When you want to stream or simply record with the highest audio quality, you will need to invest a certain amount of money in quality equipment, and fortunately or unfortunately in the audio industry this almost always means going for professional devices. Of course, this is not just buying a professional microphonebut you will also need the preamp and all the equipment that goes behind it and that, together, is what will give you a professional quality.
What is special about a RODE microphone?
We have told you before that the RODE brand was born in Australia in 1967, although in reality this was the foundation of Freedman Electronics and the RØDE brand was not born until 1990 (in other words, the brand is now 33 years old, but in reality the company has more than 56 years of experience in the industry). What we want to tell you with this is that we are not facing a newly created enthusiastic brand, but rather a consolidated company with extensive experience in the industry.
Between the years 1990-2000, RODE dedicated itself almost exclusively to the market for professionals, or in other words, to manufacture components for recording studios, and they stood out among the competition for the excellent sound quality that their microphones were capable of providing. . However, around the year 2000 the company decided to go a step further and also open its doors to the domestic market, although initially only in the US, which is where they opened their second office (apart from their headquarters in Sydney, Australia).
At that time, many content creation professionals (and streaming as such did not yet exist at that time) already used RODE microphones on their cameras, both SLR and video, but starting in the early 2010s was when the firm expanded further into the domestic, or rather non-professional, market with its award-winning products VideoMic Pro and VideoMic GO. In 2015, they started their adventure in the wireless world and we could see RODE microphones everywhere on TV sets and even on the radio.
But it wasn’t until 2018 that RODE began to get fully involved in the streaming industry, or rather we should talk about the podcast to be more precise with the launch of its first product designed specifically for it: RODE Podcaster. Starting in 2020, the company decided to adapt to new trends and start launching products designed specifically for streaming, leaving the more professional and studio environment a bit aside (but not forgotten) and focusing its efforts precisely on in streaming.
This great push that emerged from 2020 is what has caused almost all streamers today to use a microphone, preamp, mixer, etc. of the RODE brand, and precisely the notoriety of these professional streamers is what has led even us, ordinary users, to know this brand despite the fact that, as we have told you, it was focused exclusively on professional and studio products until very recently.
Now, answering the question in this section, what is special about these products? As it happens with Noctua and its heatsinks, RODE is a company dedicated exclusively to audio products, and as such all its effort and R&D budget is dedicated to it, making it one of the brands that is no longer just most important and well-known in the audio market, but also one of the best. In other words, buying a RODE microphone is synonymous with buy quality.
Ok but, is it worth spending the money they are worth or not?
The answer to this question is, as almost always, that it depends. It depends on many factors, starting with the budget you have to invest in your microphone or other audio products… before we have told you that buying a RODE product is synonymous with buying quality, but of course, everything has a price and this is not a brand especially cheap let’s say.
We are going to be completely honest: RODE microphones work well… VERY well… but the result obtained is not to everyone’s taste, and proof of this is that many streamers are now turning to the Shure SM7B. Somehow though, they tend to either wear RODE-branded articulated arms or windscreens, almost as a “status” or “posture” sign, because they always seem to make sure the brand looks good.
In short, if you buy a RODE microphone you will not regret it, it will always be a good purchase (if you dedicate yourself or want to dedicate yourself to this professionally), but taking into account that there are other options on the market that give also excellent (or even better) results for less price… maybe it’s just a matter of saving face nowadays.
Now, if you are an amateur or you simply want to start in the world… from now on we tell you that you better choose to start with cheaper microphones, which will give you a very good result as well, and if you see that you are beginning to succeed and you deserve More worth improving quality, opt for professional equipment.
