Members LiveMusic Posted February 7, 2010 Members Share Posted February 7, 2010 What is the difference between a DI box and a pre-amp, if any? Looking at Baggs para DI and BLA Austere pre and realized I don't know the difference. What does each do? Looking into this to enhance live sound. Acoustic guitar / vocal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B. Adams Posted February 7, 2010 Members Share Posted February 7, 2010 In really simple terms, a DI turns unbalanced line-level signals into balanced mic-level, and a preamp turns mic-level signals into balanced line-level. Typically a DI is used on stage to change the unbalanced line-level output of an instrument, such as a keyboard or acoustic guitar, into a balanced mic-level signal that can be run down the snake with the rest of the mics. Balanced signals are better for long runs, as they are much less prone to noise and external interference. A preamp would typically be placed at the mix position, with the output feeding a line-level input on the mixer and used instead of the mixer's internal mic preamp. You will see much more benefit to using DI's in live sound than external preamps. Better mics, speakers, mixers, etc will be much more noticable than a different/better preamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted February 7, 2010 CMS Author Share Posted February 7, 2010 I really don't have anything additional to offer. I just wanted to have my Stewie follow B. Adams' Stewie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted February 7, 2010 Members Share Posted February 7, 2010 What is the difference between a DI box and a pre-amp, if any?Looking at Baggs para DI and BLA Austere pre and realized I don't know the difference. What does each do?Looking into this to enhance live sound. Acoustic guitar / vocal. I'll suggest a preamp generally has the ability to add a ton of extremely clean gain to a signal. Generally DI boxes involve little if any gain to the signal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Keyrick Posted February 7, 2010 Members Share Posted February 7, 2010 Many Pre-Amps can serve the function of a DI though, as in the process of providing amplification, the inputs and outputs are somewhat isolated from each other. This is not the case for all Pre-Amps though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted February 8, 2010 Members Share Posted February 8, 2010 What is the difference between a DI box and a pre-amp, if any?Looking at Baggs para DI and BLA Austere pre and realized I don't know the difference. What does each do?Looking into this to enhance live sound. Acoustic guitar / vocal. The Para DI is both a preamp AND a DI. A preamp provides amplification and maybe some control (like eq). A DI converts a high impedance unbalanced signal to a low impedance balanced signal. DI's may be passive or active, meaning they have justthe isolation/impedance translation device or may also include a buffer amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted February 8, 2010 Members Share Posted February 8, 2010 DI's may be passive or active, meaning they have justthe isolation/impedance translation device or may also include a buffer amp. Sometimes the active buffer amp can have 20db or so of gain but this is not the same as a mic preamp that has 55 to 70db of gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted February 8, 2010 Members Share Posted February 8, 2010 A few offer gain, but fortunately not most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members karlw Posted February 8, 2010 Members Share Posted February 8, 2010 Generally, a DI and a preamp serve different functions, as has been explained above. But, some preamps have a DI input along with mic and line inputs. An example is the True Systems P2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DBR Posted February 8, 2010 Members Share Posted February 8, 2010 Are there any DI manufactures that have a swithcable active/passive in one offering? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Are there any DI manufactures that have a swithcable active/passive in one offering? Not (currently) that I am aware of, though Radial has some offerings that might do this under some signal routing paths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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