function on the J48 is nice to have when you have one input to the board and stereo output like from a computer, iPod or other device.

Stereo sources I want to dump to mono are the only times I'm glad I own the J48's over the Type85's. Both are good, solid, durable DI's, the J48's are just more of a hassle at times.

[bgavin]

The Countryman 85 is wired in reverse to industry standard.
It's not a real problem, but there none the less.

I find the Countryman well suited to passive instruments, less suited for high output active instruments.
Mine sounds MUCH better with the battery removed and running on +48v phantom.

[gdougherty]

The Countryman 85 is wired in reverse to industry standard.
It's not a real problem, but there none the less.

I find the Countryman well suited to passive instruments, less suited for high output active instruments.
Mine sounds MUCH better with the battery removed and running on +48v phantom.

Not sure why they even bother including them. Their support recommends removing the battery anyway. With the battery in I think it bypasses phantom so when the battery dies, and even as it dies, the DI begins to malfunction. I haven't had a battery in mine for about 5 years. Interesting to A/B it with a fresh battery vs phantom and see if there's a difference.

[bgavin]

I did the fresh battery thing in mine during a studio recording session.
Phantom was SO much better.