Favourits D.I.?

r0ck1r0ck2 · Post by **r0ck1r0ck2** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:56 pm

sorry its slipping my mind..

UTC A-11?

would you care to elaborate?

r0ck1r0ck2 · Post by **r0ck1r0ck2** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:57 pm

aaaahh nevermind

i knew i'd heard of this before

KennyLusk · Post by **KennyLusk** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 9:02 am

Scodiddly wrote:
r0ck1r0ck2 wrote:anyone know why the Avalons sound soo good?
Because everybody keeps saying that they're good?

I dunno, I guess I'll have to borrow the one at work if it ever comes back from rentals.

But my best bang-for-the-buck DI (for my own bass, at the least) is the EWI active LDB-101 - $50, plus shipping from Audiopile.

Scott, why the active version of the 101 over the passive version?

Scodiddly · Post by **Scodiddly** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 4:05 pm

KennyLusk wrote:
Scodiddly wrote:
r0ck1r0ck2 wrote:anyone know why the Avalons sound soo good?
Because everybody keeps saying that they're good?

I dunno, I guess I'll have to borrow the one at work if it ever comes back from rentals.

But my best bang-for-the-buck DI (for my own bass, at the least) is the EWI active LDB-101 - $50, plus shipping from Audiopile.
Scott, why the active version of the 101 over the passive version?

I haven't tried the passive version, so I don't know how it sounds. With a passive P-bass (and with the more usual use with acoustic guitars when I'm the sound guy) I wanted an active DI.

r0ck1r0ck2 · Post by **r0ck1r0ck2** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 4:07 pm

ryangeller · Post by **ryangeller** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 6:08 pm

passive Dis offer virtually no impedence and thus their frequency response is shite. have you ever tried plugging in your acoustic/electric guitar into an electric amp and found that there were no lows what-so-ever? you either lose the high or low stuff depending on what type of pickups you're using... alnico passive vs piezo vs active etc.

there are passive DI's active FET ones and tube ones.

the tube Dis are able to offer more impedence, and the higher the impedence, the better the frequency response. i think the demeter unit's impedence is 27 MOhms while a passive behringer or something would only be around 200-400k?

basically- passive DI's are good for going backwards (mic level low Z to instrument hi Z), however i'd never want to use one for tracking or live sound.

KennyLusk · Post by **KennyLusk** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 8:51 pm

The xlr output impedence on the LDB-101 is 600 ohm (which is actually a nice level) but nothing special. 600 ohm is what you get from a lot of passive DI's so that's why I was wondering in this case why Scott prefers the active version of the EWI box and does it have anything to do with the quality or color of the transformer as compared to the other. It looks like the active box has a different tranny than the passive version.

Scodiddly · Post by **Scodiddly** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 5:43 am

As ryangeller says, it's a matter of impedance. With a passive DI you're kind of stuck with the input impedance of the transformer as it matches with the mic input it is plugged into. An active DI can have a much higher input impedance if desired. For a standard passive magnetic pickup (ie electric guitar or bass) a higher input impedance means less treble is lost. For a piezo pickup (acoustic guitar, upright bass) an extremely high input impedance (more than 5Mohm) means that less bottom is lost.

The LDB-101 has something like a 2.2Mohm input impedance, which is a good match to a passive magnetic pickup. If I were using a piezo I'd want something more like a Baggs or Fishman DI since those have input impedances in the 8+ Mohm range, or I'd use a little FET buffer along with a regular DI.

A passive DI would be a better match for an instrument with an active output, the output from an amp, or a keyboard output. Not that there's any magic there, it's just cheaper to buy a quality passive DI than a quality active, plus there's less to go wrong.

I never actually sat down and did any kind of DI shootout - I bought a couple of the LDB-101 because they were a good deal and because the dealer is a regular over in the live sound forum at Harmony-Central. When I use them for recording my bass guitar I get a good natural sound - it's definitely the sound of my bass.

BTW, there's no magic about tubes and input impedances. A FET can go just as high as a tube, typically 1Gig ohm or even higher in a condensor mic.

KennyLusk · Post by **KennyLusk** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 10:22 am

Thanks Scott. Makes a lot more sense to me now. And thanks to Ryan too. You guys are awesome.

Jupiter 4 Studio · Post by **Jupiter 4 Studio** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 10:36 am

I love the Tab-Funkenwerk V71DI. Met Oliver at AES this year and after a 1/2 hour conversation I had to buy one. Just sounds soooo good.

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