bongomania
Commercial User
Nah he is referring to the amount of voltage driving the tube, because so many people insist that anything less than hundreds of V is inadequate. And in some cases, for some tastes, they are right.
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tube vs solid state direct boxes
- Thread starter smcbass
- Start date
Very quick comment here:
You can't really just put it down to the transformer being the source of the REDDI's juicy tone, though it's an integral part of it. The circuit used in the REDDI is quite different from those in the DIs with smaller transformers. It uses the transformer primary as the plate load for the tube. it has to be so big because the DC plate current runs through it (requires gapped windings) . Most of the others have resistive plate loads and are capacitor coupled to the primary of the output transformer which can be smaller because it doesn't have to pass any DC current.
Both methods have their pros and cons. The REDDI method is one that tends to impart a more tubey character but has higher output impedance and the AC operating point of the tube is affected by different load impedances. So it's likely to sound a bit different into a console with 1k Ohm input impedance than it will into one with 2k input impedance.
I understand why people say that the tone is in the transformer because at a glance and/or to the layman that's the one big difference between the circuits. As with most things, it's a bit more complicated than that.
You can't really just put it down to the transformer being the source of the REDDI's juicy tone, though it's an integral part of it. The circuit used in the REDDI is quite different from those in the DIs with smaller transformers. It uses the transformer primary as the plate load for the tube. it has to be so big because the DC plate current runs through it (requires gapped windings) . Most of the others have resistive plate loads and are capacitor coupled to the primary of the output transformer which can be smaller because it doesn't have to pass any DC current.
Both methods have their pros and cons. The REDDI method is one that tends to impart a more tubey character but has higher output impedance and the AC operating point of the tube is affected by different load impedances. So it's likely to sound a bit different into a console with 1k Ohm input impedance than it will into one with 2k input impedance.
I understand why people say that the tone is in the transformer because at a glance and/or to the layman that's the one big difference between the circuits. As with most things, it's a bit more complicated than that.
okcrum
in your chest
Still, this thread (and the DIs discussed) is hanging right at that threshold where it's just a few knobs' difference between a "good tube" DI and a very nice preamp with a big output transformer for flavor.
I'm looking for a pure tube DI, no preamp functions. The tube DIs without gain or preamp functions appear to be less expensive, which is a plus for me. That knocks out the Groove Tubes Brick, REDDI, UA Solo 610, Summit TD-100, Radial Firefly, and some others I'm sure that I've missed. The only pure tube DIs (no preamp functions) that don't use starved plate designs (or at least don't appear to) I've seen are the Demeter and the Aguilar DB900. The Aguilar is no longer in production, so that leaves the Demeter. So at this point, my question is whether a used Demeter at $350-400 is worth buying instead of a new Radial J48 Mk3 at about $150.00 (open box from Crazy Dave's) or a new Countryman?
Hmm. Well personally I really couldn't tell you, because I've never A/B compared the Demeter and Countryman 85, nor have I used a Demeter. But the Countryman 85 sounds great and you should be able to get a used one for pretty cheap, so "for me" the Demeter would need to at least shine above the Countryman 85 as much as the 85 shines above the IMP-2. Otherwise - no.
