Now that the Dangerous D-box has been out for a while

[WideawakE]

....any opinions?

I'm still trying to decide whether the dangerous music dbox would be a better purchase than a coleman TB4mk2?

I think the summing would be nice, and I could probably use the DA (RME fireface 800 currently)....but, is does the coleman provide a better signal to the monitor? I've been searching the threads of old and saw some say the DBox hypes the high end..

alrighty, that should do it...

[Stick]

I'm interested to hear what folks have to say on this one too...

Not having a volume, talkback, and speaker selector remote on my desktop seems like it would be a drag. What do you do about that?

[84K]

bump

[matucha]

I'm too very curious. So far I didn't get satisfying answer about the convertor, if it is up there with lavry, avocet etc. How transparent the volume is...

What was discussed the most was the summing part, that I consider as a bonus, not the core.

I just want to step up from apogee minidac that I use for monitoring now and I know how much better lavry blue DA sounds so my "benchmark" is lavry blue + coleman vs D-Box vs 2ndhand Avocet... that is price range $1500-1800 and nowadays I'm leaning towards Avocet...

[WideawakE]

[el cochino]

Bought the SPL MTC two days ago but it wasn't working right out the box and now I'd have to wait another week for a replacement unit. Now I thought about getting the D-box, instead. Especially, since I could use pair of good D/A and maybe even the summing option.

So here's another bump!

[russellwolff]

ok, i just sent these comments to Bob over at Dangerous as well. They did an absolutely SLAMMING job on this unit!!! I have ZERO hesitations recommending it against the Lavry or Avocet!

it is so well engineered and thought out... the sound itself in good monitors (mine are the Focal Solo6's) is "warm and inviting" as opposed to some of the other 'brand name' D/A converters I have used. those seem to be a bit 'colder' in comparison. the d-box seems to have some sort of glue holding the mix together without coloring the sound! the headphone amps are beyond belief... so quiet, so true. all signal, no noise :-) overall, the D/A via either the headphone or main outs is extremely easy to listen to and not fatiguing in the least. feature-wise, this would be tough to beat. and i am not even using the summing. (right now anyway)

i will post this in another thread as well. the buttons are solid, the knobs are great... yes it has KNOBS!! why don't more companies make gear with actual knobs that truly do things in the unit! (digital or software controls don't count)

[A4722]

I heard the D-Box at NAMM. Focal had one hooked up to demo the Solo 6's. I asked if they were using the D-Box DA. They said yes. The recording was of solo acoustic stringed stuff (bowing/plucking) that could have been "rather screetchy" with a badly designed DA.
The D-Box really had a lot of detail without any harshness (I got real close to the tweeters to try to minimize the dreck from all the booths). I also checked the roll off switches on the Focals and they were at neutral. Can't say if they are as good as Lavry etc. but listening thru the Focals there was nothing objectionable to say the least.

[russellwolff]

here is the review thread...

i added a little bit more detail:

DANGEROUS D-BOX REVIEW

[bobbo]

i finially got a dbox, and i absolutely love it. very clear, my mixing headaches have gone away from using the crappy "big knob" and using my motu's analogue outs.

i'm no audiophile, but the clarity is eye/ear opening. i use adam a7s and i can finally hear the amazing top end on these babies now, and hear the amazing detail or the lower end. the imaging is great too. another thing that i love is the "mono" button, i don't know what it is about this mono button, but i love how it sounds in mono, sound dumb i know, but the mono button on my last few studio setups have been not as "pleasant" sounding. and now that i've heard this sucker, i'm excited to hear it with buss summing at some point, hopefully soon.

i use mine with the digital input from my daw's interface.

with this setup it makes listening to music more intersting, because i can hear more detail in the insturments, and room sounds/ambiance/verb or lack there of.

it makes me enjoy listening to some of my favorite albums too, to hear all the little nuances that are floating in the mixes.

[Doc Mixwell]

+100KHZ for the D-BOX!!! One of the most useful, coolest monitoring solutions for a DAW you'll find out there.

[russellwolff]

i agree 100% with Adam.

here is the thing. I love the Lavry DA10 in theory, but the features are so limited in comparison. for me (and i guess for other people) the feature set of the D-Box will FAR outweigh any perceived D/A shortcomings. i think it is a top notch product as it is. but i know many people out there prefer the Lavry gear. like i said, it was the features that tipped the scales for me.

Originally Posted by Roc Mixwell

+100KHZ for the D-BOX!!! One of the most useful, coolest monitoring solutions for a DAW you'll find out there.

[IAMGI Services]

Originally Posted by russellwolff

i agree 100% with Adam.

here is the thing. I love the Lavry DA10 in theory, but the features are so limited in comparison. for me (and i guess for other people) the feature set of the D-Box will FAR outweigh any perceived D/A shortcomings. i think it is a top notch product as it is. but i know many people out there prefer the Lavry gear. like i said, it was the features that tipped the scales for me.

Russell, it would be greatly appreciated if you could give your opinions on the sonic differences between the D-Box D/A vs the Lavry DA10. I will be purchasing one of these units based soley on the D/A sound differences between the two and it seems that your the most experienced for a direct comparison of those two from the comments you've posted that I've read in of other threads.

Can you elaborate more on this?

[russellwolff]

I really wouldn't consider myself an authority on 'comparing' the two units. Especially as it's been many years since I heard them side-by-side. They are both great, but different. I ended up going with the D-Box based on features for the value and I have never regretted that decision. The ONLY other piece on the market I think I would have seriously considered was the Avocet which I have used so much over the years. But it had no summing and cost a lot more. I use the analog summing on every mix now...

So, to me, nothing offers everything like that in one box. And certainly not at that price point.

In most cases of all-in-one gear, you really sacrifice something sonically. However, if you are already a fan of the Dangerous D/A (from any of their other products) you will love the D-Box. Great sound. Great product.

Originally Posted by IAMGI Services

Russell, it would be greatly appreciated if you could give your opinions on the sonic differences between the D-Box D/A vs the Lavry DA10. I will be purchasing one of these units based soley on the D/A sound differences between the two and it seems that your the most experienced for a direct comparison of those two from the comments you've posted that I've read in of other threads.

Can you elaborate more on this?

[Silver Sonya]

I no longer own a D-Box, but that's not because it isn't great. I would buy another one in a heartbeat.

They are fantastic units in every respect.

- c