Mackie Signal Direct Box (MDB-1P)

Great build quality and really sturdy. Also works great in my mix

There are hundreds of active DI boxes, and this was my first purchase. I had a limited budget, and I didn't want to experiment on the generic Chinese brands, whose durability is always questionable.I did not find any detailed end-user reviews for this particular unit (MDB-1A), but from reviews of other products around the web, I knew Mackie was a decent brand, so I went ahead with the purchase.Now how does it actually sound. Not great, it turns out. I tried it out with Soundcraft Signature 12MTK, JBL 308P MKII, and I found that this unit isn't exactly quiet on mid-high to high gains, it has quite audible buzz and hum. During testing, I have used only short-length balanced quad-core Canare cables, so I know that is not introducing the noise. I have tried using grounding switch on the unit, but found no change.For the price I paid, I was expecting a quieter hiss/buzz/hum on this unit. Anyway, I am reasonably confident I would not be needing to raise the gains to high in a practical environment. My only expectation is it would be durable for the long run (~10 years).It may be worth noting that I have seen EXACTLY same design generic DI boxes from China. So the 'built-like-a-tank' tag-line is just a marketing gimmick. The shell, in case you want to know, is aluminium (thick enough), and not steel. Of course we cannot tell if there is any difference in the electronics and the audio transformers inside, I hope this is not a rebranded product.I have similar experience with the passive DI box MDB-2P, though the buzz and hums signature is slightly different, but its there.I purcahsed two units of this model. Since I have limited experience on other DI boxes, I am not complaining. The generic Chinese brands cost (only) 25% less, delivered India, so its not a big cost saving. Other popular Active boxes (Radial Engineering), are ~3 times the price (but from what I hear, definitely worth the investment), so this is mostly on the border of being worth it for the time being.

Expensive.. Originally its for 5k.. In Mumbai.

Simple et efficace

Perfecta.

I really like this particular model because I don't have to carry around spare batteries. Of course, you are reliant upon your mixer having phantom power, so that is an important limitation to be aware of if you are relying upon other people's boards. But if you are using your own board, this is a cool piece of hardware and has a lot of nice features like the 15db pad, the ability to combine two sources or use the second 1/4" jack as a "through" jack. I also like the ability to switch polarity and the ground lift. In addition, it feels like a solid little box that is well made. I've been using them for about a year now with no issues - just nice quiet signal.

Great quality and sturdy

Compacta, resistente. Buen producto. Y llego rápido.