Active Di Box Vs Passive

Passive does not have active electronics and therefore does not require an external power source.

Active di box vs passive.

Passive di boxes are basically just transformers. The most obvious difference is that passive di boxes don t need to be powered. They contain a transformer to perform impedance matching and balancing and very little else the strength and impedance of. Active versus passive di box the di box for direct injection or direct input also known as a direct box is a device who s main basic function is to convert the unbalanced high impedance output of an instrument s signal into a balanced low impedance one which in turn allows longer cable runs without adding noise among other benefits.

A passive di unit typically consists of an audio transformer used as a balun. For an in depth look at choosing active or passive direct boxes please check out the free guide on our blog. The biggest difference between an active di and a passive di is that an active di includes a preamplifier. In contrast active boxes do have active electronics which are powered by external power sources.

The most basic definitions of the two different kinds of di boxes are likely what you d expect. Passive dis are ideal for instruments with strong outputs and both their low cost and durability make them the most popular kind of direct box. Typical turns ratio is about 500 1 to match a nominal 50 kω signal source such as the magnetic pickup of an electric guitar to a 100 ω input.