My Sunnaudio Stage DI 2 Pre-stine Review

[JayBee1404]

Aaaahh! Thanks Cuki79!

Just downloaded the Quick-Start Guide from the Sunnaudio website - custom right-angle insert cables are also available from them.

[martingitdave]

I got my Sunnaudio Stage DI-2 prestine in the mail today. One day early. Go USPS!

This is the best analog preamp I have used with K&K. I am using the 1Meg setting. I didn't need the 2k presence switch for use in home testing. It sounded a bit more natural without that engaged. Maybe it would be more useful in a band to provide cut?

The EQ is musical and the mid control and mid frequency selection are worth the price of admission. Many of us are used to using K&K with various preamps with fixed mids. They usually don't match up with my instruments. This one really works. At the factory frequency setting it dead on NAILS the honk in my K&Ks with the dial at about 10 or 11 o'clock. It's funny how getting this mid frequency right makes the pickup go from "yeah this sounds pretty good for a pickup..." to "this sounds and feels like my guitar and not the pickup."

Previous to this I was using the Fishman Stage DI which had great features, but the 10M input always made it sound slightly tubby. Useable but tubby.
The Fishman will be up for sale for anyone using a Fishman transducer who wants their matching preamp.

Thanks Sunny! You done good. This one is going in the gig case and I'll be using it from here out.

[Update] The presence feature works beautifully with the 12 string in testing - I mean heavenly sounding good. It's not as good a match on the 6 string. So, I'll keep it off for now. Maybe version 3 should move that dip switch to the outside of the case?

[Cuki79]

So if Doug Young, Vancebo and MartinGitDave are Sunnaudio aficionados, I think we have a winner here! (analog peamp wise)

I wonder when SpruceTop who just acquired a Grace Design Felix.2 will try...

[JayBee1404]

Well I’m seriously considering purchasing a Stage DI-2 Prestine, and just as soon as Sunny comes back with a shipping cost to the UK and an AGF discount code I will make a decision. My only reservation is the position of the XLR-out and TRS-out, which make it somewhat pedalboard-unfriendly with regard to my Pedaltrain Jr. board (it’s a small board and, due to the restricted real-estate, I like the -outs to be positioned on the ‘north’ side so that the cables will run directly over the far edge of the board and not interfere with the positioning of my other pedals). That will need some thinking.

Question to you guys who already have this unit - did you go for the coloured foot switch-covers, which colour, and are they useful?

[meb]

Originally Posted by JayBee1404

Well I’m seriously considering purchasing a Stage DI-2 Prestine, and just as soon as Sunny comes back with a shipping cost to the UK and an AGF discount code I will make a decision. My only reservation is the position of the XLR-out and TRS-out, which make it somewhat pedalboard-unfriendly with regard to my Pedaltrain Jr. board (it’s a small board and, due to the restricted real-estate, I like the -outs to be positioned on the ‘north’ side so that the cables will run directly over the far edge of the board and not interfere with the positioning of my other pedals). That will need some thinking.

Question to you guys who already have this unit - did you go for the coloured foot switch-covers, which colour, and are they useful?

I ordered a DI-2 yesterday, but had not noticed the awkwardness of the
outputs. I found a few right angle options on Amazon, but not at SW or GC.
fyi, I ordered a PigHog PY-S214F for the insert cable adapter rather than
the Hosa. ....but it is not RA.

I asked sunny to put the Cover on the Boost switch and not on the
Mute thinking that may make it easier to target the boost switch
while playing.

I have been using the original Stage DI for a while now and to my
ear, it is by far the best sounding preamp I have tried. I expect
the DI-2 to be equally as good.

[Vancebo]

I am glad others are jumping on the Sunnaudio train.

If I had to be picky, yes, it would be nice for the dip switches and adjustable mid filter to be on the outside. I am sure it was a space issue. Sunnaudio sells an electric guitar pedal called the Rabbit Head. I am not much of an electric player, but I loaned it to a friend of mine, and he won’t give it back. He says it dials in the sweetest tones. Anyway, the Rabbit Head has a box that is a bit bigger than the DI-2 and smaller than the MS-2. I think that would have been an ideal size for the DI-2. I am sure Sunny and Marc don’t listen to me. I bet they had their reasons. I can see where you may want that dip switch on for one guitar and off for another. When I switch from 1M to 5M impedance, I don’t think I here a difference through my Bose S1. If there is it is too subtle for me to tell.

I still think it’s the best though.

[Cuki79]

Originally Posted by Vancebo

Anyway, the Rabbit Head has a box that is a bit bigger than the DI-2 and smaller than the MS-2. I think that would have been an ideal size for the DI-2.

Would it still fit in a guitar case?

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by meb

I ordered a DI-2 yesterday, but had not noticed the awkwardness of the
outputs. I found a few right angle options on Amazon, but not at SW or GC.
fyi, I ordered a PigHog PY-S214F for the insert cable adapter rather than
the Hosa. ....but it is not RA.

Yeah, I’ve seen a few right-angle XLR plugs, which is great until I have to use a house-PA and plug the supplied XLR cable (happens sufficiently frequently to pose a problem).

I’m going to have to think about a solution. Or fuggeddit!

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by JayBee1404

Well I’m seriously considering purchasing a Stage DI-2 Prestine, and just as soon as Sunny comes back with a shipping cost to the UK and an AGF discount code I will make a decision. My only reservation is the position of the XLR-out and TRS-out, which make it somewhat pedalboard-unfriendly with regard to my Pedaltrain Jr. board (it’s a small board and, due to the restricted real-estate, I like the -outs to be positioned on the ‘north’ side so that the cables will run directly over the far edge of the board and not interfere with the positioning of my other pedals). That will need some thinking.

Question to you guys who already have this unit - did you go for the coloured foot switch-covers, which colour, and are they useful?

I'm not using a pedal board so I didn't buy the large knobs. I wanted to keep it small.

[Vancebo]

Originally Posted by Cuki79

Would it still fit in a guitar case?

Yes.

I got the large Blue knobs. You can easily remove them with a small Allen wrench.

[martingitdave]

Though this might be helpful...

The Sunnaudio DI-2 weights 318 grams with battery.

The Fishman Platinun Stage weighs 328 grams with the same battery.

The DI-2 is smaller in footprint and slightly taller. For folks using this alone as their only preamp or pedal, and keeping it in a guitar case, I suspect using without the colorized knobs is probably the best.

The fishman is a nice unit. If you have a pickup with 10M input requirements, bass, or other instruments, you might really like it too. However, for K&K, it's no contest. DI-2 sounds better. I also think it sounds another better than the FireEye I used previously.

[tbirdman]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

The EQ is musical and the mid control and mid frequency selection are worth the price of admission. Many of us are used to using K&K with various preamps with fixed mids. They usually don't match up with my instruments. This one really works. At the factory frequency setting it dead on NAILS the honk in my K&Ks with the dial at about 10 or 11 o'clock. It's funny how getting this mid frequency right makes the pickup go from "yeah this sounds pretty good for a pickup..." to "this sounds and feels like my guitar and not the pickup."

I've heard the term "honk" when describing some pickups? Can you explain what that sounds like or better yet a recording?

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by tbirdman

I've heard the term "honk" when describing some pickups? Can you explain what that sounds like or better yet a recording?

I sold all my recording gear earlier this year when we contemplated moving. But, I can describe "honk" with respect to K&K (or any sound board transducer) as an unnatural amount of mid frequency around the 1K Hz range. It's a little hard to describe, but it makes the pickup super sensitive in this area, so you have to be very careful when you play. Below the author wrote "punch or nasal". In my experience, the K&K in that range can be very nasal. I used the word "honk."

I found this on the internet:

EQ Frequency Sound Characteristics
Frequency Sound Characteristic
20–100 Hz Warms an instrument or adds boominess to it
100–200 Hz Is muddy for some instruments but adds fullness to others
350–450 Hz Sounds boxy
750–850 Hz Adds depth or body
1–2 kHz Adds attack or punch to some instruments and creates a
nasally sound in others
2–5 kHz Increases the presence of instruments
5–8 kHz Sounds harsh in some instruments
8 kHz+ Adds airiness or brightness to an instrument

[Br1ck]

My Stage 1 DI is a better tone than a RedEye. When Teddy Randazzo plugged me into a prototype, it was instant love. I'd imagine I'd need to hear the Grace products to be certain, but the SunnAudio is a good sounding circuit, in any of the forms I've tried so far.

[Vancebo]

Originally Posted by Br1ck

My Stage 1 DI is a better tone than a RedEye. When Teddy Randazzo plugged me into a prototype, it was instant love. I'd imagine I'd need to hear the Grace products to be certain, but the SunnAudio is a good sounding circuit, in any of the forms I've tried so far.

It brings me back to when I first met Teddy. He said his pickups worked well with the Baggs PARA DI but he was very impressed with the Red Eye at the time also. So I used the Red Eye for awhile. I eventually was missing the other practical tools of a full function preamp so I went back to the old standard of the Baggs Venue. When new preamps came out, I usually gave them a try just for fun. I can't even remember the names of the preamps and pickups I tried over the years. Eventually the Grace Alix and the Tonedexter came along and were the ones that garnered most of my attention. Then along came Sunnaudio. They started making the onboard preamps that were very clean and musical. The Stage DI came out and quickly became my favorite tone. But it was limited in terms of functionality. The MS-2 does more than I asked for and now the DI-2 kind of checks all of the boxes.

If I could save people money and just get one thing, I would stay all analogue with the DI-2 with a pair of Dazzos to suit their guitar. The Tonedexter is great if your pickup has issues. It can make the quackiest pickup sound great for sure.

I won't ever go back to dual sourcing, but if I did, the MS-2 would be way easier to operate than the old Pendulum SPS-1 was.

Enough rambling for now.