Countryman Type 10 - Anyone tried/owns it?

FrancescoFiligoi

Count Blastula
Nov 20, 2009
199
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Hey folks! After having an Axe Fx II for quite some time I realized that its internal DI lacks some dynamics and punch compared to other DI boxes. I used to have a Countryman Type 85 and it was just fine, but I'm wondering if the Type 10 is better/different compared to the 85.

Does anyone have experience with it? Thanks :)
 
I own an 85 as well, bought it about 2 months before the 10 was released/announced/whatever'd. A friend bought the 10 not long after and we compared them back to back; I noticed abso-fucking-lutely ZERO difference between the two. The type 10 supposedly has less distortion, but if it's true the difference is so negligible that paying the money to upgrade to a 10 from an 85 would be downright silly.
 
I've got the Type 10, i've had it for years now and it's a great DI box. It's supposedly cleaner than the 85 as Empathy mentioned but I've never compared the two myself. I chose the 10 mainly because it has a battery check feature, and i got it on eBay for the same price as the 85 so the choice seemed pretty obvious for me. Even though i mostly use it with phantom power, it's handy to have the LEDs in case you have to run it on battery power when going on location, for live gigs or during rehearsals when phantom power isn't accessible.

FWIW i also like the layout and construction of the 10 slightly more than the 85. It's not a huge difference but the flush mounted XLR and thicker/rounded nuts on the 1/4 jacks just makes it feel a bit sturdier and looks better. I wouldn't have payed an extra 50$ just for that though. The 85 is a built like tank too, I've seen some beat up old 85's that were still in top working condition even after years of abuse. I would say just get whichever one you can find cheaper, you won't be disappointed with either.