RODE NT1 Signature Review — Best XLR Mic Under $200?
Most cheap microphones (like the original Blue Yeti I bought for $100 to record my first podcast over ten years ago) don’t sound especially great and the expensive ones (like the Logitech Sona at $300 or Shure SM7B at $400) are just a tad out of reach price wise for most people.
But THIS, the RODE NT-1 Signature Series, is at the intersection of both great audio quality and a reasonable price for podcasters, streamers, and video creators.
In this video I’m going to unbox, setup, and give you a test recording of just how great this $160 XLR microphone sounds.
Unboxing
First, let’s open the box and see everything that comes with it.
- Microphone
- XLR cable
- SM6 Shock Mount & Pop Filter
The fact that they include all these accessories, makes this more like a $120 microphone, since you’d be out of pocket another $40 to get these 3 add ons for another mic.
Initial Impressions
I love the look and feel of this NT1. This one is matte black except for the silver top. Although it also comes in red, green, purple, pink, or blue if you’re more into a specific color aesthetic for your setup.
It has a rugged aluminum finish, seems to be resistant to scratches, and just feels like a professional grade piece of audio equipment.
Audio Test
One of the best things about the RODE NT1 is that it has an extremely low noise floor. (Just 4dBA.) RODE is claiming it is “the world’s quietest studio condenser microphone”. This means you won’t get any hiss or background noise in your recordings.
It also picks up sound in a really small cardoid polar pattern, which really helps to eliminate background noise. It is still a condenser microphone, so it will pick up a bit more room sound than some dynamic microphones, but in the right environment, it can sound great.
Conclusion
So, would I recommend this microphone?
I think this microphone sits is a sweet spot price wise, around that $150 mark, especially when you consider the accessories for the microphone are all included, which isn’t the case with any other microphone I’ve seen on the market.
Now, you’re going to need an audio recorder or USB interface to both power & record with this microphone, so you’re going to need to spend another one to two hundred dollars to get this fully setup and going, but if you’re in the situation where you need a bunch of microphones on a budget, these are a great option.
And you get a 10 year warranty from RODE, which is hard to beat.
If you’re looking to record music, a podcast, voiceovers, or livestream the RODE NT-1 Signature Series would be on the top of my list for its price and performance.
If you’re interested in buying or learning more about this microphone or any of the others in my audio test, you can check out my affiliate links below.