RODE has been one of many largest names within the microphone and content material creation enterprise for years, however as we speak marks a particular milestone for the corporate. Today, it launches RODE X, a sub-brand devoted to streamers, avid gamers, and creators. RODE X is launching with three main merchandise to kick off its portfolio, together with the USB-powered RODE X XCM-50 condenser and XDM-100 dynamic microphones, in addition to a model new software program suite known as UNIFY that goals to exchange your GoXLR and works with any USB microphone. It’s an thrilling launch, so let’s dive in.
Specifications
RODE X XCM-50
- Current Price: $149
- Key Features
- Professional condenser USB Microphone
- Complete audio answer for streaming and gaming with included UNIFY software program
- Highly detailed audio seize optimised for voice purposes
- Tight cardioid polar sample
- Zero-latency headphone output with degree management and mute button
- Internal DSP for superior audio processing
- Plug-and-play USB-C connectivity with 24-bit, 48kHz analog-digital conversion
- Integrated 360-degree swing mount
- Desktop tripod included
- Polar Pattern: Cardioid
- Capsule: Condenser
- Frequency Range: 20 Hz – 20 okayHz
- Connectivity: USB-C
- Analog Outputs: 3.5mm Headphone Output
- Sample Rate: 48 okayHz
- Bit Depth: 24-bit
- OS Requirements: MacOS 10.12, Windows 10
- Net Weight (g): 492g
- Dimensions (mm): 62 (W) x 42 (D) x 118 (H)
- Included Accessories:
- Tripod 2
- SC29 USB-C to USB-C cable
- 3m Headphone Extension Cable
RODE X XDM-100
- Current Price: $249
- Key Features
- Professional dynamic USB microphone
- Complete audio answer for streaming and gaming with included UNIFY software program
- Rich, detailed audio seize optimised for voice purposes
- Superior room noise rejection
- Zero-latency headphone output with degree management and mute button
- Internal DSP for superior audio processing
- Plug-and-play USB-C connectivity with 24-bit, 48 okayHz analog-digital conversion
- Pop protect and shock mount included
- Polar Pattern: Cardioid
- Capsule: Dynamic
- Frequency Range: 20 Hz – 20 okayHz
- Connectivity: USB-C
- Analog Outputs: 3.5mm Headphone Output
- Sample Rate: 48 okayHz
- Bit Depth: 24-bit
- OS Requirements: MacOS 10.12, Windows 10
- Net Weight (g): 700g
- Dimensions (mm): 52 (W) x 213 (H)
- Included Accessories:
- PSM1 Shock Mount
- SC29 USB-C to USB-C cable
- 3m Headphone Extension Cable
- Pop Shield
RODE X XCM-50, XDM-100, and UNIFY – What Are They?
If you understand RODE, you in all probability know them as a microphone firm (although they actually do extra). It’s no shock that the launch of the RODE X model launches off with two new microphones, however what did shock me — no less than at first — was that they have been each USB mics. That begins to make a bit extra sense while you have a look at what RODE X is out to attain. Once you do, you may see simply how well-positioned this launch is.
RODE, seeing the explosion in recognition for streaming and content material creation, has created the RODE X model particularly for these wants, and in doing so has positioned itself because the all-in-one answer for stream audio. Since the microphones are USB, you gained’t want any particular audio interface to connect with your PC; you plug it in and go.
But, veteran creators will inform you, USB mics aren’t scalable. They can’t develop with you or connect with different {hardware} you may want. That’s true, however with a mix of fantastic inside elements and RODE X’s UNIFY software program, you genuinely don’t must.
That’s as a result of every of those microphones comes with a license for RODE X’s new UNIFY software program. In a nutshell, it’s a software program model of the RODEcaster Pro 2. It’s extra highly effective than a GoXLR or Razer Stream Audio Mixer. Like these gadgets, you’re given digital audio channels to independently management the degrees of your recreation, system, mic, music, browser, and extra. You can then create sub-mixes, so your viewers can hear one combine whilst you have one other piped by means of to your ears.
UNIFY additionally provides you real-time sound FX pads and, not lengthy after launch, real-time vocal FX. It comes with APHEX audio enhancements, resembling a compressor, exciter, noise gate, and massive backside. Together, you may filter out the noise and craft a broadcast-worthy sound. It’s extremely much like what the RODEcaster Pro accomplishes, with out the necessity for a {hardware} controller in your desk.
You don’t even want to fret about dropping out on RODE’s spectacular Revolution preamps should you go together with the XDM-100: they’re constructed into the mic itself.
Which brings us again to the microphones…
RODE X XCM-50 and XDM-100 – A Closer Look
If you’ve adopted Rode’s portfolio over time, you’ll in all probability discover that each new microphones look acquainted. The XCM-50 shares a physique with the NT-USB Mini. The XDM-100 shares its type with the Rode Podcaster. They’ve been trimmed up with a brand new pink and black colour scheme and bundles with some equipment, however at first look, you may suppose they have been a rebrand and name it a day.
Thankfully, there have been some basic modifications to every microphone. Each is an enchancment over the mic it shares a chassis with, so this isn’t a case of Rode-X simply reskinning current mics and calling it a day.
RODE X XCM-50
Starting with the extra reasonably priced of the 2 microphones, the RODE X XCM-50 is a condenser microphone. It’s small and easy, with solely a quantity wheel on the entrance. Around the again is a zero-latency monitoring port to plug in a pair of headphones (or the included extender cable which comes with each mics), and a USB Type-C port.
The microphone comes put in on a U-bracket that lets the microphone flip a full 360 levels. Thus far, aside from the brand new pink and black colour scheme, all of this has been true of the NT-USB Mini, however the XCM-50 provides in a a lot better desktop stand. It’s really a miniature tripod. The legs might be locked in a decrease or larger place to higher suit your recording wants, and the microphone attaches with a ball head for much more adjustability.
The XCM-50’s condenser capsule is ethereal, detailed, and may sound fairly wealthy while you get near it to elicit the proximity impact. It makes use of a cardioid pick-up sample to document a decent circle across the face of the microphone, and sound drops off fairly a bit from the again and sides. With a frequency response vary of 20Hz to 20kHz and a 24-bit, 48kHz sampling charge, that is the microphone to decide on if you need probably the most pure, true-to-life sound.
One of my criticisms of the NT-USB Mini was that the included stand was too low to get a very good quantity degree with out cranking the achieve and including white noise, however with the brand new stand, that’s a lot much less of a problem. I used to be capable of get it positioned comfortably the place I may very well be clearly heard even from a standard sitting place, which wasn’t potential with the NT-USB Mini with out including additional achieve.
That, by itself, is a marked enchancment but it surely isn’t the one one. When you do want to show the microphone up, the microphone generates much less white noise. The hiss of an excessive amount of achieve isn’t practically as loud, which frees you as much as set your ranges, punch in your noise gate, and chill out to deal with internet hosting your stream. The headphone jack works in addition to ever however was capable of drive my headphones even louder than the NT-USB Mini, so you may safely use most units with out worry of not getting sufficient quantity.
It’s additionally price mentioning right here that the XCM-50 may be very robustly constructed. It’s tiny, dwarfed by the likes of the Blue Yeti, however its all-metal body appears made to face as much as years of use. The tripod is plastic however feels very sturdy.
At $149, this can be a good worth that turns into much more so while you add vocal FX like Big Bottom to widen out the sound. Leave that off and this doubles as an excellent microphone for live-streaming guitar or piano.
RODE X XDM-100
The XDM-100 is the upper finish of the 2 mics and also you don’t must do greater than maintain it to see for your self. It’s a tank of a mic if ever there was one, made from solid steel, and has the lengthy, cylindrical look of a studio broadcast microphone. As an everyday consumer of the Rode Procaster, I felt proper at residence with it, however I’ve to say… the pink and black colour scheme seems even higher right here than on the XCM-50. The pink trim across the headphone jack, behind the grille, and the ring across the finish simply look unbelievable. There’s even an influence indicator gentle that illuminates, you guessed it, pink when plugged in.
To me, the XDM-100 is the extra fascinating of the 2 microphones. It shares numerous DNA with the Procaster and Podcaster however is wholly spectacular as its personal product.
Like its predecessors, the XDM-100 is a dynamic microphone. It’s much less delicate than the XDM-50 and doesn’t choose up practically as a lot surrounding noise. Your mechanical keyboard and case followers aren’t practically as audible as some other condenser streaming mic, and, in actual fact, neither have been my youngsters as they performed within the room close by. You don’t want to fret about including sound therapy to your room or ensuring every thing round you is “live performance” quiet while you wish to stream some gameplay. It’s dearer however can also be a a lot better match for almost all of streamers, for my part.
The microphone carries a basic broadcast sound. It has the identical 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response vary because the XCM-50, however there’s a little bit of that basic dynamic “crunch” that comes by means of. It’s not overdone however has a really clear radio character about it that’s instantly recognizable should you’ve ever heard a significant discuss present or podcast.
At the identical time, there’s a richness to the sound character that I actually take pleasure in. It’s very full-bodied and bassy with out changing into boomy and bloated. Rode X has performed a stellar job of tuning the sound of this microphone into one thing that’s concurrently skilled and versatile sufficient to be approachable for brand spanking new creators.
It’s an immediate improve that solely will get higher when tuned with UNIFY, however you ought to be conscious that it’s not as pure or ethereal because the XCM-50. This is unquestionably a vocal mic.
This microphone upgrades the Procaster in a number of methods. First off, it has an inside DSP that permits these results inside UNIFY. It additionally makes use of RODE’s Revolution preamps that we noticed on the Rodecaster Pro 2. They’re highly effective sufficient that you just’ll have ample quantity headroom with this mic and clear, so that you don’t have to fret about additional hiss. The same XLR mic (just like the Procaster) requires an audio interface with loads of energy and high-quality preamps, which might add a major price on high of the microphone itself. None of that right here.
RODE X additionally throws in a couple of equipment to extend the worth of the package deal. You have a custom-fit pop filter to dam plosives and a shock mount made to connect with a growth arm (not included). There is not any desktop stand, however that’s not stunning. Dynamic microphones are meant for use near the mouth, so an ordinary desktop stand wouldn’t work nicely.
Compare this microphone to the Podcaster and also you’ll discover a fairly stark worth distinction. The Podcaster retails for round $160 for simply the microphone. The XDM-100 is almost one other hundred {dollars}. A extra becoming comparability, nonetheless, is in opposition to the Podcaster when bundled with the matching shock mount and RODE WS2 pop filter. Then, the worth jumps to $218. Add within the reworked and upgraded internals and improved efficiency of the RODE X, and that further $30 premium begins to make sense.
That, and its compatibility and license for UNIFY.
RODE X UNIFY – RODECaster as an App
I used to be a giant fan of the RODECaster Pro 2 once I reviewed it early this 12 months. It’s an exquisite machine that provides you hardware-level controls over a number of audio streams, tons of energy and processing results, and all-around great content material creation potential. UNIFY isn’t a substitute for the entire options the RODECaster affords, but when all you want it for is streaming, it comes shut and can prevent tons of of {dollars} and a noticeable quantity of desk area.
Ask any creator and so they’ll inform you an identical: video is vital, however viewers will sit by means of a decrease video high quality if the content material is sweet sufficient. Poor audio high quality will drive them away instantly. Just upgrading to one of many RODE X mics will instantly increase your audio high quality, however when you get severe about streaming, you’ll shortly discover that you just want greater than a very good mic.
A professionally produced stream requires mixing. You have to have the ability to stability out the volumes of a number of audio sources whereas nonetheless having the ability to be heard your self. The built-in instruments inside Windows are too fundamental to do an excellent job with this, so streamers have turned to third-party options just like the RODECaster or GoXLR. These gadgets create digital audio gadgets devoted to issues like recreation audio, browser audio, chat, and music and provide you with unbiased quantity sliders for each, “mixing” these feeds into a mixture that sounds good beneath your individual microphone.
UNIFY does the identical, however all inside an app that mimics the interface and performance of the RODECaster. It does for USB microphones what {hardware} mixers do for XLR mics. And should you’re utilizing an XLR microphone with an interface, you need to use it to by including the interface to certainly one of its digital audio channels.
Combined with certainly one of RODE X’s new microphones, it turns into an all-in-one answer that replaces the necessity for that costly further {hardware} in your desk. It will even work with different corporations’ USB mics, although you’ll must pay a subscription charge to make use of it: $7.99 AUD when paid month-to-month (about $5 USD) or $69.99 AUD for a year-long plan (about $45 USD).
It’s all-inclusive, sure, however a bit difficult to study. If you’ve ever used one other stream mixer, you’ll discover that it’s not that totally different in any respect, but when it’s your first, be ready to spend an hour or so studying the way it works and setting it up. A software program answer additionally isn’t as simple to regulate on the fly as a devoted quantity slider. But… the RODECaster is $699. The Beacn Mix Create is $199. The GoXLR Mini is $139 and doesn’t help USB. At that sort of financial savings, it appears like a reasonably honest trade-off.
RODE X XCM-50 and XDM-100 – Sound Samples
Final Thoughts
The launch of a devoted streaming model from RODE is thrilling. The firm is among the masters within the audio enterprise and I’m wanting to see what they do with a devoted model serving this area. It’s actually beginning issues off on the precise foot.
The two microphones and UNIFY software program are every wonderful merchandise in their very own proper. Either the XCM-50 or XDM-100 will provide noticeable upgrades from even very costly gaming headsets, so your streams and movies may have an immediate increase in audio high quality. UNIFY processing alongside them permits you to improve the audio in a manner that’s not potential with different microphones to enhance issues much more, whereas additionally performing as a reside audio mixer, full with sub-mixes.
An thrilling launch certainly, and completely a set of merchandise it is best to think about should you don’t wish to make investments tons of into an advanced audio setup.
The product described on this article was offered by the producer for analysis functions.
