Radial JDI versus the Audient ASP 880 DI

[easyrider]

Will I get better results with the Radial JDI Purely for recording…?

cheers

 

[nateynate]

I have both. The audience piece is stellar. The jdi is great live and a very good di. Can't really go wrong with either, although each has their own strengths depending on the application.

 

[Joe Porto]

Depends on the source. For a passive source….guitar pickup, the Audient is more suited. The JDI is a passive transformer DI so isn’t the best choice for a passive pickup but works great with active pickups, guitar pedals, keyboards, etc. The Radial J48 is more suited to passive pickups.

 

[easyrider]

Thanks.

I have already have the Audient ASP 880 I was wondering if buying a dedicated DI would be an upgrade.

 

[Joe Porto]

Thanks.

I have already have the Audient ASP 880 I was wondering if buying a dedicated DI would be an upgrade.

It is sometimes advantageous to use a DI on mic pres that have transformers on the inputs, as often their built in DIs bypass this input transformer. The ASP has no input transformer, so there is no advantage there. The JDI could offer some transformer saturation “color“ but you’d have to slam it pretty hard with a relatively high output signal. It’s a big beefy transformer designed to handle high output unbalanced signal.

 

[Matt Hepworth]

Big impedance difference between them. They'll definitely sound different.

 

[Immersive]

The other great thing about passive DIs like the JDI is you can use it backwards for re-amping.
It always found its way onto our sessions one way or the other.

 

[machinated]

if you are using it to record guitars, then check the impedance specs. You'll want 1M ohm minimum for a guitar DI, otherwise you'll probably want to run a buffer infront.

The other thing is a topic I've been pushing a lot recently - if you want to have the most accurate gain response when using amp sims then its very helpful to know the exact amount of headroom you're recording with.

This is pretty easy on most built in interface ones as they'll include the maximum headroom as a spec. If you use an external DI, you'll need to measure to find this out (either by running sine waves in and comparing the difference to a known headroom, or by making a sine wave of a known voltage and measuring the dBFS level).

TLDR - I'd stick with the audient as it already has 1M Ohm instrument inputs and 16dBu of headroom with gain at 0

The other great thing about passive DIs like the JDI is you can use it backwards for re-amping.

You can but you'll want to be careful with levels - a DI box typically has a ratio of about 10:1. Using it in reverse means you're making the signal a LOT louder and you could potentially create a high enough voltage that wouldn't be very pleasant for you or your gear.

 

[easyrider]

if you are using it to record guitars, then check the impedance specs. You'll want 1M ohm minimum for a guitar DI, otherwise you'll probably want to run a buffer infront.

I have a Boss TU-3W Tuner with a switchable Buffered bypass or True bypass my main use will be recording my Fender Precison and 1972 Fender Musicmaster bass…Would you advise using the Boss In front…and it it worth my $250 outlay over the Audient?

 

[easyrider]

I just figured that investing in a device designed purely for one thing a DI would yield better results than a mic pre/ AD/ DI multi device.

 

[danisalat]

In my opinion, the only DIs worth the (big) money are the Avalon U5, the CAL MW1 and the newer Undertone Audio one.
I like transformerless DIs with line output and it makes no sense to me to go through a preamp if you ever plan on reamping or using an amp sin with them.
Otherwise, I don't really care about DIs and they shouldn't get in the way of great results really. I have used Radial before and it's the same as the Apollo Twin hi-z input Yeah, they don't sound exactly the same but whatever, the difference isn't worth the trouble.

I've also had an ASP880 for almost a year now and didn't even know it had DI inputs hahaha

 

[machinated]

I have a Boss TU-3W Tuner with a switchable Buffered bypass or True bypass my main use will be recording my Fender Precison and 1972 Fender Musicmaster bass…Would you advise using the Boss In front…and it it worth my $250 outlay over the Audient?

I’d use a buffer in front of the radial purely because its impedance isn’t very high. If you can avoid a buffer altogether I’d say that’s preferable.
All buffer’s impart their own character, although there are some cleaner ones available these days. it’s up to you whether you like the effect