Radial Engineering HDI High Definition Studio Preamp

Radial EngineeringSKU: R800 2025 00

Price:
Sale price €1,125.00

The HDI is a studio-quality preamp designed to create exceptional recordings with any instrument, utilising premium Jensen transformers and a unique Colour control that provides an entirely new yet familiar-sounding sonic palette to experiment with.

Instant Gratification

Despite the complex circuitry housed within the unit, the HDI has an elegant set of controls that allows the musician or engineer to dial up a record-ready sound with a minimal amount of tweaking required. The Level control drives the inputs of the HDI with instant visual feedback from the responsive front panel meter, while the Color knob provides seamless blending between an ultra-clean tone and amp-style distortion and saturation, so you can add just the right amount of character and grit to your instrument. A smooth Opto compressor can be engaged to control the peaks of the input signal, and a High-Pass Filter clears up any excessive low frequencies added by the Color control. Lastly, a Presence control accentuates the highs and high-mids, providing the ability to cut through the mix with results that are sure to impress.

Looks and Personality

With its gunmetal anodised 1/4" thick milled front panel and distinctive styling reminiscent of classic outboard studio equipment, the HDI is sure to turn heads in any recording space. A custom output meter provides a level check at a glance, with oversized chrome knobs for precise adjustments and easy tweaking on-the-fly. The HDI is a stunning standalone unit, but it also comes complete with mounting hardware to install in standard 19" equipment racks. One or two HDI's can be installed side-by-side in a 2RU rack space, and like all Radial products, they are built with rugged components and designed to easily withstand the rigours of concert touring.

HDI Applications

Using the HDI alongside an amplifier

Record bass directly from the HDI while also feeding the unbuffered Thru output to a mic'd up amplifier to blend the two signals together. The HDI sounds so good on its own you just might mute the amp track altogether.

Using the HDI on acoustic guitar

The HDI pairs well with any instrument - with acoustic guitar it can add additional body and character that other direct boxes may lack. Take the line-level XLR output directly to your recording interface to bypass the need for any additional gain stages in the signal path.

Using the HDI Processed Output

The HDI can feed processed signals to your amplifiers at the same time as you feed the inputs of a mixer or audio interface. This allows you to provide additional gain, saturation, and distortion to the inputs of a clean amp or an amp modelling system.

Using the HDI with modular synthesizers

A dedicated Synth Input has a lower sensitivity to accommodate the hot outputs of modular synths or even other studio outboard equipment, allowing you to use the HDI to process any instruments or tracks you can think of.

Features:

  • Dial in an amazing tone within seconds
  • Blend from ultra-clean to amp-like distortion
  • Smooth Opto compressor for peak reduction
  • Mic and line-level outputs
  • Oversized custom-wound Jensen transformer

Specifications

 

Frequency response:

Line Output: 1Hz ~ 100kHz +0.25/-3dB, 20Hz ~ 20kHz +/-0.1dB Mic Output: 10Hz ~ 80kHz +0.25dB/-3dB

Dynamic range:

112dB (20-20k, unweighted, referred to +25dBu)

Gain:

Min Gain (Level CCW): -3dB Max Gain (Level CW): +31dB

Total harmonic distortion:

0.3% @20Hz, 0.22% @100Hz, 0.01% @1kHz (+4dBu In)

Signal to Noise:

91dB (20-20k, unweighted, referred to +4dBu)

Maximum Input:

1/4" TS: +5dBu, 3 VAC RMS, 8.4 V Peak to Peak 3.5mm: +25dBu, 7 VAC RMS, 20V Peak to Peak (Level @ 12:00)

Maximum Output:

Line Level XLR: +25dBu (1% THD at 1kHz) Mic Level XLR: +3.7dBu (1% THD at 1kHz) 1/4" Processed Out: +8dBu (Approx. unity gain with Level @ 12:00)

Features

Ground lift, HPF

Input Connectors:

1/4” TS (front and rear), 3.5mm Synth

Output Connectors:

XLR Line / Mic, 1/4” TS Processed, 1/4” TS Thru

Extras:

Output pad, Opto Compresser: 6:1 ratio, max 8dB gain reduction HPF: 40Hz / 100Hz rolloff @ -6dB/octave

General

Construction:

14 gauge steel chassis, 1/2” aluminium front panel

Size (L x W x D):

8.25” x 8.25” x 3.5”

Weight:

5.05lbs

Power:

100-200VAC 0.45A ~ 50/60Hz

Conditions:

For use in dry locations only between 5°C and 40°C

Warranty:

Radial 3-year, transferable

You may also like

Recently viewed