Klark Teknik DN200 Active Stereo DI Box

A friend of mine was asking me some questions about this DI box the other day and after I did some research on it, some questions started to gnaw at my mind. But first of all, an introduction to it. The DN200  is a dual-channel and multi-mode stereo DI box. Unlike other DI boxes, this one os housed in an alloy case and further protected by a replaceable blue silicon sleeve. This DI box features inputs on pairs of XLR, TRS, and RCA sockets, plus a switchable 20 dB pad and a ground lift switch.

In addition, this DI box can operate in Sum mode, where left and right input signals are merged and routed to both left and right outputs, or Split mode, routing the left input signal to both the left and right outputs. This is useful for mono signals. The DN200 supports 24 to 48V phantom-power operation…and it has to because it is an active DI box.

But here is the thing that gets me. Why does this DI box come with a balanced input? Weren’t DI boxes supposed to convert unbalanced, high-impedance inputs to low-impedance balanced outputs? What is the use of these balanced inputs? But if the unbalanced RCA inputs on the input side are used, then it serves its purpose.

I have been hearing lots of good things about how this DI box performs but for me, I think I will stick with my current passive stereo DI