To DI or not to DI

[ybakos]

Hey players,
Forgive my naiveté, but I'm wondering if using a DI (Radial JDI Duplex) will improve my signal chain. Specifically, I plan to connect the Stage 2's outs to a Radial JDI's in, and the thru's to a pair of QSC K8s. It seems to me that this won't affect the signal chain at all, since the path from the stage 2 to the K8 goes just through the "thru" path of the DI box. Is that correct? In other words, is this, any different than plugging the Stage 2 directly to the K8's?

Thanks for educating me.

[jpoelmans]

It's not different at all. The purpose of a DI is to isolate your instrument electrically from the FOH mixer, to isolate hum and other stuff. The thru is there because in some cases you want the DI injected between 2 deviced eg. a bass guitar and it's amp, or your NS2 and your own monitor mixer.

So unless you have a larger setup with a 30m multicore cable between your NS and the mixer, or you run into other ground-loop related noise issues, you won't need a DI.

[NoDirection]

Could I bring this subject up again. Radial DI boxes like Radial D2 used for keyboard.

There are so many people claiming (At least on Radials pages, and on user reviews) that running through a passive DI even improves the signal.

Is this really true? / noticeable?

I am only a hobby-band musician and never play for more than a few people, but since I have really good keyboards Nord Stage2 and Electro5 , I would like to have the best in the rest of the chain as well...

[AinTziLLo]

I am only a hobby-band musician and never play for more than a few people, but since I have really good keyboards Nord Stage2 and Electro5 , I would like to have the best in the rest of the chain as well...

...then you have to think to invest in professional audio cables above.
The difference between an inexpensive audio cable and a professional audio cable is not only in the price ...


Who knows why Nord does not implement balanced outputs to its keyboards, as do other brands?

[Elias]

Could I bring this subject up again. Radial DI boxes like Radial D2 used for keyboard.

There are so many people claiming (At least on Radials pages, and on user reviews) that running through a passive DI even improves the signal.

Is this really true? / noticeable?

Well, "improves" the signal is a bit vague. What happens is this: passive DI boxes use transformers rather than active electronics, and transformers can subtly alter the signal in ways that sound "nice", a bit like valves for example. Technically speaking, they're not actually improving the signal, they're actually distorting the signal very slightly, but don't be alarmed when I say "distorting", I don't mean they add obviously unpleasant distortion or anything like that, I just mean "distorting" in the general sense of "changing it a bit". People say that the changes can make your instruments a bit "warmer" sounding. The differences are very slight, and are not worth spendiing money on in your situation. There are many other ways you could spend your money for far great benefit in your sound - eg better speakers etc. The time to spend money on expensive passive DIs is when everything else in your setup is as good as it can be, and you've got some spare money you want to spend. Just buying any old passive DIs won't necessarily do the trick, good quality (ie expensive) transformers are needed. That is why Radial brand DIs are often recommended for this, they use good quality transformers and take very great care over getting the best results possible.

As far as good quality leads are concerned, better quality leads are of course better built, and are tougher and more reliable. Cheap leads can often fail at exactly the wrong time, and you will always end up spending more money because you are more likely to have them break and need replacing.

As for spending big bucks on fancy-pants leads, I would say don't bother. At the risk of upsetting some people - and I DO NOT want to start any arguments here - some people reckon that better quality leads can improve your sound, and other people reckon that better leads just means more reliable leads. I have my opinion on this, but there is no way to clearly demonstrate anything one way or the other, so I am NOT going to get into this with anyone. You'll have to weigh the evidence and make up your own mind on this one.

But, whichever, spending TOO much money on leads will not give you good "bang-for-the buck". Your amplification/speaker system is the main thing that will define how good your sound is (apart from your instrument itself, of course!), and that is where most of your money should go.

[pablomastodon]

I agree with RedLeo's opinion on fancy pants leads... enhanced reliability and lifetime warranty, yes, but I'm not too sure about enhanced sound quality. Marketing hype designed to peel more $$ from your pocket, seems to me.

[AlQuinn]

Redleo's opinions match my experience.

[tacitus]

I've always used decent cable - Sommer as a rule but also Klotz and van Damme, not for signal quality purposes but for physical integrity and better coiling. With Neutrik connectors on, whether bought assembled or home-made, there's no point in going further as far as I can see. Even the cheaper Chinese cable is OK is they haven't totally skimped on the amount of copper, but I always end up replacing Chinese connectors, so that may be a pointer of where to spend.

No cable or DI will improve the quality of your sound though I suppose if your HF hearing response is especially sensitive, losing some top end might help. At 60, I'm beyond that sort of problem!

The whole point of DIs is like the physical integrity of cables and connectors - it's about convenience, reliability and predictability. typically you use DIs to put your keyboard through a stage box and into a mixer's mike inputs with all the other mike-level signals going from stage to mixer. Technically, there is some deterioration of signal, but it's vastly outweighed by the predictability and convenience of having all mike-level signals coming down the snake and the reliability of having no problems with hum and other cable-borne interference. It doesn't matter how hi-fi your sound is if it buzzes when the fridge kicks in!

If you don't understand the jargon here, you probably will get on better without DIs - it's another link in the chain and as long as your good but not stupidly expensive cable is short enough, no trouble will ensue.

[drraw]

I use the stereo radial DI as well. I think it is great! Certainly when going in to a board. I personal feel it is cleaner and yes, Radial tech support claims it to be as well. You have it, what do you have to lose? I use it as well when just going in to my keyboard monitors.

[DJKeys]

Would there be an advantage using the Radial Pro 2 on the stereo feed from my line mixer (Ashly LX-308B) going the FOH? Right now, I use balanced TRS cables to two board inputs. This way the sound guy would probably not have to have different trims on these channels as he does now, as he could use the mic inputs instead of the balanced line inputs.

Any input appreciated.