Direct Box for keyboard

[mifantrax]

I want to purchase a direct box for keyboard.
So i think it should be stereo or if you can advice otherwise.
I was looking in various online stores and there are cheap ones and very expensive one.

Are there any good ones in the cheap class ?

Are there any cheap but still good one in the expensive class ?

What can you advice me .
It would be nice to stay under 150$
Thank you.

[daver2]

We have used Behringer stereo units in the past (can't remember exactly what the model number was at the moment but I will find out for you when I am next at Church) and it was very noisy when you wind the gain up. They are cheap for a reason! We replaced the stereo Behringer units with dual mono ones from another manufacturer with no problems.

I will hunt out the model numbers of the good and bad ones for you on Thursday.

Do you want mains powered, battery powered or phantom powered? Something you need to think about.

Dave

[Eric Haines]

We use a Samson S•Direct plus for our keyboard, has phantom power or battery power. Only $40.00. It is stereo.

[waynehoskins]

A Countryman Type 85 or a Radial J48 or JDI is always a safe bet. I've also used transformer DIs before with decent success.

If I had $300 to spend, I'd buy two Type 85s. If I had only $80 to spend, I'd buy two Whirlwind IMP2s. If the DIs were going to be reasonably dedicated for keyboard (or otherwise stereo) use, I'd also consider the two-channels-in-one-box DIs that Radial have.

[Paris MkVI]

We use a pair of mono Whirlwind transformer DI's on our Korg and they do just fine.

[Pastor Ryan]

http://www.ospaudio.com/store/pc/vie...8&idcategory=0

There is a good cheap one, we use a lot of OSP stuff.

[Steven]

Originally Posted by Paris MkVI

We use a pair of mono Whirlwind transformer DI's on our Korg and they do just fine.

We do the exact same thing. If you've got a spare channel, this is an easy and
cheap solution. We use Whirlwind IMP2's (about $40 each) and they're work fine for our Korgs and Yamaha.

[mifantrax]

So i will not go wrong buying the
2 x Whirlwind IMP 2 Standard Direct Box

or
Radial ProD2 Passive Stereo Direct Box


Is Radial that much better that it deserves the 70$ over ?

Thank you for your insights.

[Paris MkVI]

I don't know the Radial unit.

The thing I like about the Whirlwinds is I can actually open the box without destroying it!

So when a plug body (inevitably) gets loose or a connector falls inside the box, it can actually be repaired in-house and quickly restored to service.

The boxes we used to use were not designed to be opened. Maintaining them was less pleasant as a result.

[andrewc2]

If space becomes an issue, A XLR Combiner ( bswusa.com/proditem.asp?item=JIBC ) is always useful to take those 2 DI's into 1 board input

[kfhoech]

The Whirlwind IMP2 does not have mu-metal cans surrounding the transformer inside. The mu-metal can protects the signal from electromagnetic interference. Accordingly, you would need to keep it away from power cords and especially "wall-wart" or other similar power supplies.

The Radial ProDI and ProD2 are similar to Whirlwind's Director and Direct2, respectively, and are comparably priced.

I have used both the Radial ProDI and ProD2 and the Whirlwind Director and have found them to be well constructed and perform well.

I've also used DI boxes without the mu-metal can and found that it was sometimes difficult to find a place to put them where they would not pick up hum from the power. My opinion is that the Radial ProD2 or Whirlwind Direct2 is worth the extra money. YMMV.

[Gracetech]

I second the Radial ProD2

crt