The Radial HDI is undeniably the brand’s attempt at creating the be-all end-all of studio DIs. It offers you both an opto compressor and saturation circuit, letting you inject some warmth into your tone and smooth out the dynamics, as well as a custom-wound Jensen transformer and a VU meter on the front panel.
Each of the HDI’s controls allow for simple tone-tweaking that puts an emphasis on the player, with the DI being the perfect tool to shape your dry signal. The colour knob lets you blend between tube amplifier style saturation and distortion, while the presence control adds in a splash of high and high-mids for a clean boost to cut through the mix. You can even drive the inputs via the level control, with the VU meter being used as a display for your feedback.
Whether you’re simply looking for a premium grade DI for clean recordings in the studio or a tool to colour your tone before it hits the desk, the Radial HDI looks to be a serious contender for both applications. It can also be stored in a 2U rack, making it even easier to justify splashing your cash.
Radial Engineering is distributed in Australia via Amber Technology.
