Direct box problems

[jkokura]

I've searched for my answer already...but

I can't figure out whether an active direct box is honestly worth it. I've been told that they run the risk of adding noise to your signal.

Is it really money well spent on a Radial J48/DI? Will the Beri D100 work fine? What's the best frequency response bang for buck out there?

It's not that I'm worried about how muchy money, it's about getting the best gear available fot the money I have...

Jacob

 

[jkokura]

c'mon...anyone? is this in the wrong place?

 

[easychair]

If I could only have one DI, it would be active, not because they are superior, but different, and some of their shortcomings have been resolved, making them versatile enough to replace passives in many places.

Active or passive, good is good, crap is crap.

The DI100 is a complete piece of shit, absolutely no debate on that one. Worst DI ever made, useless trash. I own a few Behri products I really like, that's not just Behri-bias talking.

Don't worry too much about frequency response, any decent DI active or passive will have more than anyone needs.

The thing you should really ask yourself about the J48 (an excellent box, top notch, and that merge thing rocks) is do you want a box that only runs on phantom power? Changing it to batteries means a soldering job, and makes it not any different from any other decent active DI, as it's best performance depends on 48V. And then you need to undo the mod to run on phantom again. Kind of a pain if you need it somewhere with no phantom power available.

Some other good actives, between $125 and $175US.

Whirlwind Hotbox- batteries or phantom
Rapco ADB+8- same
Both great for the money, dependable, pretty smooth.

Countryman Type 85-batt or phantom. Sounds great, kinda wimpy, folds up pretty quick with hot signals.

Klark Teknik DN100- phantom only
BSS AR-133- batteries or phantom
A bit more than the others, but these are two totally kick-ass DI boxes.

 

[scrubs]

I have both the DI100 and the GI100 (both active). They are o.k., but not great (probably better for live than for recording). The GI100 has the "cabinet simulator" which does make it sound more like a cabinet, but also adds a significant amount of noise, which is not cool. I rarely use either of these boxes since I got my Groove Tubes Brick preamp, which has an excellent DI. I would say it's worth the extra $$ to get a nice DI. The radials are supposed to be good, so that might be a nice place to start.

 

[jkokura]

alright

What about the Radial ProDI? It's passive, but is it as decent as the whirlwind Hotbox or others mentioned? If I were to get a passive and active di, would it make sense to get a hotbox and the prodi?

Jacob

 

[easychair]

What about the Radial ProDI? It's passive, but is it as decent as the whirlwind Hotbox or others mentioned? If I were to get a passive and active di, would it make sense to get a hotbox and the prodi?

Jacob

It's a good passive DI, a great deal for the money. It doesn't have quite the specs of the JDI, or the spendy Jensen transformer, but it blows away pretty much every other passive in it's price range. It's on top of my list for new passives for live work. I have compared it to my current mid-range passive faves, and it wins hands down.

If you wanted one of each, those would certainly be good choices. Check them out first, if you can, I'd rather not catch flack if you aren't happy. But you will be.

Do you have a specific application in mind, or are these general purchases?

 

[jkokura]

The reason I want them is for di'ing Guitar and Bass - and rarely keyboard. I was thinking about getting the ProDI (stereo) for guitar and keyboard (hence stereo) and the Hotbox for Bass. Some of it's use would be studio - especially for bass- but most would be live stuff.

What about Bandwidth? I talked to a guy in shop one time (who I trust and who knows) and he said the main difference between a beri or DOD and a Radial is that the Beri type units actually only give you 60-70% of the instrument's bandwidth, while a J48 would give you 90-95%. Is that true? if not what is? Also, where would the ProDI and the Hotbox sit on that scale?

Jacob

 

[jkokura]

I'm still looking for answers...and if anybody wants to unload these DI's im interested.