When you observe the market, you’ll find an abundance of cheaper USB mics, while specific specialist types are less common. But the good thing is, we’re sharing a product that fulfils your specific needs in this RODE Podcaster Microphone review.
RODE produced one of the best and most convenient ways to enjoy top-notch speech performance and quality sounds. And you can experience this with their Podcaster Microphone.
The RODE Podcaster is a mic that’s packed with neat features. These give it an edge over the general-purpose microphones designed for vocal and speech apps. It’s also a dynamic USB mic sporting all the benefits of USB connectivity while performing like a dedicated speech mic.
Continue reading our RODE Podcaster Microphone review to learn more about the microphone. We’ll provide all the essential details you’ll need to determine if it’s the right USB mic for your needs.
RODE Podcaster Microphone Packaging
We were looking forward to our package for this RODE Podcaster Microphone review. And when it arrived in the office, we were really excited to test it out.
The Podcaster mic was packed in a typical-looking cardboard box. Although basic, we’re glad it was durable and sturdy enough to protect the mic during shipping.
The front of the box displays an image of the USB mic, its name, and RODE’s branding. One side displays the mic’s name again while a few details are present on the box’s rear. There really isn’t much to find on the package, so let’s focus on what’s inside.
Upon opening the box, you’ll immediately find the RODE Podcaster mic settled in place. Then, it comes with an RM2 mic stand ring mount, a USB cable, and its warranty information.
RODE Podcaster Microphone Review – Design and Functionality
Since there wasn’t much to see on the package, we went on ahead and checked out its design and functions. We thoroughly inspected it for our RODE Podcaster Microphone review and noticed a lot of neat things about the mic.
The RODE Podcaster is quite a hefty product with its all-metal chassis. Its exterior and build alone can tell you that the product is surely made to last. Though keep in mind that it needs an ideal mic stand to ensure that it’s stable at all times.
The mic is also on the heavier side which is all due to its internal shock mount. Despite that, you can still move it around without much noise being picked up which is great.
Additionally, the mic comes with an integrated pop filter that helps neutralise most plosives especially when up close. That means, you won’t have to bother with an extra pop filter when using the mic.
We are huge fans of its sleek and glossy finish which makes it a great addition to our setup. Form-wise, since it’s an end-address product, we had to point it right at us to get the best sounds.
Though we also found that ideal results came from us speaking a bit off-axis from it. Doing this allowed us to decrease plosives despite its integrated pop filter.
Then, there’s an LED on the mic’s side panel. It lit red when its signal was peaking then it switched to orange when levels were lower than peaking. The LED’s default colour is green, and it shines this colour when receiving power through the USB.
The USB cable that’s included in the package was quite long. So, we were able to connect it easily to a port on the mic’s base.
The best thing about the Podcaster is its USB plug-and-play design. Usually, dynamic mics such as this require a lot of power. These usually need to run via a phantom power-enabled device like a mixer.
However, this isn’t the case with the RODE Podcaster. You simply need to link it directly to your computer with the included USB cable.
Key Features of the RODE Podcaster Microphone
Here, our RODE Podcaster Microphone review focuses on the different aspects that make the product a crowd favourite.
Designed Ideally for Podcasting
The mic is designed specifically for podcasting. However, it also works with any application that requires direct digital connection and clearly recorded vocals. It’s designed mainly for podcasting, but it’s also perfect for voice-overs, editing digital video, instant broadcast, and quick recordings.
Easy to Use and Compatible with Numerous Operating Systems
Using the Podcaster is simple. Just plug it in with the included USB cable, launch your video editing or recording program, then begin. The Podcaster is also fully compatible with Windows 7 and 8, Mac OS X, and some Linux distributions.
It’s bus-powered and has a LED that indicates operation.
Cardioid Polar Pattern
The Podcaster features a cardioid polar pattern. This picks up sound from the front and sides while rejecting audio from the rear. With its tight cardioid pattern, it offers impressive off-axis sound rejection, so it doesn’t capture room noise.
The Podcaster also has an internal shock mount for isolation from keyboard sounds, bumps, and knocks. For reduced plosives, the microphone features an internal pop filter.
High-quality Headphone Output for Zero-latency Monitoring
A headphone output on the microphone body offers zero-latency monitoring. As a result, you can precisely hear what is being recorded without delay or echo.
Highly Versatile and Compatible
The Podcaster is great for podcasting, Youtube videos, vodcasting, voice recognition software, corporate videos, and any form of content production. It’s also a convenient demo microphone for songwriters and musicians who prefer the plug-and-play convenience without compromising audio quality.
You can also use the Podcaster as an iPad microphone for high-quality recording with iPad audio apps like Garageband.
10-year Warranty
The Podcaster is designed and made in Australia, so you can trust its quality. It’s also covered by RODE’s 10-year warranty after product registration.
Specifications
Specifications are important, the reason why we aren’t skipping on these here in our RODE Podcaster Microphone review. The mic sports a dynamic acoustic principle with analogue signal conditioning plus an A/D and USB interface.
The mic has a cardioid polar pattern with a bit depth of 24-bit and sample rates of 44 to 96kHz. Its frequency range is at 40Hz to 14kHz with a max SPL of 115dB SPL.
For its dimensions, the RODE Podcaster measures 215 x 56 x 52mm (H x W x D) and weighs 655g.
Do note that it’s fully compatible with Windows 7, 8, and Mac OS X PCs, and several Linux distributions.
Additionally, it comes with a 1-year warranty with a free extension to 10 years after registration.
Hands-on with the RODE Podcaster Microphone
This time, we’ll see if the Podcaster mic performs just as good as claims. So, we’re discussing that here in our RODE Podcaster Microphone review.
Test Audio Clip:
We tried using the mic to test it for spoken recordings. And surprisingly, it worked extremely well compared to other USB mics we tried.
The earlier mics we used had us deal with removing artefacts while simultaneously struggling with background noise. With the Podcaster, we didn’t have to deal with any of that. Plus, it saved us a great amount of time too.
Speaking of background noise, the mic picked up less of it compared to similar products in its range. Then for plosives, these were managed quite well too.
It was extremely easy to get clean and clear sounds from this mic. Plus, we didn’t have to bother with fuzziness and scratchy sibilance which was present on the more expensive mics. There was complete silence when we weren’t speaking, and when we were, it was crisp and clean without unwanted noise.
Tonally, the mic was able to give us that silky-smooth broadcast voice that everyone wants to achieve when speaking. Every pronunciation we made sounded excellent along the lows and mids. Then, we also got that awesome sparkle along the top ends.
It was also able to deliver a strong signal that had rich low mids, smooth mids, and clear high-frequency presence. However, there wasn’t much bass in the RODE Podcaster as we would have preferred. But despite that, it was still very crisp, clear, and top-notch.
Overall, it’s a very good USB mic that helped us keep unnecessary noise from being captured. We would definitely recommend the RODE Podcaster to amateur sound editors who want a nice, polished sound in recordings.
RODE Podcaster Microphone Review Summary
Usually, USB microphones are condenser types, and that makes the dynamic Podcaster from RODE a rare product. It’s a great microphone that features a broadcast-style design and signal.
During our tests for the RODE Podcaster Microphone review, we were impressed with its exceptional performance. For a plug-and-play USB microphone, it offered professional-grade performance with excellent voice clarity and clean audio.
Overall, the Podcaster is a well-designed and constructed microphone that does its job of capturing voices clearly. Since it has an integrated pop filter and shock mount, you won’t have to purchase extra equipment for high-quality recordings. Simply plug it to your computer and you can begin creating content.
With that, we highly recommend this podcasting microphone.
Want this microphone for your podcasts or other recording projects but need more details about it? Simply visit RODE’s official product page to learn more about their Podcaster Microphone.
