Whirlwind pcDI 2-channel Passive A/V Direct Box Reviews

I bought this for remote podcast interviews. I can't remember if the directions were unclear or if threw them away.:) Anyway Removed the cloudlifter ran from the laptop or phone through pcDI then to my mic pre and into the board. Tons of signal. Really happy with how it works

I've trusted Whirlwind for many, many years to provide trustworthy products at a reasonable cost.
The PCDI passive interface is yet another example of their carefully thought out product designs. It is versatile with no apparent audio distortions or noise introduced.
When combined with the excellent service of Sweetwater, how can anyone make a better decision?

This box is wonderful! It does everything I need it to do. Plus the shipping was super fast. Paul Allen is a wonderful help. Call him if you need any gear.

I work at Avolution Multimedia in Sarnia, Ontario, and we use these boxes all the time for our audio rentals, day in, and day out. I have a personal sound system on my desk at home. A few small pro audio speakers and a Mackie 1604 VLZ-4 mixer. I"m looking at getting one of these for my home system

I was having a lot of interference with the audio plugging directly from my MacBook into the mixer. Problem instantly solved with thepcDI

Great piece of gear! i really like that one can use the Ground Lift and 20db Pad.

It is an excellent solution and works well whether lined in to my amp or to the house.

Does exactly what it is advertized to do....little pricey but you get what you pay for.
Love the Stereo/Mono switch.
Lots of inputs (Swiss Knife).

My system is now officially all Low Impedance and silent.
ahhhh.

I've used earlier versions of this device for years and I bought another one based on its reliability and performance. None of those aspects of changed. This is still one of those devices every sound dude should have on hand.

The latest model includes the addition of a 1/8" stereo line input, complementing the RCA inputs. This saved me on a recent gig where I ran short (by one) of 1/8" to RCA cables. I just happened to have an 1/8" to 1/8" on hand that usually sits idle in my bag of tricks. It let me get the presenter's laptop connected in to the sound system and everyone was happy.

This is the perfect approach if you are experiencing sound issues while connecting your laptop to a professional sound system.* Laptops and their sound cards can be noisy and introduce hum and rumble to everyday RCA inputs on a mixer board. This Di box coverts your RCA or Mini Plug into the proper balanced XLR type input that can be connected to a professional or club sound system.

We have had one of these at the church for several years and I just got one for our new auditorium. It's great for iPods, iPads, iMacs, and even a electric piano that we have that has stereo RCA outs instead of 1/2".

Got this to connect computers, mixers, phones etc. to my PA for live use. It is useful for much more than just personal computers! It is very sturdy and seems reliable (and serviceable if need be, which is nice). You could hurt someone quite bad if you hit them with one of these things, but I'm sure it would go on working just fine. I've since used it in studio recording applications as well where it has also been effective. The only issue that I noticed, which is the reason for knocking off half a star, is that there is some cross-talk between the two channels. It is below -40dB at least and so not really an issue for live situations, but it is noticeable in a studio setting. Best to use it on an actual stereo source and not as DIs for two different sources. (I actually like the subtle narrowing of the stereo image on certain keyboards/pedals).

The coolest feature of this box, which gives it something over even the more expensive Radial counterpart, is the sum to mono switch. This can be super useful in live situations, and sometimes for recording too. It also turns this box into a handy line splitter! Just feed one of the input channels and engage the mono switch. Having separate ground lifts for each channel can't hurt either.

Rugged unit does its job well. Very clean signal. Did not give a full 5 stars because the unit is relatively ecpensive for a passive DI, but the cost gets you quality and flexibility. Stereo / mono switch is handy for either running left/right on stereo imstuments with 1/4" outs. or for summing 2 mono instruments into one xlr out to save on precious miixing board space.
Havent used, the rca jacks for audio devices yet, but its nice to know they're there if nreded.

A multi tasking and road worthy piece of equipment that is so good that I purchased several more. End of story.

This is the most versatile directbox I've ever used. I play live with a computer running VSTs, and I usually just use the computer's 3.5mm audio out. No venue expects a keyboardist to give them a mini headphone jack, and many expect balanced XLR. I've used little submixers a lot to provide them with a 1/4" unblanced, and then a directbox after that if needed. Also, the mono/stereo was an absolute must for me, a lot of venues aren't running in stereo, and a lot of bands don't run their PA in stereo. Mono is almost always what I need, and this box does a very good job of outputting mono XLR.

The way I use it is this:
stereo laptop -> 3.5mm input
electric piano -> one of the 1/4" inputs
mono switch pushed in (mono mode)
one XLR out to the PA
one XLR out to my personal powered speaker for monitor

This box mixes the laptop output plus my electric piano output, thus removing the need for a mixer, and it sends the same output out of both XLRs so that my personal monitor gets the exact same signal that I'm sending to the house PA.

The issue that Michael Massura mentioned is for real though - the XLR outs have a weird perimeter around them that prevents a lot of XLR cables from being able to get all the way into the socket. If not addressed, it can be very frustrating. I fixed it pretty easily though with a pocket knife and some wire cutters. I just trimmed that little margin down so that it's flush to the point that most XLR sockets would be. It accepts and locks-in all XLR cables just fine now.

The "thru" outputs are a little quirky, but very acceptable. If you plug an instrument into the left 1/4" input, the left RCA does NOT act as a thru. However, if you put it into "mono" mode, you can plug an instrument into the left 1/4" input and the right 1/4" jack will function as a thru. I think it's probably asking too much to have all five of the inputs capable of being inputs and thrus, depending solely upon what's stuck into them.

Every live keyboardist that uses a combination of VSTs on laptop, and hardware keyboards, needs one of these directboxes.

Whirlwind - you need to use a different XLR port. The one you're using is just goofy, like it's from some alternate universe that always uses skinny cable connectors.

pcDI is a great product to get if you really need to get rid of the sound from your computer for PC application. I bought this for a Dance Program, because I wanted to run my I-Mac thought my PA. Clicking the ground relief switch on both channels removed all computerize noises.
I also use it to connect computer to my studio monitors works the same.

Well built!

One downside the (2) XLR does not work with all XLR cables because it has a smaller plug, it worked with my GLS XLR cables and most of my cables that have a normal smaller around heads, but the bigger XLR connectors on my Shure XLR cables would not fit.

Other then the Shure XLR Connecters this DI box is solid and for the price and how clean it sounds it is well worth it, I consider it a steal.

Also the Pad on the DI works like it should.

Simple to work, and has all the connects that you will ever need for your computer or digital devices.

really works well music so much clearer with less distortion

We used this DI to provide sound directly from an Aviom unit to a camera we use to distribute the a/v throughout the Church and a recording to put on our website. It works very well with many adjustments and I/O options.

This direct box gives you the throughput that your instruments were built to provide. No point in combining with loss of signal performance when you have a DB that passes through all of the output.

It does exactly what it says on the tin.

Versatile in that I can take a variety of input cables and make it work in either stereo or mono.

Took the nasty PC soundcard noise right out of my system and the extra 20db attenuation is a nice option for really noisy systems.

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I only give 5 stars for things that truly suprize me. But this is a great product.

Great functionality, a lot of features. But this entire line of Whirlwind DI's really negatively effects your input level. I'm having to crank my headamp to get an appropriate level in the house. It's the same problem with the rack mounted unit with 4 stereo DI's.

i purchased this unit for international touring and it is too large and heavy to be practical for this purpose. i have not opened the package and plan to return the unit and purchase something smaller and lighter. i could not find dimensions and weight specifications on line.