Enter to win a $12,000 Microphone Locker

New AEA TDI Phantom-powered Direct Box

Active Direct Box with -20dB Pad
5 Write review Item ID: TDI
$299.00

Earn $15 back in Bonus Bucks† OR pay $9/month with 36 month financing*

Free
Shipping
Tech Support

Free Sweetwater
Support

Free 2-year
Warranty
In Stock!

Notify me about deals

Ask An Expert

Our expertly trained Sales Engineers are ready to help!

(800) 222-4700
What is a Sales Engineer?
Sweetwater Gear Exchange

Have one to sell?
Check out Sweetwater's Gear Exchange!
Learn More

Most Popular Accessories & Related Items

AEA TDI Phantom-powered Direct Box
In Stock!
$299.00
Back to navigation

Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

A Super-clean Active Direct Box

The AEA TDI is a phantom-powered direct box with an ultra-low-noise JFET buffer driving a squeaky-clean step-down transformer. You also get a Thru jack that's paralleled to the unit's input jack. The TDI's active circuitry delivers top-grade sound quality while minimizing distortion and noise interference and maximizing your signal over long cable runs. Here at Sweetwater, we've found that this direct box tackles passive sources like guitars, basses, and piezo-equipped acoustic-electric instruments with aplomb, and, thanks to its -20dB pad, it can handle speaker-level signals and active instruments with equal assurance. The TDI is able to withstand exceedingly hot levels with zero clipping, and its rugged steel chassis can weather extreme live and studio applications without breaking a sweat. Engineers searching for a near-bulletproof active DI will find the TDI to be the perfect solution in myriad situations.

Related Videos: TDI Phantom-powered Direct Box

AEA TDI Phantom-powered Direct Box Features:

  • Phantom-powered direct box with active circuitry
  • Sports an ultra-low-noise JFET buffer driving a squeaky-clean step-down transformer
  • Delivers top-grade sound quality while minimizing distortion and noise interference
  • Maximizes your signal over long cable runs to safeguard against degradation
  • Ideal for passive sources like guitars, basses, and piezo-equipped acoustic-electric instruments
  • -20dB pad accommodates speaker-level signals and active instruments
  • Withstands exceedingly hot levels with zero clipping
  • Rugged steel chassis can weather extreme live and studio applications

Warranty Info

Sweetwater's FREE 2-Year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty

Extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

  • Save money with FREE parts and labor
  • Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time
  • Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department
Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage
2 Year Total Confidence Coverage
$29.00
FREE!

Free 2-year Warranty

Sweetwater's 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ Warranty gives you extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage
Tools Icon

Save money with free parts & labor!

Fast Icon

Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time.

Award Icon

Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department.

Back to navigation

Tech Specs

  • Channels: 1
  • Pads: -20dB
  • Inputs: 1 x 1/4"
  • Outputs: 1 x XLR
  • Power Source: 48V Phantom Power
  • Height: 3.0"
  • Depth: 5.1"
  • Width: 2.0"
  • Weight: 1 lbs.
  • Manufacturer Part Number: TDI

What Makes Our Sales Engineers Great?

Sweetwater Sales Engineers are a world-class team of experts dedicated to you. Hand selected from across the globe, each brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of music gear to provide you with unparalleled service completely free of charge. Friendly relationships, real trust, and the right gear are only a call or a click away!

(800) 222-4700
Contact Your Sales Engineer
Back to navigation

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5

Customer Added Media

This product doesn't have any review media yet!

Write your review

exceeded expectations

This is a great DI that exceeded my expectations. I run a medium size recording studio and have several good options when it comes to DIs. While I have been happy with other options for most applications, I was curious how this product might compare to other good options. Being familiar with AEA, having used several of their mics and preamps, my expectations were high. Also I read that this DI was a collaboration with Fred Forssell who is a respected designer and longtime collaborator with AEA. To date I have tried this DI on electric guitar, keyboards, electric bass and upright bass pickup (gasp)! This DI performed very well in comparison to my passive and active Radial DI and the active Audient DIs that I regularly use. Noise floor was lower than other DIs used in the shootout which was very nice to see (& hear). I made sure to try the DI on both electric and upright bass pickups, which to be honest, the later is something I almost never do because of the nasal DI typical upright bass tone. In this case, it actually was a very usable sound which I suspect is at least partially due to the extremely high 10 Mohm input impedance. The DI absolutely shines on electric bass and will now be my go to DI for this purpose. I was initially hesitant to purchase this DI due to the price, but it has proven to be well worth the investment due to the low noise floor and linear frequency response that extends quite low. In short - highly recommended. I hope they eventually also release a stereo version which I would like to be first in line to purchase.
by Ben from Baltimore, MD on
Music background: professional musician & recording engineer

WOW - I never thought a DI could make such a difference

Wow - I never knew what a difference A DI could make. I had the opportunity to do a bunch of testing of DI's and wireless rigs through a good sound system over a period of several days. On my acoustic guitar I use a Tone Dexter 2. I came out of the 1/4" out of the TD2 into the input on the AEA DI - this was a huge improvement! By far the the biggest impact from using the AEA DI was on acoustic bass. The bass has a Realist pickup. The channel path on this one made a very big difference. It was super important to plug the bass cable directly into the DI. We (my wife is the bass player) also use an amp on stage we found it was necessary to use an LR Baggs Venue (a previous guitar rig..) between the DI and the amp. We came "1/4" cable out of the "thru" on the DI into the Venue and then 1/4" from venue to amp. The DI also made a huge difference on banjo (I really don't normally like a plugged in banjo, but with this DI it sounded really great straight from a wireless to DI (no preamp processing necessary.)). This is a game changer - I never would have thought it could make so much difference - it makes everything better.
by Dale from Sister, OR on

More Than a Box

Never Thought I'd Write a Review for a DI Box. A few years ago, I updated my old cheap passive DI's for a pair of active Klark Teknics that made an immediate difference in the sound of my acoustic guitar pickups (active & passive). I was considering purchasing another when I saw AEA came out with a DI Box. Since my AEA N22 is my go to mic for everything, I splurged and bought the TDI, and I couldn't be happier. It brings out all the warmth and woody sound back into my guitars when I record using a small Yamaha USB mixer. I can't wait to use it for playing live and have it replace my old LR Baggs belt clip preamp.
by Michael from Los Angeles on
Music background: Recording/performance hobbyist

Incredible Product

After recording directly into an interface for years, I bought the AEA DI box because I was looking for an easy way to improve my setup for recording guitar, with and without pedals. One of the first things I did was test with and without the DI box and the difference was immediately clear. The sound was noticeably cleaner and fuller and I can't go back to my old ways. And the fact that it's phantom powered makes it so easy to plug and play. Would for sure recommend to anyone trying to easily get a better sound.
by Dave on

Great Sounding DI for Bass

I have been recording bass with my SansAmp Bass Driver DI for years, but wanted to try adding a more pristine, clean DI, with the thought of recording two separate tracks and then mixing them. I looked at Radial in this price range (they seem to have a good reputation), but decided to give this new AEA DI a shot, since an engineer I work with on occasion has lots of good things to say about their ribbon mics. I've only had this for a couple weeks, but so far I'm very happy with the results I'm getting. I may not end up using the parallel tracks I recorded with my SansAmp at all – the AEA just sounds great on its own. My main bass (a passive Yamaha BBP34, PJ pickups) sounds very clear but very warm, and sits in a mix just right, with very little EQ or other processing. Nice. The build quality seems great, the price is reasonable so it's not too precious to take out to live gigs (want to try that next), and it's built right across town from me in Pasadena. Feels like a winner!
by Bill M. from Torrance CA on
Music background: Serious amateur, gigging and recording 30+ years
See also: Direct Input Boxes, AEA, AEA Direct Boxes
Close Close $12,000 Mic Locker Giveaway -- input your email address below to enter or click here to learn more.

See giveaway details & rules or check out our past winners!

Enter Now

Success!

Your email, has been entered to win this giveaway. Good Luck!