Gearank

This minimalist black box was designed to be indestructible.

Countryman's website even features videos of the unit being run over by a truck and even being compressed with 5 tons of force from a hydraulic press machine -- without breaking.

Exterior and aesthetics aside, the circuitry in the Type 85 was designed to mimic a tube microphone preamp, providing a smooth and sweet sound.

Features:

• 48-Volt phantom powered direct box
• Hand-selected, high-quality discrete components
• Class-A circuit
• Input 1/4", Outputs 1 x XLR, 1 x TRS amp output
• Weight: 1.2 lbs.

Pros

"Built like a tank" is a statement repeated several times by different users. In our research, we have not encountered one instance of failure in reviews (except for one user that got his one damaged in a flood). This is impressive by any standard for any piece of gear. The sound is described to be "sweet" both by the manufacturer and some users. The circuitry lends itself to giving a strong but smooth signal to the mixer or interface.

Cons

Some that preferred a more transparent solution were put off by the Type 85's inherent tone coloring. Others felt they needed more function from their DI Boxes.

Overall

The Countryman Type 85 is hailed as one of the best value Active DI Boxes in the market today thanks to its bombproof build and subtle pleasant coloration.

Although this was previously on our recommended list, there are now more highly rated options available which you can see in our guide to The Best DI Boxes & Reamp Boxes.