The design begins with a rugged extruded aluminum enclosure and steel slide-in inner tray with recessed zones at each end to protect the switches and connectors. At one end, left and right ¼” instrument inputs and thru-puts are wired in parallel with a handy 3.5mm mini TRS for laptops and tablets. A -15dB pad decreases input sensitivity for greater signal handling when interfacing line level sources. At the other end, two XLR male outputs with ground lift makes for easy connection.<br><br>Inside, two high-performance Jensen JT-DB-EPC transformers provide galvanic isolation as they passively lower the impedance and perform the balancing. A high 140 k? input impedance reduces loading, enabling low-output instruments such as a vintage Fender® bass to be connected without losing tone. As hi-Z instruments are particularly sensitive to noise, internal Faraday shielding protects against interference from RF. An external MuMETAL® can further protects the sensitive internal workings to ensure a quiet interference-free performance even when surrounded by magnetic fields from amplifiers, power supplies and stage light dimmers.<br><br>With over +22 dB of signal handling capacity, the Concert-2 direct box gracefully handles extreme signals such as those produced by digital pianos while producing a warm Bessel response that is often referred to as ‘vintage’ sounding. These features combine to make the Concert-2 the ideal choice for studio or live use.