recordinghacks

RØDE NT-USB

Cardioid Condenser Microphone

The NT-USB is a 16-bit USB condener microphone, released in 2013 as part of Rode’s successful NT series of studio microphones.

Its circuit is described as a “JFET impedance converter with bipolar output buffer,” which we interpret to mean that this is the same basic circuit as is found in the NT1 — albeit coupled to an ADC converter.

The ADC chip runs at 16 bits, 48 kHz.

Despite the use of a 16-bit converter, self-noise on this microphone is very low — lower than the Studio Projects LSM, in our testing, and nearly as low as several 24- bit microphones tested.

The side of the microphone body contains two control knobs. One adjusts the audio mix for the headphone jack: the user can monitor the mic’s signal (zero latency), or the track playing back from the host computer, or a mix of both. The lower knob controls headphone volume. The headphone jack accepts 1/8'' (3.5mm) plugs.

The mic ships with a tripod desk stand, a metal-mesh pop filter, hard mount, and 6m USB cable.

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The mic was released in 2014.

Specifications

Pickup Patterns	Pads & Filters
Cardioid (n/a mV/Pa; 40 - 20,000 Hz)

Capsule Dimensions	Impedance	SPL/Noise
Diameter n/a	n/a	Max SPL: 110 dB

Weight	Length	Max Diameter	Interface(s)
520g (18.34oz)	184mm (7.24'')	n/a	USB (1)

Power Specifications

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