Great Sound Quality But Not Perfect

I really like the airy, ethereal sound that can be achieved using this direct box in active mode with the BBE process knobs set to 12 o'clock. Compared to the my Behringer GI-100 there is more "air" and high-end detail but without harshness. It is subtle but very pleasing. This BBE process is much improved from previous incarnations in that it is virtually hiss-free. Without the BBE process the unit sounds good; my acoustic guitar has exceptional clarity and sounds slightly better than it does through the GI-100. However, I'm not sure if this setting would make it worth the extra dollars. As a passive direct box the only advantage I can see is that it can operate without battery power. However using it in this fashion compromises that wonderful high-end. I do like the box a lot, except for the fact that it cannot be operated using phantom power (unlike a lot of competing boxes), a shortcoming made worse by 9V battery life rated at a mere 15 hours. If you keep this thing plugged in at church you are wasting a lot of batteries. And plugging in the comparatively flimsy power supply sends noise through the output. My unit actually had an intermittent battery holder connection which made me pretty darn unhappy as I had to use it in passive mode. Also note that the Jensen transformer gives you an automatic -12 db attenuation so if you have a low output signal you will need something else for a boost. Given this "automatic" pad I'm not sure if there is any need for -30 db. I would have preferred no attenuation and pad switches in -10 db increments. I probably will keep the unit because of the great sound but as of now it is sitting on my studio desktop because of the battery issue.

Reviewed by Baxter on 10/31/2006 who plays Contemporary Worship & Rock.