High end DI box or line level shifter for synths?

[Kiwiburger]

Most DI boxes drop Instrument down to Mic level. Which means you then need Mic preamps to raise the level up to Line level.

I have a bunch of Radial JDIs and they work well with good preamps. I prefer passive transformers, because they kill ground loop hum which tends to be a problem with unbalanced synth outputs.

Some DI's have Line level output - the Avalon U5 for example. And your Nice DI, evidently.

I think the Ebtech LLS is worth a look at as a cheaper, passive alternative. I bought one, and their Hum Eliminator, recently - just haven't got around to testing it. I got the one with XLR version - it looks good.

Being passive, it's just a transformer, and it can work both ways. So although it's best used for dropping +4 down to -10, it can work the other way to provide some voltage gain. It would do so at the expense of current, but your synths and your mixer are probably not starved of current, and this may not affect your tone adversly. Worth a try. I've read some rave reviews from people who have used it this way. I'm not expecting it to sound as great as my JDIs into Neve or API preamps, but it will be interesting to compare. (I bought it mainly for solving ground loop issues in non-critical monitoring mixers in other rooms).

[ignatius]

thanks for the input. yeah, I know a DI drops level down to mic level but haven't researched if the pre's on my calrec have more mic gain vs line gain on the inputs which may be the case. if so a radial DI into the mic pre's might work fine. not sure though.

anyway- thanks for the advice on the ebtech. if you end up testing it i'd love to hear about it. i certainly don't want to 'harm' the tone from my synths any.

btw - the Nice DI is really great and has TONS of gain. i've had it for a couple years now. it's a keeper.