Di box shootout!!!!

[keithersgsx2003]

Lets hear some opinions........what DI do you feel is worthy, and which ones do you feel are crap. Also please explain as to why your opinions are such, hopefully we can get something that is often overlooked into the racks of more home studios!!!!!!!!!! I'm sure I am missing some good DI boxes......let us know what you use.

Thanks ahead of time for everyones input!!!!!!!!

 

[pohaku]

GT Ditto - a tube DI and the predecessor to the Brick. Great DI and a relative bargain IMHO. Only available used, of course.

Radial JDI - Jensen transformer in a very nice passive DI.

Millennia Media TD-1 - Twin topology DI (tube and SS) with a single HV-3 mic preamp channel, 2 band para EQ, headphone out and reamp. Very Star Trek, but great DI. Pricey though.

 

[keithersgsx2003]

Just one person!!!!!! Does this mean nobody has a DI box in that ceiling high rack of gear.

 

[Ronan]

I use a Little Labs PCP when I want super clean and articulate. I use and A Designs REDDI when I want and bass amp sort of vibe.

 

[Erockrazor]

I am anxious to see the results of this poll and hope they prove valuable.


Please just dont vote for the DI that you OWN. I know I can't stop it but it just skews the results from the people who have experience with at least more than one.

I'm just concerned cause I'm on the market for a DI!

 

[Richard Monroe]

Avalon U5-Richie

 

[pohaku]

I am anxious to see the results of this poll and hope they prove valuable.


Please just dont vote for the DI that you OWN. I know I can't stop it but it just skews the results from the people who have experience with at least more than one.

I'm just concerned cause I'm on the market for a DI!

None of the DIs that I own are on the voting list. I do own all three DIs that I mentioned, and all three are worth owning. Depends what you want to use a DI for and how much you want to spend. I really like the TD-1, but it might be a bit much for many members on this Board. The A-Designs REDDI is also an excellent DI. Peter makes great gear. A Ditto and a good passive DI like a Radial JDI or Whirlwind together would cover a lot of bases for a lower cost.

 

[Erockrazor]

None of the DIs that I own are on the voting list. I do own all three DIs that I mentioned, and all three are worth owning. Depends what you want to use a DI for and how much you want to spend. I really like the TD-1, but it might be a bit much for many members on this Board. The A-Designs REDDI is also an excellent DI. Peter makes great gear. A Ditto and a good passive DI like a Radial JDI or Whirlwind together would cover a lot of bases for a lower cost.

Thanks for the honesty and insight pohaku. I'm actually looking pretty seriously at the Radial JDI. I want a DI just for recording to send my guitar and bass signal into my interface. I'm also very interested in reamping but I'm on a small paycheck and have to keep my priorities straight.

Thanks for the info pohaku.

 

[pohaku]

Thanks for the honesty and insight pohaku. I'm actually looking pretty seriously at the Radial JDI. I want a DI just for recording to send my guitar and bass signal into my interface. I'm also very interested in reamping but I'm on a small paycheck and have to keep my priorities straight.

Thanks for the info pohaku.

I'd look for a used JDI or a Ditto. I've bought 2 Dittos on e-bay for @ $150 each. I bought the JDI used off the GS board for @$100 if I remember right. The price of Dittos really dropped when GT issued the Brick, since they DCed the Ditto and the Brick did the same thing but also had a mic preamp. Not much to go wrong with most DI boxes, especially passive ones - so used can be a good thing. The JDI is a great all purpose DI box. You would not regret having it, even if you acquired others in the future.

 

[GTRTony]

I have the AV2. It's built like a tank, is the swiss army knife of DI's, and most importantly has a good sound to it.

 

[SuperGeek]

Were is mine ????

I use 2 brands of DI's that are not on this list

The first up is the Klark Teknik DN 100 ( the ones I use the most )

The other one I use is the BSS Audio AR-133

Both are active boxes phantom powered but the BSS unit can have a 9volt battery in it if phantom power is not available

The other is on my RME-Audio Fireface 800

 

[darrin_h2000]

Ive owned 2 that were not listed either...Line6 UX8 and Line6 UX2...and both are by far more versitile and better sounding than anything Ive seen period.

But I do use the preamp outs as a front end to a Multitracker and I do not use the computer to record with.

 

[second skin]

any list of DIs without a countryman included is incomplete.

 

[Mr Funk]

Well, I really want a Buzz Audio MIA1.0 to match with my MA2.2 pre, but it is a good DI on it's own right I believe. Not cheap though.

The Reddi or ADL 300G would also be on my audition list, as well as a Great River pre/DI and the Radial JDI and Avalon U5.

All these are expensive though. I's like to try the inexpensive SM Pro, as I love the MPatch 2 that I have.

 

[darrin_h2000]

Well, I really want a Buzz Audio MIA1.0 to match with my MA2.2 pre, but it is a good DI on it's own right I believe. Not cheap though.

The Reddi or ADL 300G would also be on my audition list, as well as a Great River pre/DI and the Radial JDI and Avalon U5.

All these are expensive though. I's like to try the inexpensive SM Pro, as I love the MPatch 2 that I have.

Isnt SMPro pretty cheap stuff...I had seen an 8 channell comp of thiers and considered buying it...but I noticed how cheap thier pres are and I passed on it.

 

[the-audio-man]

The Behringer DI100 works fine for me, I've had it for years and it seems good so far . I'd love the Avalon though

 

[Mr Funk]

Yeah, SM Pro is cheap, but that does not mean it's crap. I have only used the Match 2, so I can't comment on anything else, but it has made me intrigued as to weather they may have a few other gems.

 

[ranjam]

I bought a few, and some are listed here, while some are not. But the eye opener for me was an experiment that went like this. I hooked up a signal generator to the DI, and fed that straight into an oscilloscope. The output seldom looked like the input. Sometimes it was really strange looking. I just used a few frequencies like 500Hz, 1KHz, 5KHz, and 10KHz. The surprisingly cleanest waveform with any older unit was with an old Rodam RD100. The Behringer Ultra DI was also very clean, and with no phase shifting. So now, I can think of DI's as having a sound, and if I want some grist in my cornmeal, I have certain DI's. If I want clean and transparant, the Behringer seems to excel at that . Go figure.

 

[THX1136]

I own Behringer's Ultra and Ultra-G along with 2 Whirlwind IMPs. I've used the listed Radial AV1 and the Countryman DI. Radial's stuff seems to be nearly bullet proof - built to last, transparent in the application I use it for which is live sound for AV presentations. The Behringers were a gamble, but I like them better than the IMPs - a more robust signal through the Behringers with a variety of guitars; again in a live sound situation. The Countrymans are solid also - only used these in a studio situation and did not have any other DIs to compare to at the time. Pricier than the rest here, but very good quality.

The IMPs were purchased with cost the main consideration. They work well with an instrument with a good output - i.e. a SC ProOne synth, but poorly with an instrument with lower output - i.e. a Fender Precision. Again this usage is in a live sound situation. They are passive which accounts for some of my personal experience I'm sure.

For recommendations from my experience I'd probably hype the Radials - any of their DIs actually - as they appear to be extremely well built and do the job extremely well also.

 

[LemonTree]

Haven't used anything on your list but I use a Countryman Type 85 FET DI on guitars and a tech 21 sansamp BDDI for bass on a daily basis. Both are active feeding off 48V PP or 9V battery. I've been using the countryman both studio and live for over 15 years, looks fuct, works perfectly every time.