Rode’s latest mic updates the port and revamps the insides, as the podcasting and music-ready NT-USB is refreshed.
Depending on how much you fancy yourself a musician, audio lover, engineer, or maybe just a podcaster, there’s a good chance you’ve checked out a Rode microphone at one point in time, and these days, it might even be because you’re a gamer looking for an update.
One of Australia’s technology success stories, it’s a name you can find in recording studios across the planet, as well as in podcasting studios, be they professional or homemade. And if they’re homemade, there’s a solid chance the podcaster might be rocking an NT-USB.
Released back in 2014, it’s one of Rode’s popular USB microphones, and this journalist and podcaster has even bought two of them.
However, eight years is a long time in between technology cycles, and Rode is changing things with a new model, arriving in the “plus” variation of the NT-USB.
It’s not a bigger size, but it does come up with updates aplenty, with Rode’s Revolution Preamp which the company says supports a 24-bit 48kHz conversion, plus an internal digital signal processing unit to handle effects.
Interestingly, it won’t include the pop-filter built directly inside the mic, but will instead mount to the bottom like the original NT-USB. But Rode has changed the port, as the big USB port drops to the reversible USB Type C port, making it compatible not just with Windows and PC, but also phones and tablets, and eventually directly with the iPhone, when Apple makes that conversion to Type C USB, likely next year.
“The original NT-USB was an instant success when it launched almost a decade ago, setting a lofty standard for studio-quality USB microphones,” said Damien Wilson, CEO of Rode.
“With the NT-USB+, we are setting a new standard,” he said. “We have kept the form factor and functionality that made the original such a success and introduced several new features, integrating cutting-edge technology for the next wave of creators.”
Pricing for Rode’s NT-USB+ is a little different from where the eight year old NT-USB sits, which can still be found today, though we’re not sure quite for how long. As such, you’ll find the NT-USB+ for $269 in Australia, while the original model can be found between $159 and $199, at least until while stocks last.
