Bench & Field
On the bench, the first thing I noticed was that the 1/8-in jack supplied me with another option in hooking up multimedia devices.
The next thing that drew my attention was the power test switch, certainly handy for troubleshooting at shows.
With three different connectors to choose from, routing an audio signal into the Type 10 was easy. I played a bunch of songs I’m familiar with into my test bench PA system, and was impressed by the sound – or should I say the lack of coloration this DI exhibits.
Confident in the abilities of the Type 10S, I took it out to a gig the next day.
The first event was a typical corporate meeting that required walk in/out music throughout the day. I connected a laptop to the 1/8-in jack and set the PAD to 0 dB.
The unit performed flawlessly and I realized that its small size would make it easy to hide in a podium when I needed to get audio out of a presenter’s computer or MP3 player.
Next, I took the unit to a lounge and used it on the keyboard rig. Because the keyboard player only had one stereo keyboard, I could have simply taken a feed from the keyboard, but instead opted to run the line output of the keyboard amp into the DI.
Due the hot signal from the amp, I set the PAD switches to -15 dB and all was well.
If you’re shopping for an all-around DI that can handle anything, the Type 10S deserves to be at the top of your list. The sound quality is great, and it’s built like a tank.
U.S. MSRP: $550
Craig Leerman is senior contributing editor for ProSoundWeb and Live Sound International and is the owner of Tech Works, a production company based in Las Vegas.