RODE NT1 5th Generation Hybrid USB/XLR Microphone Review

The original RODE NT1 is a classic. It’s a workhorse of high-quality audio, and you’ll find it in every setting from professional studios to home live-streaming setups. This week, RODE unveiled its successor, the NT1 5th Generation, a wholesale upgrade that manages to lower the price by $10 compared to the original while also adding features. Complete with dual XLR and USB connectivity, “unclippable” 32-bit float audio capture, built-in DSP for studio-grade FX, and the title for the “world’s quietest studio condenser microphone,” it comes to market at $259. It’s a solution ready to grow alongside you and is absolutely worth considering for your next upgrade. 

Specifications

• Current Price: $259 (RODE, Amazon) 

Acoustic and Electrical Specifications

• Acoustic Principle: Pressure gradient
• Active Electronics: JFET impedance converter with bipolar output buffer
• Capsule: 1.00"
• Polar Pattern: Cardioid
• Address Type: Side
• Frequency Range: 20Hz - 20kHz
• Output Impedance: 100Ω
• Maximum SPL: 142 dB SPL
• Equivalent Noise (A-weighted): 4dBA
• Sensitivity: -32 dB re 1 Volt/Pascal (25 mV @ 94 dB SPL) +/- 2 dB @ 1 kHz
• Analogue Power Requirements: Via XLR: P48
• Analogue Output Connection: 3-pin XLR

Digital Specifications

• Digital Power Requirements: Via USB: 5V
• Digital Output Connection: USB-C
• Bit Depth: 24-bit / 32-bit floating point
• Sampling Rate (kHz): 48 / 96 / 192
• Processing: APHEX digital signal processing (only available at 48kHz / 24-bit)
• Minimum OS Requirements: Windows 10 Mac OS 10.15

Mechanical Specifications

• Weight: 308 grams
• Dimensions (LxWxH): 52x52x189 millimeters

RODE NT1 5th Generation - What Is It?

The RODE NT1 5th Generation (5G) is RODE’s most recent iteration of its most classic microphone. Originally released in 1991, the NT1 has become a staple of recording studios around the world. It’s gone through multiple rounds of updates since that time, but the 5G is perhaps its biggest evolution to date. 

Like its forebears, the NT1 5G is a large diaphragm studio condenser microphone. In comparison to the crunchy dynamic microphones you’re most likely to hear on radio programs and podcasts, condenser microphones offer a wider frequency response and more natural sound, making them perfect for vocal and instrument capture. It’s also why they’re a popular choice among content creators. 

In overall design and physicalities, the 5G is very similar to the fourth generation. It has a sturdy yet lightweight metal body with a tough woven grille to protect the 1-inch capsule inside. It’s a side-address microphone, so you’ll talk into the face of the grille and not the end, and it uses a cardioid pick-up pattern. It emphasizes sounds directly in front of the microphone and in a small window behind it, while having a noticeable drop-off and tonal shift if you’re off-axis. 

The NT1 5G, then, is best suited for single-person recording. You wouldn’t want to use this mic to record interviews across a table, for example. Yet, at the same time, you’ll find that it’s sensitive enough to still pick up noise in your environment. Without enabling any of the built-in FX, accessible within the RODE Connect or RODE Central applications, it will pick up the sound of mechanical keyboards, PC fans, and any noise from your four young children raucously playing downstairs (ask me how I know). 

Which brings us to where this microphone sets itself apart… and there are more than a few ways that officially make this the NT1 to buy. The biggest is that it’s the first RODE microphone to offer dual XLR and USB connectivity. While connected over XLR, it functions just like previous generations of RODE NT1. Over USB, it unlocks a whole new bag of tricks. 

RODE has equipped the NT1 5th Generation with its own audio chain and built-in digital signal processor (DSP). Over USB, you can enable a suite of high-quality FX, very similar to the company’s outstanding and expensive RODECaster Pro II. These effects include a noise gate, solving the issue of untreated rooms and unideal recording environments, a compressor, a high-pass filter, and the APHEX Aural Exciter and Big Bottom effects to add bass or presence to your voice. 

RODE Connect also functions like a RODECaster Pro or GoXLR allowing you to bring in different audio sources and create custom mixes for your streams. That would be a whole article unto itself, but if you’re investing in this microphone, or just want a high-quality mixer without investing in expensive hardware, it’s well worth a closer look. 

USB connectivity also allows you to record in 32-bit float. If you’re not already deep into the world of audio, that’s likely a term you haven’t heard before. Audio bitrate is a bit like the resolution on television or a computer monitor. The higher the resolution, the clearer the image. That same thing applies to audio capture, which is traditionally 16-bit for USB microphones or 24-bit on higher-quality solutions. 

32-bit float is the pinnacle of the dynamic range a microphone can capture. It can record the quietest quiet notes and loudest loud notes without clipping or distorting. If your levels aren’t set right when you hit record, there’s enough information there to bring those levels back down to earth without losing audio quality. It’s a bit like shooting photos in RAW versus JPEG. 

The NT1 5G also includes RODE’s new Revolution pre-amps for clean, quiet power. In fact, they’re so quiet that the company claims that it’s the world’s quietest studio microphone with a self-noise of only 4dBA. In my testing, it is incredibly quiet. Its self-noise is essentially inaudible, so what you hear in silent recordings is the noise of the room more than the microphone itself. 

This capability also means that you can run this microphone at its peak without investing in additional equipment. You won’t need an expensive audio interface to do it justice. But if down the line you decide that you would like to build up an audio chain with a physical interface, mixer, or rack FX, it’s able to do that too without losing quality in the capture (though you will lose the built-in FX and 32-bit float).

Even though the microphone runs at its peak over USB, it’s missing a couple of features that other USB microphones have. There’s no headphone jack for zero-latency monitoring, for example. There’s also no built-in gain control or volume knob to adjust system audio.

Though these omissions stand out, they reinforce just how much the NT1 5G is meant to be used with its software. With RODE Connect (my chosen app) open before you, those level adjustments are readily available. What’s more, it allows you to monitor the microphone with virtually zero delay straight through your PC. It's not exactly zero-latency, so I would turn off monitoring while actually recording, but is close enough to hear how your voice sounds when dialing in levels and FX.

At $259, the 5th Generation comes in ten dollars cheaper than the standard 4th Generation NT1 XLR. That’s rather amazing, because not only do you receive the added versatility and feature enhancements of its USB connection without losing any of the quality or tonal character of the XLR version, but you also receive a RODE SM6 combination shock mount and pop filter ($59 on its own), a 10-foot USB Type-C cable, and a 20-foot bright red XLR cable. It’s not often that you get more for less in the world of technology, but that truly seems to be what you’re getting with this package. 

RODE NT1 5th Generation - Performance

The RODE NT1 5th Generation offers the same sound quality as the last generation’s NT1, and that’s a very good thing. There’s a reason it’s become such a staple in the recording world: its warm and natural sound signature is perfect for earthy vocal capture, whether you’re singing or talking through your latest match in Valorant. At the same time, there’s plenty of detail inherent in its sound. 

I tested the microphone with a mix of spoken word recordings in Audacity, as well as recording my acoustic guitar. I don’t have a natural radio voice, but the NT1 did a good job of giving me just a bit of extra presence without engaging the proximity effect (added bass based on how close you are to the microphone). When I did want that extra bit of “oomph” leaning in warmed up the sound further and gave me that extra bit of body I craved. 

One of the truly nice parts about this microphone is that you don’t need to do that. Over the months that I’ve been using the RODECaster Pro II, I’ve dialed in a series of vocal FX settings that allow me to sound my best while also keeping the microphone at a comfortable distance for recording, streaming, and taking video calls. While RODE Connect doesn’t offer everything the RODECaster does, it includes the most important FX to dial in a great sound for streaming and recording vocals. 

While RODE Connect is hardly the only program to offer additional FX, the way it presents them is one of the best. Along with the usual series of dials, it presents you with a visual read-out of exactly what the mic is picking up. For the noise gate, when you’re quiet you can see a bubbling line at the bottom of the graph indicating your room noise, allowing you to set a level just above that line and block it out when you’re not speaking (pro tip: type on your keyboard when dialing in this level so that doesn’t open the gate). The other effects offer the same kind of real-time information to see what exactly each dial is adjusting, so you’re not in the dark about what your changes are actually doing. 

32-bit float, on the other hand, is just plain neat. The NT1 5G is my first experience with it, and I admit that the idea of an “unclippable” microphone sounded like marketing speak to me. Yet, it’s true. It doesn’t help in live recordings (that’s what the compressor is for) but if you record and edit your content after the fact, it’s an excellent safety net that helps ensure you don’t lose the perfect take because your levels were set wrong.

Have a listen to the microphone yourself here:

Final Thoughts

The RODE NT1 5th Generation is an excellent microphone. Though it’s marketed as a studio condenser, it’s an outstanding choice for streamers and content creators as well. The warm yet detailed and natural tonal character is very appealing for recording anything from spoken word, to singing, to instruments, and the safety net of 32-bit float is an outstanding feature. 

What I really like, though, is that RODE went above and beyond with their implementation of USB. They could have simply allowed it to connect, added 32-bit float to differentiate it from the NT1-USB, and called it a day. Instead, they incorporated a built-in DSP, ultra-quiet pre-amps, and used it as an introduction to RODE Connect, which is absolutely rich with features for streamers and content creators. Instead of making it a basic connectivity feature, RODE used USB connectivity as a gateway to far more functionality, which makes this an outstanding buy at $259.  

The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.