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Agreed. I want to see more of this guy. He seems unprepared, nervous and has only moderately good speaking inflection but somehow pulls it off every time. More Dan!
Being an actual user of the software, it is really confusing. Why it doesn't work is because you have to assign your other software's output to the RODE virtual speakers. Then you will not be able to hear your other software's sound because it is fed to the RODE one. Now the only way to let you hear it would be adding the virtual speakers as a mix inside the software. So for example, if you wanna add a "game mix" in the RODE software, you have to assign your game to output to a virtual speaker called something like "RODE Game Output", then when you add the "game mix" inside the software, you can hear your games now. They have added a simple one click button for you to access the output changing tab for Windows, but there is absolutely no guide to tell you what you should do. I also thought my software was broken and reinstalled it several times. But at last I find out. That is not what I was expecting when I heard about this software and I believe Dan also expected the same as me.
Yeah my guess is the software doesn't have a proper setup experience to show you how it's suppose to be setup and work i went through this with the elgato wave and wave link software...
That's just completely mad. Virtual speakers? Why would you need to loop back the audio from their software to other software and the output back into their software? I've no idea how other usb mic software works, but I've been dealing with audio interfaces for 10 years. If the mic plugs into usb, you'd better give me a gain knob and direct levels somewhere, or the product is worthless.
@@PaulSpades it allows you finer control of the audio you're using ie: I when I stream I can turn volume for Spotify up and down without changing it for my stream. This can be done with anything through. Warzone for instance is another big one the game is extremely loud but if you turn it down to a comfortable level then stream can't hear it. Software like this and elgato wave link fixes that by giving you a monitor mix to hear yourself and a steam mix that viewers hear
@@PaulSpades Maybe I didn't discribe it very clearly. You don't need to loop back the audio to the original sound source. When you assign the original sound source to output to the RODE virtual speakers, you can just add that virtual speakers as a mix inside the RODE one. Now you can hear your original sound source in the RODE software. But not anymore on your headphones if you are still using the original system outputs. Yes I know this still seems confusing, because the software is!
I think this warrants a comparison of ecosystems from Elgato, Beacn and Rode + any others. This experience you describe seems close to what I have seen and other reviewers have been able to get iRode’s software setup by enabling the channels and assigning applications/Games to those channels. I’m curious if Rode is adding another level of complexity though.
I find his lack of knowledge and misinformation to be quite annoying myself, he seems to say something weird in literally every video he is in. for example: 2:17 You can use a condenser microphone for loud things just fine, at worst you might need something to reduce gain if your preamp can't handle it. 8:20 The way he says "shotguns or condensers" makes it seem like he doesn't know that shotgun mics are usually condenser mics, shotgun is a polar pattern not a type of mic capsule.
this is a usb mic, unfortunatly made by a great company that makes decent mics. This mic though, its a consumer level product made to look Pro. get a mic that has xlr and get a decent preamp. take most things LTT says with a gain of salt. they are new to audio. this vid confirms it
@@IsoMacintosh this. I agree. Everybody is viewing him as the gatekeeper and final word. He should be viewed as the opposite. He is very naive and ignorant about audio production and audio gear in general. This video reinforces our thoughts.
Did he just call Rode the Harbor Freight of Audio equipment? lol I've never heard that before, what did rode do to you Dan, its okay you can tell us ;)
Maybe I’m underestimating Harbor Freight here, but I feel like Behringer is a better analogy in the pro audio world. Rode makes some REALLY good stuff for the price.
Agreed. Though one of their adapters (3.5 mm to XLR) had some really bad quality control (2/3 static from poor connections from inconsistent length pins). So it sort of depends on which price point in their lines you're at.
True, although Behringer has some higher end respected products like the x32 and WING. Although x32 is definitely the "cheap but good" option of digital sound boards, however I wouldn't call it harbor freight tier.
I don't think he was suggesting that Harbor Frieght makes audio gear (they don't). The analogy was cheap tools to cheap audio gear. HF is known for inexpensive tools like sockets & ratchets, drills, etc. People buy from HF because the price (and sometimes the quality) is cheap. It's part of the common advice - "If you need a tool, start out buying a cheap one. If it breaks and you still need that kind of tool, buy a better (higher quality and prby more expensive) one." 🐧
HI, and thanks for this review! Unfortunately, it seems Dan made some basic errors when setting up UNIFY which caused him problems. It's important to understand how virtual audio mixing software such as UNIFY works - you connect the sound sources (eg mics, browser audio, chat, game etc) to UNIFY, and then route the output of UNIFY to your streaming platform (eg OBS). What Dan has done is first connect the mic to OBS. There is no need to do this - the audio goes Mic->UNIFY->OBS. Because OBS (unusually) captures exclusive use of USB devices, if you route the mic directly to OBS, UNIFY will not be able to connect to it. This is exactly what is happening in this video. Rather, Dan should have set the Stream Output of UNIFY as the audio input to OBS. This is the only audio setting you need to make in OBS; then you control all your sounds from UNIFY. There are a bunch is simple walk-through guides on the RODE X website that explain this, and show the simple steps to get everything working properly. If anyone is having issues, they can also reach out to us on social, or to our friendly service team - check the 'contact us' link on the RODE website.
Professional Sound Engineer here, dynamic mics are essentially a reverse speaker. There is a coil moving past a magnet to produce the audio signal. This means they typically will have a higher noise floor and require more gain, but due to their simplicity they are more robust and are more forgiving. Condensers use a charged backplate and a conductive diaphragm to measure the impedance between the two. This requires an external power source, commonly provided by the interface or mixer in the form of phantom power. These are obviously more complex, but because they are measuring impedance differences rather than a coil moving past a magnet, they are much more sensative allowing you to capture softer sounds and finer details, but they are not happy with any sort of moving wind, like breathing or plosives like "P" or "B" sounds. The falloff that he was experiencing has to do with something called the proximity effect, with most microphones the closer you get the more of a boost you will get in the low end. Most broadcast mics like the RE20 and SM7B that he mentioned combat this by moving the capsule really far into the mic, so the area that you are speaking into is actually about 4 inches away from the mic capsule. The Rode mics don't look like that have that much space so they will be more suseptible to the proximity effect. The proximity effect also plays hand in hand with the inverse square law, which simply put, for every doubling of distance you get a quarter the amount of output. Because the RE20 and SM7B put so much distance between their mic grill an their capsule, the area of forgiveness is much wider than the XDM-100. My recommendation if you are looking to get a USB mic that's in the $250 price range, go with the Shure MV7. It's the little cousin to the SM7B, not quite as nice but going in the right direction. It also comes with both XLR and USB outputs.
Since your a professional sound engineer i was hoping to get your input on some microphones. I currently have an at2020 usb and am looking to get into xlr mics. I was heavily considering the rode procaster but would you say it’s more worth it to spring for an re 20 or an sm7b? I’m looking at pairing it with a Scarlett solo. Any input or recommendations would be much appreciated
@@disturbed9891late reply and I know this was directed at the sound engineer but it depends on what your use case is, I wouldn’t spend the kind of money for an SM7B or RE20 unless it’s for some “professional” use
This is interesting, I’m an audio “professional” (it’s my full time living but I’m still learning 😊) and I never considered RODE to be “entry level” at all. It’s not the highest end for sure but RODE mics make their way into lots of live audio applications, professional video applications, and even many commercial music studios!
At around 8:47 you can see that 0 db of gain has been assigned the mic and thus explains why you can visibily see the monitoring in OBS where you have probably added digital makeup gain for it to become audible, resulting in the noisy output you hear. The handle in RodeX you tried to adjust is just the mixer fader, will only adjust up of down of the gain stage added to the mic. The RodeX software might not have good software, but it seems this reviews does not do the mic real justice due to not adding any gain to the mic in its native DSP. OBS is the culprit, not the mic 👎🏻
As a professional engineer, I don't like that big tech channels like this are being taken as audio experts (no offence Dan but you're clearly a hobbyist) Maybe they changed, That software looks terrible, but I don't agree on the cheapo front, I've used Rode professionally for decades. They used to be famous for making the lowest noise floor mic in the world, and I knew them for making cheap mics which were only cheap because they made them with their own bespoke tools in Aus, as opposed to farming out labour to china. Your criticism on sound here all applies to any dynamic mic, but make it seem like it's Rode problem. I Sold my £1500 Neumann U87 after it was out-performed by the cheap Rode NT2A so many times on many different singers. And they have been with me for 15 years to this day. I also use the NT4 and and Nt5s. They're also great if you need support, especially outside of warranty
I'm a little bit disappointed there was no comparison or even a mentioning of the Rode Procaster and the Rode Podcaster. Especially as this seems to be nearly the same capsule
Have a bunch of Rode mics and accessories. And only had one device I thought didn’t live up to expectations. Their support has been outstanding though. And they are local (Australia).
@@ColonelScotch keep in mind, its a USB consumer level mic that looks "prosumer". He also doesn't explain specs very well, if any. I can understand why hes hard on it. LTT labs has a long way to go if they want their "labs" to be taken seriously. certainly not pro level anything here.
@@ColonelScotch I think his fans love his sarcasm and tone. Not the quality or validity of the reviews. There is an awesome microphone review YT channel that I rely on for quality content. LTT is more infotainment.
Dude, I got to disagree. Rode is not entry level. At least, not in the world of live sound and recording. Entry level would be more like behringer or Navy. And even some of Barringer's stuff is pretty good. In fact, the NT1, NT1A, and NT2 are some of the better large diaphragm condensers that I've ever used in the studio. Of course it's not Neumann. But anything under $5,000 is not entry level by definition either.
10:01 - This is exactly it. The issue when I first started freelancing as a photo & video guy in 2012, was wireless mic setups. At the time, it was basically Sennheiser and that was it - but most people starting up simply cannot drop that level of cash. When Rode brought out their wireless packs, even though they weren’t not as robust or had interference / range issues, it allowed me to get that ball rolling. It’s the same with all production kit. You just have to make it work, even though it may not be the best... until you can afford the upgrades to make your work better.
5:58 The volume knob there is probably just for direct monitoring when you connect your headphones to the mic directly, so it doesn't actually adjust any gain.
Straight off the bat, I wholeheartedly disagree with your sentiments about Røde being the “Harbor Freight of Audio”. This couldn’t be further from the truth, as I have bought a metric shit tonne of their equipment over the years, including microphones, boom arms, shock mounts and audio mixers. Not one of them has ever failed or been terrible quality. I have only bought more to upgrade my production quality and expand my capacity. I find the sound quality on their microphones to be absolutely class leading and I wouldn’t buy any other brand. My set of Procasters I use currently are second to none. I feel like your opinion of Røde is completely unfounded.
You can hear that he has not informed himself at all. Especially at the end everything falls apart. "Confused yet?" No, the microphone has a chip built in, which makes it so expensive, which doesn't balance your voice via the PC, but in the microphone, but you could have found that out with 2 minutes of googling... I think Rode is a great brand who doesn't do beginner's shit like I said. I like Rode for its quality and sound. The review is absolute shit
You could get a very good Sudotack mic with stand or arm included for under 100 bucks, and it'll sounds pretty damn good even without any additional software.
I have a Rode Podmic feeding into an Elgato wave XLR and that is the best setup I've ever used for a hobbyist/prosumer setup since the wave link software you get from Elgato is leaps and bounds ahead of what rode has. But maybe they'll iron out the issues as they go.
Pretty much the best way to go. A good audio interface with an XLR mic is just so much more usable/future proof. Also let's you use Rode's much better XLR mics, like the podmic/procaster or NT lines. The way this review starts by labelling Rode as a throwaway brand is just plain wrong.
I just wish elgato had a 2 xlr input or more interface as I haven't been able to find one because I use 2 mics the regular wave xlr isn't worth it for me.
I would disagree with Dan in some points here. Rode produces some amazing gear, the PSA1 stand (older model) is very robust and found countless buyers worldwide. Video mics from Rode are more than solid and very popular, their lavalier mics are also top notch and the NT-1a is a legendary condenser mic that is still affordable. The new stand looks good. Headphones - meh, at this price they compete with Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, AudioTechnica and many more proven brands with a variety of models in that pricerange that are hard to beat. Mic - ugh, price WAY too high (should be 150$ just like the AT2020USB or slightly above the legendary dynamic Shure SM58). Sound is not good for the price - sure you can make it sound better with ideal positioning and some heavy EQ tweaking and a compressor on top, but people who buy a USB mic usually have no experience with that. The software is essentially useless for anyone using OBS (as everything is already integrated there and works with hotkeys etc.) or who ever uses the video editing software with built in audio tools or even a full size DAW. Even if the software works, it is just not needed, set the gain once and forget. Buy the mic stand and put something better on top - either a better USB mic like the AT2020USB or even an affordable Samson Meteor that went for like 70$ and still had a headphone out, mute button and whatnot. Or put a decent analog microphone, could be the NT-1a from Rode that sounds insanely good out of the box, much lower noise floor. For dynamic mic choices - Shure MV7. Hybrid with USB and XLR, has all the options for around the same price, but better sound and still the analog route if needed. And the shockmount is useless for a dynamic microphone by itself, those are perfectly fine on a rigid mount while having the benefit of a more solid and less bulky construction.
i have my doubts any usb mic is ever a good investment just purely because of the poor software support and limited longevity due to drivers. i have an XLR mic from 1971 still alive and kicking and useful but an audio interface from 2011 that no longer works because they never made a functioning windows 10 driver for it.
I agree. And to ad to that, I also bought an expensive RME Babyface usb interface. even though the device isn't sold anymore for years, the drivers are awesome and still updated and the device is great. The M-audio device I had before, I literary smashed with a hammer because I was so fed up with it.
I think yes and no. I have an USB AT2020 that i've been using for 10 years now and don't expect it to have any problems for a long time. It uses generic audio drivers that work with anything that includes generic USB audio drivers. If it were something custom and not standard USB audio, I'd be concerned.
@@KienTran Personally i would be concerned if an audio interface didn't have custom drivers since that means no native ASIO support among other things.
Focusrite Scarlet Solo + Shure SM58. $200. All the software side stuff rode is offering can be had for free. Pedalboard 2, VAC, and a bunch of free VST plugins are what I use.
I know short circuit is first look, but honestly this review makes me scream. I have an nt usb mini, was an early unify adopter (where some issues existed that RØDE did solve in an update), and found the software was pretty useable. Helps also RØDE has some videos of what to do.
As a system engineer and somebody who works in the live event industry, starting the video out by saying Rode is a "tool" that would be found in the audio "harbor freight" category is showing how naive and ignorant the reviewer is when it comes to live event and studio gear. Then reinforces my thoughts by expressing he does not know where the actual diaphragm is on the microphone. Should have taken a look at the manual or online resources via their website if it was unknown. Then, after that, says that its inexpensive, but not crap. Which is it? Harbor freight or Home Depot? The opinions expressed about the perceived frequency response of the microphone are just that, opinions and should not be taken as fact. They are however given as if the reviewer is the gatekeeper on what is or is not good frequency response. This is not the case as audio is mostly subjective, not objective. Unless you're talking about specifications. That rolls into letting the watcher know that there is NO reference for the reviewer because not only is it a microphone he has never heard, he is hearing it on headphones he has never heard. Yes, of course you have to talk into a microphone for it to capture sound properly. Unless you an active monitor, then you don't want the microphone to pick that up. It's why we don't point microphones at monitors on stage. It is interesting that the reviewer is also blaming the software for its issues, which can be the case. However, windows is notorious for being a complete dumpster fire when it comes to audio. It instantly makes me question anything the reviewer says about microphones or any other audio-related equipment. Rode is not entry level. Of course, this is only my opinion and those of my other friends who live in the live event and studio industry. In our opinion, all USB microphones suck.
I bought a Behringer U-Phoria UMC 22 audio interface about three years ago. To my peasant ears, it's decent. It has a phantom power supply to drive a decent DIY Alice microphone that I built wtith a handfull of parts and a chinese 25mm condenser capsule. It would be interesting to see something like a DIY alternative sometimes. I spent somewhere around 60 dollars on the whole setup and it's actually good. Learned a few things as well.
Good choice! I myself as an audio tech had the same audio interface for a while as well. In general the quality of the DAC in those interfaces are wyy better than anything you get out of built in audio or the compression you get over a discord call so it doesnt matter unless you're doing something professionally. Quick tip if you ever wanna upgrade your mic quaility look for second hand sm58 mics where you can. You can fid them for as cheap as 50$, built like a tank and they sound amazing. Theres a reason you see them on about 75% of events.
I would put Rode on the mid tier. They have stuff that spans all price points, but agreed that Behringer and similar are better Harbor Freight solid entry level brands.
If you ask me rode has a lot of audio products at the low end for semi pro / enthusiastic consumers. This extends to the mid end of this bracket when it comes to microphones that are typically used for vocal recordings :). Most of their products are not bad at all and definitely worth their money when it comes to their "standard" microphones
@@iHasCaek Upper end of consumer grade - a few hundred bucks at most. Professional grade stuff will spiral up as far as the smaller market will bear. Similar for lots of audio tech (a good pair of consumer headphones vs mastering headphones used by a studio, etc)
Rode makes some solid hardware but they really do suck when it come to software development, I own a pair of Rode Wireless Go2 and firmware/software update is always a bit of gamble. Apple's recent OS update forced me to update their software as well and was a ton of fun. No software update notification until I plugged the darned things to Windows software. You can always find testimonials of sorts on facebook user group.
@@KacperZielinski Practically every podcaster using an arm is using a PSA-1. Same for most streamers who didn't get something dirt cheap or the Elgato low profile arm.
@@UranTCG doesn't mean it's an industry standard. Most podcasters or streamers get what's in the bundle, so seeing a lot of PSA-1's ain't nothing weird, but that doesn't mean the wider industry considers it to be THE mic arm to get.
RODE may have entry level stuff, but I've had my NT1-A for over 10 years, and my M1 for probably close to 10 at this point. Heck I know of instances where RODE has outright replaced stuff that has died that was certainly not covered by warranty. But I avoid USB mics at the best of times anyway.
LMG reviews in a nutshell = "I dont want to talk about condenser" .... Minutes later... "the problem with this Dyanmic mic it sounds so muddy and missing high freq." 🤦♂
Sorry, I do not feel like this was thorough enough, even for a unboxing. Also some audio terminology was not perfectly used. Moreover a db meter jumping 15dbfs is very dynamic to me (opposite to what was told). Iirc ~10db is perceived doubling of volume and 6db is doubling of measured sound pressure. Please don't take this as an offense, loved the video otherwise:')
While I'm glad to see LMG covering audio products, maybe do a little more research on the script prior to putting out stuff like this. It was clear that the admittedly terrible audio routing in Windows wasn't really taken into account here, and the continuous characterization of Rode as a company that only aims at the entry level market shows a clear lack of understanding of the microphone market in general. Does Shure only target the entry level market because their most popular microphone is $100? Does Blue only target the entry level market because it has the Yeti? I'd say no, they all have $500 and up offerings that have a place in professional studios.
If you seriously think Rode is the Harbor Freight of sound companies, you’ve never heard of the Nord series of keyboards. Literally one of the most sought after keyboards by professional musicians. Way to invalidate your review in the first 18 seconds of the video guys 😂😂
Dan is way too nice on this stuff this time imo. For 250 there are actually good microphones to be had or you can cough up a bit over 100 bucks more and just get the sm7b for example.
Comparing RØDE to Harbour Freight hurts me. They aren’t Electro-Voice, Earthworks or the like, but they’re just a different Shure. Take a look at the higher-end NT stuff - they have tube and ribbon mics!
I'm amazed that some people are amazed that 4 bars of metal "only" cost $100. I got miy mic stand with a shock absorber mount for $10 but hey, to each his own.
Were you using the actual mic (hardware) as your obs source or the mic software as your source? I looked like you were using the hardware as the ibs source when it should have been the software. You have to use it correctly.
We have fundamentally different ideas about what an entry-level cheap microphone setup is. The condenser mic setup I currently use cost about 100€ overall (as much as the mic arm where you said it's nicely cheap), including: mic, popfilter, arm, a cool red cable and a USB mixer. It still works great after 3 years and people keep telling me how good my mic sounds.
I remember seeing Røde only selling cheapo equipment years back on Amazon, so they've always been "entry-level" for me too. I'm a musician, so all the other brands you've mentioned have a more professional reputation in my books.
They are definitely entry level in the pro audio world, but I do think Harbor Freight is a bit of an insulting comparison lol. They make a lot of GREAT stuff.
Calling Rode the harbor freight of microphones is soo out of touch, to suggest they’re cheap or basic quality is just bizarre when most of their products are better built than the rest of the industry. This product and its software is GARBAGE, no one should buy it. But their products otherwise outside of this have thus far been phenomenal
@@ThaexakaMavro Yeah It really threw me off how he dismissed the brand as being basic and crap pretty much. I've had a procaster for about 7 years now and it has never had a single issue and even if it did I could get it replaced under warranty right now for free as it still has years left on it haha. 10 year warranty is incredible on a product imo.
@@QuickQuips this is a usb mic though, so you don't need extra hardware which can be both a downside and an upside. To me this mic honestly just looks like a newer version of the Podcaster with a more gamerish look to it (with the combo of red and black)
didn't know 100$ for a stand was cheap. got a condenser mic + stand from AliExpress ages ago for like 20$ , works like a charm. at the time i also found a focusrite 2i2 (2nd gen i think) used for like half price.
You know, one of the most important takeaways was right at the end. The sentence you said is worth its weight in gold. If two literal audio engineers, who deal with audio engineer shit daily for their job on and off camera, can't figure it out - don't buy it, especially as a newcomer. Honestly, this sort of guidance, and very gentle approach to explaining why product/software = bad really does it for me. Dan's hosting personality is extremely comforting, even when he's angry. Thank you for this excellent video!
As an audio guy, I tend to avoid USB mic's since they've always failed me one way or another because of software, on the long run an inexpensive interface with a normal xlr mic is way better imho
rode do make some real quality stuff. nt1 is totally fine for studio use. it has a low self noise and a nice flat fr. it's just their dynamic mics that are a bit meh
I really hope videos with the addition of the price will perform at least as well if not better than videos without. It's a trend i love and want to see stay! I'm liking all videos I see from ShortCircuit with the price of items!
Because of Dan, I want to delve deeper into audio equipment for personal use and media consumption. Can Dan do more? like newbie intro stuff for mics, and headsets?
Seems more like an AUDIO expert rather than a PRO audio expert. Rode do low to upper mid range gear and are incredibly well designed and aren't some junk like Razer. As someone who owns a music shop, is the authorized repairer for many pro audio brands and also used to have a recording studio, Rode gear has always punched well above its weight. Not to mention it has a genuine 10 year warranty. I had an NT1 in my fleet and they repaired it at the 9 year mark. Had a 15 year old NTK and they repaired it for a pittance.
To be fair, is anyone buying a fancy dynamic mic and then _using_ the prepackaged software? I don't really understand why manufacturers create these bespoke solutions when anyone buying a microphone like this is gonna have their own complex signal chain in their own software of choice...
This is why i say get a shure mv7x microphone. it just works. They have a non usb vs for cheaper if you have a device already. other good choice for a Xlr mic is the Podmic for $99
Don't you think It's sad that a group like lmg doesn't know this, they use xlr mics yet can't figure out how to connect virtual inputs... Or atleast he couldn't... Dan is definetly not the person to do this review and seems to not know a lot about microphones except that a dynamic mic usually isn't very prevelent on the higher frequincy range. Seems like he doesn't even know what a proximity effect is due to him adressing the mic as boomy the second he speaks into it from 1/2 inch, he litrally called it near field T_T.
I bought the RØDE NT-USB Mini which i love as a mic, the bundled software on the other hand was crap, RØDE sent me a survey and I told them exactly what I thought of the software , my response got picked in a draw to win a free NT-USB Mini, so I now have a spare.
Maybe the ryobi of audio equipment is a better fit. Behringer already claimed harbor freight. Audio technica can be Hitachi. Shure is dewalt, Mackie is craftsman, sennheiser is bosch, neumann is hilti, sony is mikita. Wow this game is fun.
Hi guys, when will you rectify the mistakes in this video? Lot's of errors that could have been resolved by just watching the guide of RODE... Great mic that did not get the credit it deserved.
You had to restart pc after installing Unify, than everything would work just fine Edit: you just made nice software look bad, just because you couldn't get it to work even though video instruction is on RUclips wtf xd Does anyone check content you post online?
Audio pro Dan? seriously? Rode Harbor Freight of audio? Any kind of entry stuff you are buying rode? Have you ever seen Rode's pro audio mics? TF5, NTR,...? As audio pro Dan says the mic is trying to compete with the SM7 and re20. Both are mics that are known for that warm radio sound, then why is audio pro Dan surprised that the mic has a lot of bass? And how can you judge that on headphones you've never even heard before audio pro Dan? Condensers for soft sources and dynamics for loud WTF? Is that why we've been using condensers on drum cymbals for decades audio pro Dan? Every two minutes you can point something out in this video that is incorrect, misleading or contradicting. SERIOUSLY! hire someone that knows audio. Video's like this make me question ALL info given in ANY LTT video.
Please don't drop microphones out of the box like you did here. This is a dynamic microphone, but condenser micropohones are actually quite sensitive to damaging if dropped.
Don't recommend banana, it uses ancient windows drivers and my have some issues after extended period of use, instead use ASIO4ALL (driver), SARS audio (for splitting audio sources and other shenanigans) and a DAW, for example Reaper (it's a free one) and pass to OBS or any other program. There won't be any delay (so you can just leave Monitor ON actually allowing you to speak and hear your voice via the mic) , removes the mic crackling after using the mic in a long session and more. I will admit that takes far more time to setup, but will save you a lot of time in the long run once you need to troubleshoot VAC products.
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None the less, good review. Glad you called out the crap software.
@@cheater00 knit⁶knut
Gibt es das auch für die Deutsche Sprache ;)
Yeah, yeah, but when are we getting more Daniel Bread Clips?
I love how fast Dan was accepted by the LMG audience and how LMG ACTUALLY GAVE THE AUDIENCE WHAT THEY WANTED
now we need more tanner that one video he was in was hilarious
we need less alex and more Dan
I WANT COFFEE MAN
Agreed. I want to see more of this guy. He seems unprepared, nervous and has only moderately good speaking inflection but somehow pulls it off every time.
More Dan!
@@te86a hell no, we need more Alex, doing Alex-things. And more Dan
you could try to first learn the software and than make a review and not to cry like a baby. Works great. Period
love Dan's dry humor lol
Being an actual user of the software, it is really confusing.
Why it doesn't work is because you have to assign your other software's output to the RODE virtual speakers. Then you will not be able to hear your other software's sound because it is fed to the RODE one. Now the only way to let you hear it would be adding the virtual speakers as a mix inside the software.
So for example, if you wanna add a "game mix" in the RODE software, you have to assign your game to output to a virtual speaker called something like "RODE Game Output", then when you add the "game mix" inside the software, you can hear your games now.
They have added a simple one click button for you to access the output changing tab for Windows, but there is absolutely no guide to tell you what you should do. I also thought my software was broken and reinstalled it several times. But at last I find out.
That is not what I was expecting when I heard about this software and I believe Dan also expected the same as me.
Yeah my guess is the software doesn't have a proper setup experience to show you how it's suppose to be setup and work i went through this with the elgato wave and wave link software...
That's just completely mad. Virtual speakers? Why would you need to loop back the audio from their software to other software and the output back into their software? I've no idea how other usb mic software works, but I've been dealing with audio interfaces for 10 years. If the mic plugs into usb, you'd better give me a gain knob and direct levels somewhere, or the product is worthless.
@@PaulSpades it allows you finer control of the audio you're using ie: I when I stream I can turn volume for Spotify up and down without changing it for my stream. This can be done with anything through. Warzone for instance is another big one the game is extremely loud but if you turn it down to a comfortable level then stream can't hear it. Software like this and elgato wave link fixes that by giving you a monitor mix to hear yourself and a steam mix that viewers hear
@@PaulSpades Maybe I didn't discribe it very clearly. You don't need to loop back the audio to the original sound source.
When you assign the original sound source to output to the RODE virtual speakers, you can just add that virtual speakers as a mix inside the RODE one. Now you can hear your original sound source in the RODE software. But not anymore on your headphones if you are still using the original system outputs.
Yes I know this still seems confusing, because the software is!
I think this warrants a comparison of ecosystems from Elgato, Beacn and Rode + any others.
This experience you describe seems close to what I have seen and other reviewers have been able to get iRode’s software setup by enabling the channels and assigning applications/Games to those channels.
I’m curious if Rode is adding another level of complexity though.
I love dan as a host personality because of how politely abrasive his comments can be. Its an absolute treat as a viewer!
Dan exudes pure chaos in every video he's in and I need more
He's a real chaotic neutral kinda guy
I rewatched the unboxing section like 6 times before I finally finished the rest of the video, I kept losing it at “got some snaxx!!”
@brandon2755 I have now begun loosing it too now that i saw your comment x3
It's a very soft spoken, calm sort of chaos
The bread tag podcast is too real.
as someone who struggled to learn all sorts of audio info in the past, I find Dan's knowledge and manner of presentation to be an absolute treasure
Some would even say he is the man.
He reminds me of my music teacher back in Highschool really straightforward and aggressive and obnoxiously critic to unpleasant products 😂
I find his lack of knowledge and misinformation to be quite annoying myself, he seems to say something weird in literally every video he is in.
for example:
2:17 You can use a condenser microphone for loud things just fine, at worst you might need something to reduce gain if your preamp can't handle it.
8:20 The way he says "shotguns or condensers" makes it seem like he doesn't know that shotgun mics are usually condenser mics, shotgun is a polar pattern not a type of mic capsule.
this is a usb mic, unfortunatly made by a great company that makes decent mics. This mic though, its a consumer level product made to look Pro. get a mic that has xlr and get a decent preamp.
take most things LTT says with a gain of salt. they are new to audio. this vid confirms it
@@IsoMacintosh this. I agree. Everybody is viewing him as the gatekeeper and final word. He should be viewed as the opposite. He is very naive and ignorant about audio production and audio gear in general. This video reinforces our thoughts.
Did he just call Rode the Harbor Freight of Audio equipment? lol I've never heard that before, what did rode do to you Dan, its okay you can tell us ;)
I mean the darn thing doesn't work
Yeah Behringer has always held that title. Not sure where Dan gets his pro audio info...
He doesn't really know what he's talking about
@@andash123 And you do? Okay bro..
For the record, I wasn't being mean, I was just making a joke :)
It's easier to say that something sucks than watch a 5-minute tutorial and learn how the virtual mixer works. Mr Expert.
exactly!
Maybe I’m underestimating Harbor Freight here, but I feel like Behringer is a better analogy in the pro audio world. Rode makes some REALLY good stuff for the price.
Agreed. Though one of their adapters (3.5 mm to XLR) had some really bad quality control (2/3 static from poor connections from inconsistent length pins). So it sort of depends on which price point in their lines you're at.
Yeah I was surprised by that analogy as well
True, although Behringer has some higher end respected products like the x32 and WING. Although x32 is definitely the "cheap but good" option of digital sound boards, however I wouldn't call it harbor freight tier.
Agreed. Rode makes quality gear.
I don't think he was suggesting that Harbor Frieght makes audio gear (they don't). The analogy was cheap tools to cheap audio gear. HF is known for inexpensive tools like sockets & ratchets, drills, etc. People buy from HF because the price (and sometimes the quality) is cheap. It's part of the common advice - "If you need a tool, start out buying a cheap one. If it breaks and you still need that kind of tool, buy a better (higher quality and prby more expensive) one." 🐧
HI, and thanks for this review! Unfortunately, it seems Dan made some basic errors when setting up UNIFY which caused him problems. It's important to understand how virtual audio mixing software such as UNIFY works - you connect the sound sources (eg mics, browser audio, chat, game etc) to UNIFY, and then route the output of UNIFY to your streaming platform (eg OBS).
What Dan has done is first connect the mic to OBS. There is no need to do this - the audio goes Mic->UNIFY->OBS. Because OBS (unusually) captures exclusive use of USB devices, if you route the mic directly to OBS, UNIFY will not be able to connect to it. This is exactly what is happening in this video. Rather, Dan should have set the Stream Output of UNIFY as the audio input to OBS. This is the only audio setting you need to make in OBS; then you control all your sounds from UNIFY.
There are a bunch is simple walk-through guides on the RODE X website that explain this, and show the simple steps to get everything working properly. If anyone is having issues, they can also reach out to us on social, or to our friendly service team - check the 'contact us' link on the RODE website.
Seriously sorry you had to watch this super misleading video RODE.
Dan is quickly becoming one of my favourite hosts for LLT vids, second only to Anthony at this point.
I love that Dan goes back and forth between Chaotic evil and Chaotic good.
Incorrect, Riley is the only right answer
they’re relatable because we all have coworkers just like them lol
How you gonna do Jake and David dirty like that?
This didn't age well
Professional Sound Engineer here, dynamic mics are essentially a reverse speaker. There is a coil moving past a magnet to produce the audio signal. This means they typically will have a higher noise floor and require more gain, but due to their simplicity they are more robust and are more forgiving. Condensers use a charged backplate and a conductive diaphragm to measure the impedance between the two. This requires an external power source, commonly provided by the interface or mixer in the form of phantom power. These are obviously more complex, but because they are measuring impedance differences rather than a coil moving past a magnet, they are much more sensative allowing you to capture softer sounds and finer details, but they are not happy with any sort of moving wind, like breathing or plosives like "P" or "B" sounds.
The falloff that he was experiencing has to do with something called the proximity effect, with most microphones the closer you get the more of a boost you will get in the low end. Most broadcast mics like the RE20 and SM7B that he mentioned combat this by moving the capsule really far into the mic, so the area that you are speaking into is actually about 4 inches away from the mic capsule. The Rode mics don't look like that have that much space so they will be more suseptible to the proximity effect. The proximity effect also plays hand in hand with the inverse square law, which simply put, for every doubling of distance you get a quarter the amount of output. Because the RE20 and SM7B put so much distance between their mic grill an their capsule, the area of forgiveness is much wider than the XDM-100.
My recommendation if you are looking to get a USB mic that's in the $250 price range, go with the Shure MV7. It's the little cousin to the SM7B, not quite as nice but going in the right direction. It also comes with both XLR and USB outputs.
Since your a professional sound engineer i was hoping to get your input on some microphones. I currently have an at2020 usb and am looking to get into xlr mics. I was heavily considering the rode procaster but would you say it’s more worth it to spring for an re 20 or an sm7b? I’m looking at pairing it with a Scarlett solo. Any input or recommendations would be much appreciated
@@disturbed9891late reply and I know this was directed at the sound engineer but it depends on what your use case is, I wouldn’t spend the kind of money for an SM7B or RE20 unless it’s for some “professional” use
Buddy, Behringer is the Harbour Freight/Princess Auto of audio .. are you kidding me ?
This is interesting, I’m an audio “professional” (it’s my full time living but I’m still learning 😊) and I never considered RODE to be “entry level” at all. It’s not the highest end for sure but RODE mics make their way into lots of live audio applications, professional video applications, and even many commercial music studios!
I agree. Some of their mics have the lowest noise out there - NT1a, etc.
At around 8:47 you can see that 0 db of gain has been assigned the mic and thus explains why you can visibily see the monitoring in OBS where you have probably added digital makeup gain for it to become audible, resulting in the noisy output you hear. The handle in RodeX you tried to adjust is just the mixer fader, will only adjust up of down of the gain stage added to the mic.
The RodeX software might not have good software, but it seems this reviews does not do the mic real justice due to not adding any gain to the mic in its native DSP. OBS is the culprit, not the mic 👎🏻
As a professional engineer, I don't like that big tech channels like this are being taken as audio experts (no offence Dan but you're clearly a hobbyist)
Maybe they changed, That software looks terrible, but I don't agree on the cheapo front, I've used Rode professionally for decades. They used to be famous for making the lowest noise floor mic in the world, and I knew them for making cheap mics which were only cheap because they made them with their own bespoke tools in Aus, as opposed to farming out labour to china. Your criticism on sound here all applies to any dynamic mic, but make it seem like it's Rode problem. I Sold my £1500 Neumann U87 after it was out-performed by the cheap Rode NT2A so many times on many different singers. And they have been with me for 15 years to this day. I also use the NT4 and and Nt5s. They're also great if you need support, especially outside of warranty
💯
I'm a little bit disappointed there was no comparison or even a mentioning of the Rode Procaster and the Rode Podcaster.
Especially as this seems to be nearly the same capsule
Cant take this man seriously after he called Rode Harbor Freight quality.
Right? All their stuff is made in Australia, not China…
Rode certainly isn't entry level. Behringer is
Have a bunch of Rode mics and accessories. And only had one device I thought didn’t live up to expectations.
Their support has been outstanding though. And they are local (Australia).
LTT shouldn’t try to get into audio gear
I’ve got a ride podmic that still sounds great all these years later. And it was 100 bucks! Why’d he go so hard in on Rode??
@@ColonelScotch keep in mind, its a USB consumer level mic that looks "prosumer". He also doesn't explain specs very well, if any.
I can understand why hes hard on it.
LTT labs has a long way to go if they want their "labs" to be taken seriously. certainly not pro level anything here.
@@ColonelScotch I think his fans love his sarcasm and tone. Not the quality or validity of the reviews. There is an awesome microphone review YT channel that I rely on for quality content. LTT is more infotainment.
Dude, I got to disagree. Rode is not entry level. At least, not in the world of live sound and recording. Entry level would be more like behringer or Navy. And even some of Barringer's stuff is pretty good. In fact, the NT1, NT1A, and NT2 are some of the better large diaphragm condensers that I've ever used in the studio. Of course it's not Neumann. But anything under $5,000 is not entry level by definition either.
UPVOTE IF YOU WOULD MARRY DAN
"upvote"
weirdchamp
*enthusiastically upvotes*
Super easy, barely an inconvenience!
Jake then Riley then Dan.
10:01 - This is exactly it. The issue when I first started freelancing as a photo & video guy in 2012, was wireless mic setups. At the time, it was basically Sennheiser and that was it - but most people starting up simply cannot drop that level of cash. When Rode brought out their wireless packs, even though they weren’t not as robust or had interference / range issues, it allowed me to get that ball rolling. It’s the same with all production kit. You just have to make it work, even though it may not be the best... until you can afford the upgrades to make your work better.
I’m genuinely disappointed with this review. Not using the software as it was intended to and calling it bad software when it’s user error etc.
5:58 The volume knob there is probably just for direct monitoring when you connect your headphones to the mic directly, so it doesn't actually adjust any gain.
As someone who has used Rode microphones in studios for the last 20 years, I don't get the "cheap" tag.
I'd listen to a Dan podcast talking about the various shapes and sizes of things
Straight off the bat, I wholeheartedly disagree with your sentiments about Røde being the “Harbor Freight of Audio”. This couldn’t be further from the truth, as I have bought a metric shit tonne of their equipment over the years, including microphones, boom arms, shock mounts and audio mixers. Not one of them has ever failed or been terrible quality. I have only bought more to upgrade my production quality and expand my capacity. I find the sound quality on their microphones to be absolutely class leading and I wouldn’t buy any other brand. My set of Procasters I use currently are second to none. I feel like your opinion of Røde is completely unfounded.
You can hear that he has not informed himself at all. Especially at the end everything falls apart. "Confused yet?" No, the microphone has a chip built in, which makes it so expensive, which doesn't balance your voice via the PC, but in the microphone, but you could have found that out with 2 minutes of googling... I think Rode is a great brand who doesn't do beginner's shit like I said. I like Rode for its quality and sound. The review is absolute shit
couldnt agree more. this was not what I usually expect from short circuit.
At least the actual hardware is good, so they’re partway there.
Always great to have dan for an audio video.
You could get a very good Sudotack mic with stand or arm included for under 100 bucks, and it'll sounds pretty damn good even without any additional software.
Dan really showing his lack of expertise here. Calling Rode the Harbor Freight of audio is ridiculous.
I have a Rode Podmic feeding into an Elgato wave XLR and that is the best setup I've ever used for a hobbyist/prosumer setup since the wave link software you get from Elgato is leaps and bounds ahead of what rode has. But maybe they'll iron out the issues as they go.
Pretty much the best way to go. A good audio interface with an XLR mic is just so much more usable/future proof. Also let's you use Rode's much better XLR mics, like the podmic/procaster or NT lines. The way this review starts by labelling Rode as a throwaway brand is just plain wrong.
I just wish elgato had a 2 xlr input or more interface as I haven't been able to find one because I use 2 mics the regular wave xlr isn't worth it for me.
"You can put lipstick on a pig, but just because something looks nice, doesn't mean it's functional." ~ Dan Besser, 2022
I would disagree with Dan in some points here. Rode produces some amazing gear, the PSA1 stand (older model) is very robust and found countless buyers worldwide. Video mics from Rode are more than solid and very popular, their lavalier mics are also top notch and the NT-1a is a legendary condenser mic that is still affordable.
The new stand looks good. Headphones - meh, at this price they compete with Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, AudioTechnica and many more proven brands with a variety of models in that pricerange that are hard to beat. Mic - ugh, price WAY too high (should be 150$ just like the AT2020USB or slightly above the legendary dynamic Shure SM58). Sound is not good for the price - sure you can make it sound better with ideal positioning and some heavy EQ tweaking and a compressor on top, but people who buy a USB mic usually have no experience with that. The software is essentially useless for anyone using OBS (as everything is already integrated there and works with hotkeys etc.) or who ever uses the video editing software with built in audio tools or even a full size DAW. Even if the software works, it is just not needed, set the gain once and forget.
Buy the mic stand and put something better on top - either a better USB mic like the AT2020USB or even an affordable Samson Meteor that went for like 70$ and still had a headphone out, mute button and whatnot. Or put a decent analog microphone, could be the NT-1a from Rode that sounds insanely good out of the box, much lower noise floor. For dynamic mic choices - Shure MV7. Hybrid with USB and XLR, has all the options for around the same price, but better sound and still the analog route if needed.
And the shockmount is useless for a dynamic microphone by itself, those are perfectly fine on a rigid mount while having the benefit of a more solid and less bulky construction.
Dan has been the most delightful addition to the on-camera lineup. Pure, manic goodness for all to enjoy.
i have my doubts any usb mic is ever a good investment just purely because of the poor software support and limited longevity due to drivers. i have an XLR mic from 1971 still alive and kicking and useful but an audio interface from 2011 that no longer works because they never made a functioning windows 10 driver for it.
I agree. And to ad to that, I also bought an expensive RME Babyface usb interface. even though the device isn't sold anymore for years, the drivers are awesome and still updated and the device is great. The M-audio device I had before, I literary smashed with a hammer because I was so fed up with it.
I think yes and no. I have an USB AT2020 that i've been using for 10 years now and don't expect it to have any problems for a long time. It uses generic audio drivers that work with anything that includes generic USB audio drivers. If it were something custom and not standard USB audio, I'd be concerned.
Also upgradeability since you can't swap out the audio interface or add any hardware effects.
@@jeroenk3570 RME is among the best when it comes to driver support
@@KienTran Personally i would be concerned if an audio interface didn't have custom drivers since that means no native ASIO support among other things.
Focusrite Scarlet Solo + Shure SM58. $200.
All the software side stuff rode is offering can be had for free. Pedalboard 2, VAC, and a bunch of free VST plugins are what I use.
I know short circuit is first look, but honestly this review makes me scream. I have an nt usb mini, was an early unify adopter (where some issues existed that RØDE did solve in an update), and found the software was pretty useable. Helps also RØDE has some videos of what to do.
As a system engineer and somebody who works in the live event industry, starting the video out by saying Rode is a "tool" that would be found in the audio "harbor freight" category is showing how naive and ignorant the reviewer is when it comes to live event and studio gear. Then reinforces my thoughts by expressing he does not know where the actual diaphragm is on the microphone. Should have taken a look at the manual or online resources via their website if it was unknown. Then, after that, says that its inexpensive, but not crap. Which is it? Harbor freight or Home Depot? The opinions expressed about the perceived frequency response of the microphone are just that, opinions and should not be taken as fact. They are however given as if the reviewer is the gatekeeper on what is or is not good frequency response. This is not the case as audio is mostly subjective, not objective. Unless you're talking about specifications. That rolls into letting the watcher know that there is NO reference for the reviewer because not only is it a microphone he has never heard, he is hearing it on headphones he has never heard. Yes, of course you have to talk into a microphone for it to capture sound properly. Unless you an active monitor, then you don't want the microphone to pick that up. It's why we don't point microphones at monitors on stage. It is interesting that the reviewer is also blaming the software for its issues, which can be the case. However, windows is notorious for being a complete dumpster fire when it comes to audio. It instantly makes me question anything the reviewer says about microphones or any other audio-related equipment. Rode is not entry level. Of course, this is only my opinion and those of my other friends who live in the live event and studio industry. In our opinion, all USB microphones suck.
100%
I bought a Behringer U-Phoria UMC 22 audio interface about three years ago. To my peasant ears, it's decent. It has a phantom power supply to drive a decent DIY Alice microphone that I built wtith a handfull of parts and a chinese 25mm condenser capsule. It would be interesting to see something like a DIY alternative sometimes. I spent somewhere around 60 dollars on the whole setup and it's actually good. Learned a few things as well.
Good choice! I myself as an audio tech had the same audio interface for a while as well. In general the quality of the DAC in those interfaces are wyy better than anything you get out of built in audio or the compression you get over a discord call so it doesnt matter unless you're doing something professionally. Quick tip if you ever wanna upgrade your mic quaility look for second hand sm58 mics where you can. You can fid them for as cheap as 50$, built like a tank and they sound amazing. Theres a reason you see them on about 75% of events.
@@justmarije Shure, I'll keep an eye out for one. I wouldn't mind having a dynamic microphone as well. Especially one as classic as that.
Also slightly confused on the Rode view - their stuff generally covers the upper end of consumer rather than Behringer that covers the low end.
I would put Rode on the mid tier. They have stuff that spans all price points, but agreed that Behringer and similar are better Harbor Freight solid entry level brands.
If you ask me rode has a lot of audio products at the low end for semi pro / enthusiastic consumers. This extends to the mid end of this bracket when it comes to microphones that are typically used for vocal recordings :). Most of their products are not bad at all and definitely worth their money when it comes to their "standard" microphones
bruh, microphones ALONE can cost multiple thousands of dollars. rode is not a brand associated with "upper end" lol
@@iHasCaek Upper end of consumer grade - a few hundred bucks at most. Professional grade stuff will spiral up as far as the smaller market will bear. Similar for lots of audio tech (a good pair of consumer headphones vs mastering headphones used by a studio, etc)
Rode makes some solid hardware but they really do suck when it come to software development, I own a pair of Rode Wireless Go2 and firmware/software update is always a bit of gamble. Apple's recent OS update forced me to update their software as well and was a ton of fun. No software update notification until I plugged the darned things to Windows software. You can always find testimonials of sorts on facebook user group.
I'm actually surprised he didn't recognize the RØDE mic arm. The PSA-1 is an industry standard....
I have it for my RØDE NT-A-2.
Except it's not.
@@KacperZielinski Practically every podcaster using an arm is using a PSA-1. Same for most streamers who didn't get something dirt cheap or the Elgato low profile arm.
@@UranTCG doesn't mean it's an industry standard. Most podcasters or streamers get what's in the bundle, so seeing a lot of PSA-1's ain't nothing weird, but that doesn't mean the wider industry considers it to be THE mic arm to get.
@@KacperZielinski What desk mount mic arm is The mic arm if not this one? Inform me.
RODE may have entry level stuff, but I've had my NT1-A for over 10 years, and my M1 for probably close to 10 at this point. Heck I know of instances where RODE has outright replaced stuff that has died that was certainly not covered by warranty. But I avoid USB mics at the best of times anyway.
LMG reviews in a nutshell = "I dont want to talk about condenser" .... Minutes later... "the problem with this Dyanmic mic it sounds so muddy and missing high freq." 🤦♂
_But you know who WONT have a critical flaw? Our sponsor!_
PS pls hire me as a segue writer
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Sorry, I do not feel like this was thorough enough, even for a unboxing. Also some audio terminology was not perfectly used. Moreover a db meter jumping 15dbfs is very dynamic to me (opposite to what was told). Iirc ~10db is perceived doubling of volume and 6db is doubling of measured sound pressure.
Please don't take this as an offense, loved the video otherwise:')
While I'm glad to see LMG covering audio products, maybe do a little more research on the script prior to putting out stuff like this. It was clear that the admittedly terrible audio routing in Windows wasn't really taken into account here, and the continuous characterization of Rode as a company that only aims at the entry level market shows a clear lack of understanding of the microphone market in general. Does Shure only target the entry level market because their most popular microphone is $100? Does Blue only target the entry level market because it has the Yeti? I'd say no, they all have $500 and up offerings that have a place in professional studios.
If you seriously think Rode is the Harbor Freight of sound companies, you’ve never heard of the Nord series of keyboards. Literally one of the most sought after keyboards by professional musicians. Way to invalidate your review in the first 18 seconds of the video guys 😂😂
I have almost zero interest in getting a desk mounted microphone. But its Dan so you bet I'm going to watch the whole thing!
Dan is way too nice on this stuff this time imo. For 250 there are actually good microphones to be had or you can cough up a bit over 100 bucks more and just get the sm7b for example.
Comparing RØDE to Harbour Freight hurts me. They aren’t Electro-Voice, Earthworks or the like, but they’re just a different Shure. Take a look at the higher-end NT stuff - they have tube and ribbon mics!
I'm amazed that some people are amazed that 4 bars of metal "only" cost $100.
I got miy mic stand with a shock absorber mount for $10 but hey, to each his own.
Were you using the actual mic (hardware) as your obs source or the mic software as your source?
I looked like you were using the hardware as the ibs source when it should have been the software.
You have to use it correctly.
We have fundamentally different ideas about what an entry-level cheap microphone setup is. The condenser mic setup I currently use cost about 100€ overall (as much as the mic arm where you said it's nicely cheap), including: mic, popfilter, arm, a cool red cable and a USB mixer. It still works great after 3 years and people keep telling me how good my mic sounds.
dan is such a valuable host for these videos.
They want you to pay $100 a year so they can develop the software & make it good.
I would rather pay $100 once for software that is already good.
Uhhhh why do you keep talking about the electro voice wher its clearly just a copy of thier rode pro caster...... with a interface built in
0:15 calling Røde entry level is something I didn't anticipate. For me, products from Marshall, Yamaha or JBL seem more entry level.
It's a ridiculous statement
I remember seeing Røde only selling cheapo equipment years back on Amazon, so they've always been "entry-level" for me too. I'm a musician, so all the other brands you've mentioned have a more professional reputation in my books.
They are definitely entry level in the pro audio world, but I do think Harbor Freight is a bit of an insulting comparison lol. They make a lot of GREAT stuff.
The RODE mic is a really nice sound.
Dans honesty is good honest opinions and then you can let the buyer decide
Calling Rode the harbor freight of microphones is soo out of touch, to suggest they’re cheap or basic quality is just bizarre when most of their products are better built than the rest of the industry.
This product and its software is GARBAGE, no one should buy it. But their products otherwise outside of this have thus far been phenomenal
k2 and ntk comes with a 10years warranty rode is a great brand dan was way out on that one
@@ThaexakaMavro most of their products in fact come with 5 or 10 year warranty, even the cheapest ones.
@@ThaexakaMavro Yeah It really threw me off how he dismissed the brand as being basic and crap pretty much. I've had a procaster for about 7 years now and it has never had a single issue and even if it did I could get it replaced under warranty right now for free as it still has years left on it haha. 10 year warranty is incredible on a product imo.
I guess they forgot about M-Audio and Samson. Those are cheaper entry level mic brands that have more bang for the buck.
I want Dan to read me an audiobook.
Also I have no proof of this but somehow I'm certain at 2:03 he said "ribbed for pleasure" lol
LOL, thinking the same
Been using the NT1 with the AI-1 for 2 years now and I have no regets. Rode is a great entry level brand indeed.
The NT1 sounds so much better than this microphone (to me), but then again, they are completely different (dynamic vs condenser).
@@scottburgess2263 Their Procaster seems like a better deal than this. Though a used RE320 or Re20 never gets old.
@@QuickQuips this is a usb mic though, so you don't need extra hardware which can be both a downside and an upside. To me this mic honestly just looks like a newer version of the Podcaster with a more gamerish look to it (with the combo of red and black)
RODE is EXPENSIVE in here (Poland), i always thought its mid to high tier brand? What do you consider higher tier if not RODE?
@@Tirith2708 Shure 💸
didn't know 100$ for a stand was cheap. got a condenser mic + stand from AliExpress ages ago for like 20$ , works like a charm. at the time i also found a focusrite 2i2 (2nd gen i think) used for like half price.
This microphone makes your voice sound like it's inside a box.
that intro metaphor is a big yikes. rode mics past and around nt-1a are really damn good.
You know, one of the most important takeaways was right at the end. The sentence you said is worth its weight in gold. If two literal audio engineers, who deal with audio engineer shit daily for their job on and off camera, can't figure it out - don't buy it, especially as a newcomer. Honestly, this sort of guidance, and very gentle approach to explaining why product/software = bad really does it for me. Dan's hosting personality is extremely comforting, even when he's angry. Thank you for this excellent video!
As an audio guy, I tend to avoid USB mic's since they've always failed me one way or another because of software, on the long run an inexpensive interface with a normal xlr mic is way better imho
It's pretty simple: Don't buy a USB mic. They all suck.
Looking at the unboxing makes me think that Linus taught him how to unbox :p
😂 I love Dan's sense of humor! Oh, snacks🤣 Dan's bread tips on the different shapes of bread 🤣
rode do make some real quality stuff. nt1 is totally fine for studio use. it has a low self noise and a nice flat fr. it's just their dynamic mics that are a bit meh
I really hope videos with the addition of the price will perform at least as well if not better than videos without.
It's a trend i love and want to see stay! I'm liking all videos I see from ShortCircuit with the price of items!
Thank you editor for letting us know that no PC were harmed
Because of Dan, I want to delve deeper into audio equipment for personal use and media consumption. Can Dan do more? like newbie intro stuff for mics, and headsets?
I would like to hear his thoughts on popular equipment too. Like the Shure SM7B
@@ShawnLoftinplus it sucks , especially when you have to put it in your mouth for it to sound decent
check out podcastage, he has loads of great vids about audio gear
@@GnogginGnome Haha was about to mention him too Bandrew has some really awesome content if you're getting into mic audio anyway :P.
Prob should look up a professional audio channel, with Dan you're gonna spend atleast 500$ before he seems it mid range apparently.
That editing. 👌
Loved the loading screens from games as Dan mentioned them.
Greetings thanks for the video. Is it possible to use this microphone with your phone or tablet can help friends with knowledge?
Dan is the critic SC always needed. Keep shoving bad products his way!!
Seems more like an AUDIO expert rather than a PRO audio expert.
Rode do low to upper mid range gear and are incredibly well designed and aren't some junk like Razer. As someone who owns a music shop, is the authorized repairer for many pro audio brands and also used to have a recording studio, Rode gear has always punched well above its weight. Not to mention it has a genuine 10 year warranty. I had an NT1 in my fleet and they repaired it at the 9 year mark. Had a 15 year old NTK and they repaired it for a pittance.
To be fair, is anyone buying a fancy dynamic mic and then _using_ the prepackaged software? I don't really understand why manufacturers create these bespoke solutions when anyone buying a microphone like this is gonna have their own complex signal chain in their own software of choice...
God, my AudioTechnika AT2020 USB-X sounds waaaay better for 120$
Dan is my favorite new LTT personality.
This is why i say get a shure mv7x microphone. it just works. They have a non usb vs for cheaper if you have a device already. other good choice for a Xlr mic is the Podmic for $99
Damn when Dan unbox some things in ShortCircuit it always hit the cyberpunk theme pc in the back😅
Don't you think It's sad that a group like lmg doesn't know this, they use xlr mics yet can't figure out how to connect virtual inputs... Or atleast he couldn't... Dan is definetly not the person to do this review and seems to not know a lot about microphones except that a dynamic mic usually isn't very prevelent on the higher frequincy range. Seems like he doesn't even know what a proximity effect is due to him adressing the mic as boomy the second he speaks into it from 1/2 inch, he litrally called it near field T_T.
I bought the RØDE NT-USB Mini which i love as a mic, the bundled software on the other hand was crap, RØDE sent me a survey and I told them exactly what I thought of the software , my response got picked in a draw to win a free NT-USB Mini, so I now have a spare.
I want to sleep with Dan's voice in my ears
Maybe the ryobi of audio equipment is a better fit. Behringer already claimed harbor freight. Audio technica can be Hitachi. Shure is dewalt, Mackie is craftsman, sennheiser is bosch, neumann is hilti, sony is mikita. Wow this game is fun.
Rode stuff is made in Australia, way better than China. Gotta give em credit for having more affordable products
Hi guys, when will you rectify the mistakes in this video? Lot's of errors that could have been resolved by just watching the guide of RODE... Great mic that did not get the credit it deserved.
You had to restart pc after installing Unify, than everything would work just fine
Edit: you just made nice software look bad, just because you couldn't get it to work even though video instruction is on RUclips
wtf xd
Does anyone check content you post online?
I feel like the energy is becoming more forced on this channel, it’s losing the je ne se qoui that made it so fun originally… might just be me but
Audio pro Dan? seriously? Rode Harbor Freight of audio? Any kind of entry stuff you are buying rode? Have you ever seen Rode's pro audio mics? TF5, NTR,...? As audio pro Dan says the mic is trying to compete with the SM7 and re20. Both are mics that are known for that warm radio sound, then why is audio pro Dan surprised that the mic has a lot of bass? And how can you judge that on headphones you've never even heard before audio pro Dan? Condensers for soft sources and dynamics for loud WTF? Is that why we've been using condensers on drum cymbals for decades audio pro Dan? Every two minutes you can point something out in this video that is incorrect, misleading or contradicting. SERIOUSLY! hire someone that knows audio. Video's like this make me question ALL info given in ANY LTT video.
Please don't drop microphones out of the box like you did here. This is a dynamic microphone, but condenser micropohones are actually quite sensitive to damaging if dropped.
Don't recommend banana, it uses ancient windows drivers and my have some issues after extended period of use, instead use ASIO4ALL (driver), SARS audio (for splitting audio sources and other shenanigans) and a DAW, for example Reaper (it's a free one) and pass to OBS or any other program.
There won't be any delay (so you can just leave Monitor ON actually allowing you to speak and hear your voice via the mic) , removes the mic crackling after using the mic in a long session and more.
I will admit that takes far more time to setup, but will save you a lot of time in the long run once you need to troubleshoot VAC products.