RODE NT1 review (with comparison to the NT1-a) 

When I first got my NT1A a few years ago I spent a month or 2 using it backwards. I was wondering why it sounded so dull, and muffled. You can imagine my surprise when a friend told me to turn it around. Great all round mics.

The history is that the original gray NT1 came out in the 90s and basically put Rode on the map; there really weren't a lot of good condenser mics back then for home studios, so it was a revelation. The silver NT1A is the revision of the NT1 that came out in the 2000s, and basically was supposed to be a surface-mount version of the NT1, but small changes in capsule seem to have happened, also. The change to surface-mount with its high quality design made it one of the cleanest mics in existence, and thus became very popular. The current NT1 is black and came out in the 2010s, and it has nothing to do with the NT1A or the original gray NT1. The backstory is that most of the popular mics that were around in the late 2000s and early 2010s had K67-style capsules with HF boost, which traditionally were supposed to be used with a circuit that would attenuate HF (like in a Neumann U67), but instead in these project mics were paired with neutral, clean circuits. Hence, they often sounded too bright and sibilant, and the NT1A was a prime example of such a mic. The popular way to modify them was to change the capsule for a more neutral sounding one, and that would make the NT1A an outstanding mic, since the circuit was quite good when used with a neutral capsule. The black NT1 might have been Rode's answer to all the modders, in that they finally made an NT1 with a neutral capsule, and they went ahead and made the outstanding circuitry even cleaner for the new microphone. The result is a really wonderful microphone that sounds good on just about anything and has basically no perceptible noise at all.

If you take the space out, it is "RODENT 1" and "RODENT 1a"

You know what I like the most? You just seem like such a great guy. :D Keep up the awesome videos.

It really is so much a matter of taste. Theoretically the NT1 should be "better"...or at lest truer to anyone's natural sound. I tried one and sent it back after a few test files. While some people like that flatter sound (which *does* take EQ very well), I actually like more sparkle on my voice, like what the NT1a provides.

I just bought a NT1 last night. One of the best musical decisions I made in my life. I love it and your advice helped me decide. Thanks 💯

The NT-1 is definitely more flattering to your voice profile. I just ordered one myself!

I got the NT1, I use it for rap and rnb vocals and I have a pretty deep voice. I have no problems with it, its a great mic!!!

I know I'm watching these long after you've made them, but i still want to say THANK YOU--because your videos have helped me far more than any other single source--and motivated me to take steps to record my own audio books. When stressing about whether o do this or not--I had a RU-vid personality reach out to me and asked me why i didn't have audiobooks for my fantasy series. I told him that I didn't have the equipment. He asked if I had a list. I said I did, and it was on Amazon. He bought me the list--no strings attached and had it sent to my home!! So cross your fingers--I dont have any room in my home--not even a closet--so the local librarian (a fan of my books) is going to let me into the building after hours to use my portable PVC booth (using moving blankets) and try my hand at an audiobook!!!

Thank you! Based on this review, I just purchased the Rode NT1 kit as shown in your video, with the metal pop filter and the upgraded shock mount. Found several on Ebay, both new and used, if anyone is curious! Thanks again1

I have a NT1a & Nt2a , both are superb and an impressive value. Once you have locked in on eq ranges for any particular voice, instrument or source, you will realize they've worthy of ANY high-end studio. Also SUPER Quiet shelf noise.

9:55 - The Shure SM57 and 58 both have a similar presence boost as well in the same range as the NT1. Thanks for this vide. Your just nice to listen to.

I actually bought the NT1-A because of your comparison to the CAD E100s I did spend a lot of time looking at the frequency response chart and noticed that the NT1-A pretty much matched the regular EQ I had to do to my Blue Yeti to make it sound bearable I tried a whole cavalcade of mics with less pronounced presence boosts and they didn't work for me, I guess my voice is naturally muddy Having basically come into my own using a USB Yeti I learned how to EQ out everything I don't like like Before I found your videos I was leaning towards the AKG C214 but when I tried it out it sounded like I was pretending to sing which was to weird for me to listen back to while editing, but back then I didn't know enough to make an informed decision without hearing the mic so my options were extremely limited before. your videos were a life saver

I think your voice sounded richer and fuller with the NT1A because there is a slight boost in the low end.

Rycote Invision Lyre plastic isolators are the absolute best suspensions you can get on a shockmount. This is why Cinela, maker of the most effective and high end shockmounts, switched from their older wire isolators to the plastic.

I know this is an old video, but I just purchased an NT1 because of your content. I haven't received it yet but I can't wait! Love your vids, man!

I just have to say your reviews are the best reviews I've ever watched period. You don't use abstract terms that don't have meaning. You do your homework, you show us data the entire time, you give us your subjective opinions and justifications, and you don't ramble on. You rock.

I love the NT1

NT1A is a great microphone. I bought it yesterday and I'm pleased that it works perfectly. I use it through the Alesis IO2 sound that gives it a power of 48 V.

The Rode NT1-A was my first mic. I found running through my Warm WA-2a with the Peak Reduction set at 0 (or just a hair up) "warmed up" the mic. I can't say it sounds as good as my CAD e100s, but it's a world of difference. It almost feels like it is changed to a tube mic.

coming from nt1A... i'm happy with my new purchased NT1. So crisp

Just got my NT1 in the mail! The Audio on my channel was in dire need of decent audio! Thanks Booth Junkie!

Actually Nt1 is finer, in my ear. The NT1a is a little crispie. Love your review Mike ❤️. Miss you and your new review again

Thank you so much for the review, especially the explanation regarding frequency response and also taking into consideration “listening comfort”.

It's like if Zach Galifianakis had a really cool sounding deep voice...great review btw :)

3 seconds in and i gave it a like just for his voice. that's a showbiz voice right there

Thank you Booth Junkie, for motivate me; it's help a lot that was a good comparaison I just grab a microphone I'll try to rec for the rest of my voice just noticed that the video was released two years ago, ahh internet: ^)))

Yeah I think that's what people usually mean by saying "smooth," a reasonably flat frequency response. I'm surprised how different these microphones sound in your comparison, very interesting video.

Thank you! I now have a brand spanking new Rode NT1. I'll keep you posted. I have been working in voice over but this is my first foray into a pro home recording option.

for someone who doesn't have as low of a voice, the nt1a was a perfect choice. awesome review

this was extreme helful mr booth junkie ! your whole channel is amazing period ! surprised you don't have 1M subs

Great review! The NT1 seems cool for VO and podcasting, but for modern music, the NT1-A-s airy sparkle is definitely something I want! Also, Bryon Tiller's "Don't" with 400m views was recorded with the NT1-A :D. I definitely slam my reocrdingds with a de-esser though, my go to is Sibilance by Waves.

Fantastic Mike! Would be curious to see the NT1 against the TLM103. Almost certainly the TLM will be richer sounding but curious to see how much different given the price difference. Thanks and keep up the great work.

Very informative video. I copped an NT1 today and I'm going to do my best to make some slaps with it

Well i understand your discussion on the NT1A frequency response. But the fact is, that you normally prefer having a mic that has a flat frequency response and you add the frequency correction using an EQ filter. You don't expect to have the mic doing this.

Because of your video, Mike, I picked up an NT1 at a killer price. Full kit, mic stand, and an extra XLR cable (Pig Hog XLR Cable) for the same price as the NT1 kit (like $270) through Reverb. I got reaaaaaaalllly lucky because there were only a few left and I snagged one while I was able to. I tested this last night (in my closet after hearing a lot of reverb from my actual room) and it is absolutely phenomenal, especially compared to the Samson G-Track Pro that I was using prior. Super clear, super quiet, no extra attenuation or anything. This will be a very good voiceover mic and mic for general speaking usage for my voice. Thanks much! :)

I’ve been using an original NT1 for over 20 years, great mic. Wondering how these new one’s compare and if they add any improvements

Yes the NT1 does sound better with a smoother presentation and that "unflattering upper frequency" you mention is not present in the NT1 either but the differences are only pretty small but I would think that "unflattering upper frequency" could come across as fatiguing and harsh if used for singing so it would be far wiser to spend that $40 extra price tag to get the NT1 everytime

The highs are much more noticeable with the NT1A. It sounds more clean when I record acoustic guitar in comparison to the NT1. I use the NT1 for warmer more even vocals. It's good to have both.

the reason behind the naming is: Rode made the extremely popular NT1 many years ago, they updated it after 10 years since it was becoming old and called it the NT1 anniversary edition (NT1 a) and then later they updated the original NT1 and replaced the old NT1 but kept the NT1 a.

Wouldn’t anniversary edition usually mean a reproduction or similar production of an older more famous model? So that they took the design of the N1 and made it look and sound more like a vintage model. It Definitely looks “more” like an older microphone that would start to rust if you left the window open.

Is this really a fair comparison when you're standing directly in front of the NT1A?

Røde did well sending you one! I just purchased one because of your video :) Thank you for demonstrating the mics! The voice-over sample on the Røde website is awful. Like really terrible!

The bass is much tighter in the NT1. Sounds much better. The NT1A is still a pretty good mic.

Thank you so much for this information. I just bought the NT1 Kit. I bought it for voice over work.

Thanks. I was looking for a mic and after seeing your video, comparing with other brands, I was more sure to choose. Your video is very helpful.

TY for doing this, & spending some time explaining frequency graphs. I would love to hear your evaluation of nt1 vs CAD 179 (given your vid on that one). Learning a lot from you Mike, so appreciative!

Great opinion, very honest and unbiased. One can see your experience in your commentary. Thanks. Thumbs up!

Thanks, getting the NT1a next week.

I'm very familiar with the sound of the NT1 as I own several. Not familiar at all with the NT1a I heard that "sound" I'm familiar with. I wasn't expecting to hear any big difference between these two, but it was reasonably obvious in this VO test. Glad I invested in the NT1. It also records various instruments well 👍

as a few others have said, it sounds like the clips are reversed. Not saying they actually are but that's what it sounds like. There's a noticeable "thinning" and slightly hyped top end every time you switch to the NT1

Thanks for the information. I was leaning towards the NT1already, now I am sure I want to buy that one. I do see an advantage however to having both and I may consider that option also. I hope Rode still includes the better quality shock mount now that it is almost 4 years since this video was made. That's a bonus as well if it is still included. Thanks. I gave you a sub. Phil NYC Area

Gotta say that the NT1 does sound smoother, and its kit looks awesome.

I found My NT1-A with the RK-47 mod is magic!

Great Job Booth Junkie in my opinion and working from a vocal booth. I will lean towards the NT1 due to it's great neutral frequency response. In a vocal booth no matter how much acoustic treatment there is and with a low noise floor, there will be low frequency build up and the NT1a is already giving that boost in the 100hz.

Thank you for this review! 2 years late to the party, but I am sold on the NT1. Unless I find a better alternative for the same price.

Based on the frequency graphs, it sounds like the NT1A / NT1 indications shown in the video are backward. Anyone else hearing that?

Mike, thanks so much for the review and comparison; I happen to own the NT1-A. Can't go wrong with either one of these. They're both quality mics and a good bang for the buck. Also, very cool that the folks at Rode sent you an NT-1. :-) A question I have is when you have a microphone that isn't as "flattering" for your voice, as you say, how much trouble is it to to tweak it with EQ and so forth to get it where you want it? How would you go about doing that?

I liked the water analogy... makes perfectly sense.

Thanks for this video. I purchased the NT1-a as I started out. I’ve used it a couple weeks and I think I am noticing what you dislike about it. Luckily for me, one of the XLR pins on the mic is coming out and I’m still in my return window for Amazon. So I went ahead and ordered the NT1 Kit instead. One thing to note for potential buyers: Rode has seriously downgraded the NT1 Kit. The shock mount and pop filter you loved in this video has been replaced with the same version that comes with the NT1-a. I found a lightly used old NT1-kit on eBay that is the same version from this video. Wouldn’t have known the difference without this video, so thank you!!

I bought the NT1-A as my very first VO mic. And once learned how to properly manage the high end Dave mentions it's been my only mic. Until a friend let me try the WA-87...and while I love Rode...I'm retiring my NT1-A.

Note: long post... I purchased an NT1 earlier this year. While less bright than the NT1a the NT1 is still pretty “crisp”. It’s a very sensitive mic, picking up any little arm brush against clothes, mouth clicks, and even low breaths. I’ve learned to back away more - even further than the typical hand span - to reduce the pickup of the extraneous sounds. I simply just need a bigger booth space. 4’x4’ is not cutting it. The mic is so sensitive that it will pick up things you won’t even hear while recording. I have 2 set-ups at home, one being a walk-in closet downstairs. My wife works at home and has an office upstairs. She was on a conference call, but I could not hear her at all in my downstairs “booth”. I did some test recording and on playback her entire conversation was clear as day! It was in the -50 dB range, but was there. That is one sensitive mic! As a comparison, the cheapo Focusrite CM25 mic that came with my Scarlett kit did not pick up her conversations. My solution now is to record only when she is not on the phone. Long term is to build a real booth. Lastly, I found the NT1 needed a bit more gain than my Scarlett 2i2 could handle without getting noisy. The 2i2 needed the gain at about 3 o’clock and some serious noise starts past 2. I like to try to have my noise floor around -65 dB or better while recording and I just could not get better than -58 dB or so with the 2i2 and the NT1. I picked up a used Steinberg UR22 mkII and it was able to boost the signal enough without getting noisy. My philosophy is to get the recording as best as possible up front, so any compression and normalization needed in post will be mild. It is a challenge to obtain that with the NT1 because it is such a sensitive mic. Worth it though.

Mike, the NT-1a seemed to amplify the part of your voice that creates the 'fogginess' part of your resonance. The NT-1 was devoid of that and seems to have a better handle on the highs.

I feel that the NT1 kinda automatically normalizes your voice, making it more clear and easier to listen to.

You've already received mics as gifts from CAD and now Rode. I wonder who's gonna be the first company to invite you over to their place to shoot some stuff for your channel. That'd be great!

Your voice is fantastic. My take from this video has nothing to do with microphones let alone NT1-A or NT1. It is the analogy of pure water vs impure water. I love a great analogy and this one was great!

Thnx for this video. I like NT1. For me it cost little bit to much for me, but i verry want this one. I wish try to made voice acting and being a speaker.

Mike, you are just fantastic! Love, love, love all your videos thus far ... I discovered you looking for voice booths, and found your first WhisperRoom setup video. I've seen a bunch of your videos, but now I'm going through listening to the rest of them now. You crack me up on a regular basis. Our voices are very similar, and all of your videos have been super informational. Keep up the great work, and all the best to you and yours!!

I use the NT1 for my kid videos....... I have the students going crazy at the moment!!! 🔥🔥🔥

That`s, what I hear is NT-1 have more rich and brought sound, bass is completely enough and no frequency mess others, that maybe allows him to have more clear sound. Between those two I definitely choose NT-1. For NT-1A you must need for exactly those colorizations of sound. Great video, thanks!

WOW! I was going for Blue Yeti, but then my dad showed me that we had the Rode NT1-a! DAFUQ!? and I prefer NT1-a

£90 for a NT1A ? Good deal ?

Just subbed because of this video. Thinking about getting 2 or which ever mic for drum overheads and vocals. Leaning toward the NT-1 for the smoother response. I feel like it would be easier to shape the sound if needed rather than dealing with a mic with a more colored sound.

Thanks +Mike DelGaudio. Great to see my mic (the NT1) being reviewed. I'd love to see it compared with the CAD E100s (They're supposedly the two quietest mics on the market), the TLM 103, the 416, and the Shure KSM32 (if you still have it). Is there any chance that you did get the labelling of the mics backwards on this video? Either way, I am surprised how similar they sound. Thanks again.

Thank you so much for this review and I l0oved the hertz graph. I'm learning so much watching your channel!

4:30 LOL you realized you were about to say an unintentional pun, then quickly changed the wording from "shocked" to "pleasantly surprised." Hahaha, ​anyways great video.

best break down of these two ive ever watched great job

Here in germany nobody uses the Nt-1 but it's so good. It sounds a bit like a combination of the Nt-1a and the Procaster it's really nice . Well i think I will be using it. And yeah it looks freaking badass so just because of that i would buy it Greetings and a good day night whatever xD

I really want the NT-1, but I'm gonna, for fun, buy a cheap 20-40 dollar microphone that looks silly on eBay. Just to see how it sounds. At least it will looks nice (kinda). The more you were talking and switching, I did notice the difference, even just using my V-Moda Crossfade LP² headphones. It does sound smoother. Nice test, thank you :)

PSA: **MassDrop on E100S is currently live** Please do an E100S vs Rode NT1 test. Now, with that out of the way, awesome video, as always. Thanks for all your work.

Thanks for sharing mike. would you be so kind to show us, how can we let our mic input pass through an equilizer and then into the recording interface? Thanks.

I've watched several videos on the nt1 - nt1a comparison and this was the most informative. To those who criticize and say get to the point right away, etc., you shouldn't be watching such videos to make a decision, you should just flip a coin. Grow an attention span.

I hear a high buzz that comes in and out with your voice on the NT1, but not the NT1-a! I'm having his same problem with my mic so I'm gonna go for the NT1-a. Seems like the chatter that the NT1-a is a super quiet mic is true.

The nt1a is a great mic for the money. It's a little trebly but can be easily fixed with an eq. Great on acoustic guitar.

Just picked up a USED NEWER MODEL NT1 at a local pawn shop for 100 dollars and I love it.

for musicians in the studio who record vocals, i think a simple d-esser would take out those sibilances pretty easily in my opinion, im about to record some tracks and experiment

I preferred the NT1 Mic overall. Smoothness is what I am looking for. But I could see the use cases for the NT1-a as well

3 years late to this but some might have said it too. In actuality from an audio background, flat is best in audio equipment. Especially if you are singing but even if not you don’t want color added to your voice pre processing. All of the boosts in the frequency range can be added in post which is why when recording and then listening back to yourself from a vocal file you want the purest audio as possible to see what you need to boost, if anything. Your water analogy is poor comparison when it comes to audio. Of course everyone has their preferences and opinions on what mic is best for them but ideally and as a general rule of thumb, you want a flat frequency response in your microphone.

Just yesterday I was requiring a new video of yours and look, here it is! It's always a pleasure to hear you talk about microphones. I know CAD is your favourite brand and you review others like Neumann and Shure, but you never mention Audio Technica. Don't you like this manufacturer from Japan? I'd like to see what you have to say about their popular AT2020. Also, the PR40 by Heil. These are microphones that definitely deserve the Booth Junkie treatment.

I love the sound quality of NT-1 but I love the style of NT-1A 🙃

Everything that I could have expected very good

This was super helpful considering how similar these 2 mics are! Both seem to be of really good quality. Glad I stumbled across your video!

I found this video of value. You helped me decide . Thanks ...ps: social platforms need more amazing people like you ... keep up the good work :)

IMHO, the NT-1A is slightly brighter on your voice than the NT-1.

Good info! It's almost like watching a mic review by Wilson from Home Improvement lol.

Time now for the lightweight championship: CAD e100s vs. Rode NT1 (please, please, please :)

Wish I could buy that sick looking pop filter

What I believe is missing from this video, and the links that aren’t there, is which generation are these. People are trying to buy the 3rd gens. Dont seem to like the 5th gens much. NT1 4th gen seems for most people. And I don’t see any coming with metal pop filters anywhere around, either… Cheers man, great video

Thanks Mike, I just got lucky when I bought he NT-1 beforehand.

I loved the sound of my NT1, but had huge problems with RF interference. I managed to fix it by buying an MKH-416. But if RF is not an issue where you live, the NT1 is the best deal going.