Product Price
449.00

Product Features

• Variable input impedance from 10K ohms to 2M ohms
• XLR mic level output
• 1/4" TRS line level output
• Headphone output
• Up to +24dB output gain
• Signal ground lift
• Polarity switch
• Signal and overload LEDs
• Internal high voltage power supply
• One 12AX7A/ECC83 vacuum tube

First Impressions
I knew I was working with a great piece of equipment as soon as i pulled it out of the box! The layout is very straight forward two knobs one for input gain and one for impedence control. As soon as I plugged in my bass I could tell an imediate difference. This unit sounds thick and very very smooth unlike my Whirlwind IMP that I have been using for some time. It definitly imparts a certain character onto anything that passes through it but it does not diminish the original tone at all and if you want to slightly alter the sound you have the impedence control to intentionally mismatch the impedence. Using an Electric Guitar with a bunch of effects pedals I was really able to see just how much of an impact the impedence knob has on the sound. This thing sounds great!

In Use
In use this thing shines! I used it on Electric Bass, Electric Guitar, Synth, and Drum Machine and it sounded great on all of them. The 24dB that the instrument preamp offers is more than enough for anything you can throw at it. The preamp sounds very nice on all the things I tried it with. You can push it to a point of almost distortion but the tube does a nice job of smoothing out any distortions! Where I thought this unit really shined was on drum machine and synth. I have an old Alesis SR-16 that I ran through the DI and it really gave it some punch and smoothed over the thin digital sounds. Next I used it on my Waldorf Microwave II which is a digital synth that sounds great but it still lacks that analog warmth. I thought that I had become accustomed to what the Microwave sounded like until I plugged it into the TD-100 it was quite clear that my synth was not lacking on character! It sounded very full and lush not that it didn't before but there was a definite increase in clarity when I used the TD-100. I would have to say that this unit really excels at bringing digital instruments back to life!

PROS
Small and very durable Great sound no loss of quality

CONS
its very hard to think of one maybe just a lower price point but perfection does come at a price

Conclusion
I would suggest this to anyone looking for an affordable tube DI with a few extra features! While this might be overkill for the project studio this is a must have for any mid to large scale recording studio

Buy the Summit Audio TD-100 Preamp at Front End Audio