[noredr2]

I've resumed my quest for an effective quality DI box after several months with a lemon Marshall AS100D (wonderful amp, but i needed the money back). Problem with this quest for the DI box is that no retailers that i can find have several different models available to try out. I've looked at specs on SansAmp, Countryman, LR Baggs, Behringer, Whirlwind, and several other companies. I just want to hear back from people what has worked best for them. If i can get the same sound out of a $40 box as i can out of a $200 box, i'll gladly take the $40. any feedback?

[d0c_99]

to date, i've used/owned 4 different DIs

I've used some crappy one which i don't even remember the name of...that one was $30-40 and was truly crappola...

I've also used the Rapco dB 100 DI box (http://www.rapco.com/catalog/diboxes1.gif) ...this is half decent i guess...it's around $40-50 but I no longer use it and it only sits around as a spare cuz I have 2 behringer DI100s and 1 Radial Engineering JDI (http://www.radialeng.com/DirectBoxes.cfm) which was the single channel version of the JD4 and the passive predicessor of the current JDI MK3. The JDI looks exactly the same as its active sibling, the JDV.

The problem with the Rapco box was that it sounds quite compressed and there is a noticable quality difference when going through a keyboard. It lacks warmth and clarity and tended to have high frequency dissortion when a guitar is used.


The Behringer DI100 is one of the best deal you can find. it sounds very clear with tight lows and clear highs. One thing you'll have to keep in mind is that it is an active DI box and will need either phantom power from a mixer or a 9v battery. When using the battery, you have to turn on the box and by experience, people often forget to turn it off when they're done and in so doing, they drain the battery quite quickly. But if you're running off of phantom power, then that shouldn't be an issue. The DI 100 comes with the standard ground switch as well as two 20dB pad switch. if you use both pad switches, you can supposedly plug a speaker cable (from a power amp) straight into the box without blowing it up. The level that signal coming out of the DI100 is also relatively hotter than a passive DI box since it's active and is powered.

Generally, it's cheeper to make a good quality active DI box than a good quality passive DI box

The Radial Engineering JDI is the most expensive Di box I've used ($240 Cndn)...and since I bought the JDI about a year ago and it has been working flawlessly. It's a passive box and has some special features you wouldn't normally find on a regular DI box. As expected, it has a pad swtich (15 dB), the standard ground switch but but also features a low pass filter switch (high cut filter - which ever way you want to call it) that cuts high frequencies in excess of 50kHz. This is so that when you plug in things like computers and other electronic sources that may emit ultra high frequencies at high levels, it won't burn out your amps. The JDI also have a merger switch that lets you turn the direct jack into a second input jack. This lets you plug a stereo source and merg both channels into a mono channel. useful if you need to get two channels into the mixer with a single DI box.

The JDI has a Jensen transformer on it...the transformer is the heart of a passive DI box and the Jensen transformer (JT-DB-E) is the best transformer available on the market to date...just the transformer alone will cost around $100. the JT-DB-E is used on some highend Di boxes by Wirlwind and Rapco.

One thing I like about the JDI is the thought placed on its design. All the switches are located on a reccessed channel on the end so if kicked, the switch will not be damaged. Also, the JDI's outer shell is made of 14guage steel, so if you ever decide to run it over with a car, you can be assured that it will survive. Lastly the DI box itself has a 3 year Radial Engineering (based in canada) warranty and the transformer inside the box has a 20 years warranty by Jensen Transformer.


As far as sound quality is concerned, the difference between the JDi and the DI100 is very minute. You have to really analize the sound carefully to hear a very slight difference and if looking just at sound quality, with the JDI costing 2 and half times more than the DI 100, the DI 100 is a way better deal. The JDI was designed to be a top grade Di box for recording and it is when recording that you really need the extra quality difference.

However, if you take into consideration the extra features the JDI have (eg. high pass filters, merger switch, plus the super rugged design) you might beable to justify the high price.

[Nate]

I'm going to recommend the DI-100 as well... but not the Behringer DI-100, the BBE DI-100. It is an active DI with BBE's Sonic Maximizer built in. It's your typical active DI with a 15 dB pad, ground lift, balanced 1/4" and XLR outputs... but when you add the Sonic Maximizer into the picture, it's really an incredible little box. I got mine used (just about the only way to get one anymore, seeing as it's been discontinued by BBE) off of eBay for about $50. Another big plus about this box is that it is extremely rugged. The case is all very sturdy metal (steel, most likely)... the switches are nice and compact, so there's really no way for them to break off or what not... the only thing that could ever be a problem are the two knobs, but they are very solid as well. The sound is great, and with the Sonic Maximizer, it'll be clearer than just about any other DI you will ever try.

Well... that's my recommendation. Hope it helps.

In His love,
Nate

[Brent]

Originally posted by noredr2
If i can get the same sound out of a $40 box as i can out of a $200 box, i'll gladly take the $40. any feedback?

You shouldn't get ANY sound out of the box. I'm sure everyone knows that, though... A good DI is transparent. It doesn't color your tone at all when the signal is passing through the box. If you ARE wanting something that shapes the sound as well then you'll need more of a DI/preamp instead. I use the Sansamp Bass Driver DI for my bass and it's a DI with built-in tone shaping capabilities. I've heard it also works well for guitars, but I don't know since I haven't tried. It runs for around $169 I believe.

[nate95366]

I use a SansAmp Acoustic DI for my guitar ($176 5 yrs ago) and I'm a happy customer. The box can function as a regular, transparent passive DI (although it's kinda expensive for that), or in active mode, gives you volume, eq, a -20db pad, and a "blend" simulated tube circuitry control (the more "blend" you choose, the more it routes the signal through the tube simulation circuit, which warms up a guitar really nicely). It also has two outputs (XLR and 1/4"), and a second input that goes straight to the XLR out (basically so you can configure an effects loop around the DI).
All in all it's very nice. Of course, if you're not looking for any tone coloring (like the SansAmp offers), then I like just about anything that's NOT Rapco. It's my opinion that Rapco might as well have a "C" creatively added to it's name......:klol:

Nate