DI Boxes

[bigwillz24]

What's the best DI box?

What in your opinon is the best BUDGET DI box?

An inquiring dummy wants to know.

[Rokket]

I have just gotten the Tech21 Sansamp Bass DI and I am still playing with it to see what it can do. I am in love up to my eyebrows right now with it. It's not really BUDGET, as it cost me $300 US, but it's pretty damn good. You should check out their DI boxes on their webpage. They have some samples of the tones you can get with them.

[Dot]

Best DI box I've used is the A Designs Audio REDDI. Very cool round defined tone. Millennia TD-1 is a serious DI with REAMP and Twin Topology - including an HV-3 mic pre.

Best budget DI: Probably the Radial JDI or one of the Sansamp boxes.

[xfinsterx]

Originally Posted by Dot

Best budget DI: Probably the Radial JDI or one of the Sansamp boxes.

Agreed.

Best non-budget?

Avalon-U5.

[boingoman]

I guess it depends on what you think "budget" means.

I have always got decent results from the Whirlwind Hot Box, Director, and Imp.

The little ART tube pre sounds pretty decent on bass.

[bigwillz24]

Originally Posted by boingoman

I guess it depends on what you think "budget" means.

I have always got decent results from the Whirlwind Hot Box, Director, and Imp.

The little ART tube pre sounds pretty decent on bass.

I was guessing since the most expensive so far I saw was 600 budget would be more than in my price range.

Perhaps I should clarify that I don't need this for a guitar just to convert the signal from my keyboard to balanced signal.

Maybe one for a sound module & one for my MPC.

I'm not sure if i even need one of these but I'm thinkin its gotter sound better than the behringer ada8000 i got these devices hooked up to now.

[boingoman]

The Director and Imp are under $100. The Imp uses the same transformer as the Director, but it is unshielded, and has a couple less features. It's less than $50, I think.

[earworm]

so a DI does change alot on your sound?
once again we should avoid behriner di boxes?
i'm planning to buy my first di somehwere next month...so...i'll try to forget about that berrie...

[Ed Dixon]

We use Whirlwind EDB-1 direct boxes. They sound great and can be found on EBay for less than $20.

Ed

[mandocaster]

I use Whirlwind Directors, normally. When I plug an acoustic instrument with a piezo pickup the sound is not good. The issue, I think, is that the input impedence of the Director is 20K Ohms, while a piezo pickup is extremely hi-Z, and does best with at least 1M ohm. The Demeter VTDB-2 is the best I have used.

[JazzMang]

Demeter DIs are the most amazing DIs I have ever heard, period. They are not exactly budget ($1000+) but they sound amazing, especially on Acoustic-Electric Guitars.
Wow.

[noisedude]

The Behringer DI110s are harmless enough and would survive a train wreck. But there are some others in this thread you should check out first ...

[whattaguy]

I have one of these

http://www.audiopile.net/products/DI...1_cutsheet.asp

...I'm pleased.

[Dot]

The Countryman Type 85 for straight-ahead passive DI.

[xstatic]

I thought the Type 85 was active? Personally I like the BSS Ar-133 DI's. Thats the one that the Behringer attempted to emulate. You won't realize how much a cheaper (and often times passive) DI changes your signal until you use a better one. There is a huge difference in the Whirlwind and Behringer, and Rapco etc... DI's when you start comparing them to a Radial, Countryman, Klark Teknik, or BSS DI.

[DJL]

Originally Posted by xfinsterx

Agreed.

Best non-budget?

Avalon-U5.

I don't know about best... but the U5 is one of my favorites too.

[Dot]

Originally Posted by xstatic

I thought the Type 85 was active?

My bad. Yeh, it is active. I just never think of it that way because I've always just plugged it in and run it off phantom power.