Countryman Type 85 Direct Box

Active Direct Box

The Type 85 connects any high-impedance instrument pickup, even piezo pickups, to a balanced microphone (XLR type) input. It provides a strong, clean signal to the mix board without adding noise or distortion. It won't change the tone or volume you hear from your own amp like passive direct boxes. It won't break just when you need it. It won't develop a dead battery on stage because it runs on Phantom power.

Indestructible
Connectors and switches are recessed into a single-piece extruded case with extra-thick walls. You can literally drive a truck over a Type 85 without hurting it. Internal electronics are molded in a solid epoxy block and fully protected against electrical damage. The input can withstand 220 V AC all day long and static spikes up to 20,000 V.

Battery or Phantom Power
Most mixing consoles provide 48 V Phantom power and the Type 85 will automatically use it. If you don't have Phantom power, the Type 85 will run for about 400 hours from a single internal 9 V battery.

Simply Exceptional Sound
The Type 85 uses only hand-selected high-quality discrete components woven into a single-ended class A circuit, much like a classic tube microphone preamp. The Type 85 has an incredibly smooth, sweet sound. Unlike many active DI boxes, the Type 85 can always isolate ground, even when running on Phantom power, to help eliminate hum and buzz from ground problems.

The Type 85 doesn't have roll off switches or effects. Adjusting the frequency content of a sound source is an artistic decision best done at the mixing location where you can hear the results and easily make changes.

Features:

• Performance
• Strong, clean signal to the mix board with no added noise or distortion
• Isolates ground buzz between console and amp
• Style
• Small, compact, sleek design
• Almost invisible on stage
• Durability
• Nearly impossible to break
• Internal components are fully protected against electrical damage
• Input circuit withstands 220V AC all day long, and static spikes up to 20,000 volts!
• Five-year warranty

Specifications:

• Frequency Response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz +- 1 dB
• Noise Floor (shorted input): .63 muV RMS (-122 dBu)
• Power Requirements: 9 V battery or .4 mA @ 48 V Phantom
• Input Protection: 220 V RMS and 20,000 V static discharges
• Voltage Gain:
  -10 dB in Pickup mode
  -46 dB in Speaker mode
• RF Filtering:
  250 kHz Low Pass on input
  30 kHz Low Pass on output
• Maximum Input Level:
  5 V P-P in Pickup mode
  300 V P-P in Speaker mode
  Equal to 2,800 Watts into 4 Ohms
• Distortion:
  .018% THD @ 1 kHz and 1 V P-P in
  .08% IMD 10 kHz/60 Hz 1 V P-P in
• Input Resistance: 10 MOhms in Pickup mode (10 times the input resistance of a typical guitar amplifier.)
• Input Capacitance: 160 picofarad, equal to two feet of low-capacitance guitar cable.
• Dimensions: 1.75 in x 3 in x 5 in (45 mm x 77 mm x 127 mm)
• Weight: 18.5 oz (.52 kg)