Digging Below the Surface

Sound-wise, the choice to purchase either of these microphones is a no-brainer. They deliver world-class tracks on the cheap. But this is but one element of their charm. Overall, these microphones are standard-setters that the entire industry would do well to study.

Everything about them both belies and explains their price. The cases themselves are substantial works of engineering art, reminiscent in design and construction to the venerable solid-brass Switchcraft phone plugs (the ones that never go bad). A picture here is worth a thousand words.

(Top) Switchcraft phone plug

(Bottom) NTK cast enclosure

Note the similarity of design

There is a method to this madness. Crack open your average condenser microphone, and notice that you're looking at some serious hand assembly. That's money spent that has nothing to do with what you hear. Now look at these new RØDEs.

(Top) NT1000 (Bottom) NTK

You just don't see too many mics that look anything like this on the inside.

It's the Economy, Stupid

The NT1000 and NTK are designed from the ground-up to mass produce. Henry Ford would love these microphones. They're marvels of design economy. They share a common interior cast unit, to which all the other parts attach. It's substantial, and you'd need a steamroller to damage it. The casting quality itself is first-rate, and the threads are silky smooth and perfectly pitched to task. It only takes a couple of quick turns to unscrew the outer case, also nicely cast with a champagne-colored nickel finish. It has a great glow, and it's about as hard as a brickbat.

The stand-mount retainer is nicely weighted, too, and threads on and off with ease. One of the subtle niceties here is simply the way everything feels--so sturdy and positive. They're very industrial-chic. You never have the feeling that you could possibly damage this microphone. As a point of comparison here, I took apart the Alesis AM-62, and this mic is positively wimpy and spindly inside. I could twist it completely apart in one flick of the wrist, and I mean easily. A little girl could tear it up.

You'd just twist the skin off your hand trying that with either RØDE. And the beautiful point of it all is this: such a great case probably cost Peter Freedman about 1/3 the price, because he was thinking. Parts mount and dismount from this thing like butter. I've had both of these mics totally (and I mean TOTALLY) apart and back together several times, and I never feel like I'm going to break or damage anything.

NTK Capsule

In all its naked glory, the capsule mount reveals more great design. Four screws hold the pop-screen assembly to the inner casting. Take those off, and the screen unit slides smoothly off with a little "schloop." Once it's off, you see the source of the schloop sound--the entire capsule is suspended on a black rubber diaphragm, which rib-seals the screen unit AND isolates the entire capsule housing from the rest of the case. But that's not all. On the picture, notice that there's a little white foam nub at the top of the diaphragm mount. When you place the screen unit on the case, this nub hits the top, depresses the black rubber just a bit, and you end up with a positively damped isolation system which is absolutely resonance-free.

Indeed, one of the things that shocked me about both mics was how well they rejected low-frequency physical resonances, especially with no built-in rolloff of any kind. Again, a good simple design which works, and saves money that can get rolled into better guts.

These are as simple to assemble as the lowliest of the workhorse dynamics. There are seven measly parts to slap into the NT1000, eight in the NTK. Faster assembly means less labor means more money for the parts that count. Every mic is a complex equation of the ordinary and sublime. For a given amount of money, you want to spend it mostly on the sublime, and the NT1000 and NTK put the sublime first by brilliantly executing every mundane detail of the ordinary.

An idiot could assemble this mic, so logical and simple is its design. I had both mics apart and back together in moments - we're talking ten screws and a setscrew for the jack. All the guts are designed to attach effortlessly to the solid-cast inner case. Back to the GT for comparison, I would be deathly afraid to take that thing apart for fear I'd never get it all lined up and back together without breaking something. The cheesy and flimsy plastic switches would be the first to go...I thought I'd break a couple of them off just getting the cover back on the thing. There is nothing on either RØDE mic you'd ever call cheesy or flimsy. They're tanks.

The circuit boards are robot-assembled surface-mount technology. By the way, the shot of the NT1000's circuit board is misleadingly simple. You only see the "tall" side. Underneath, there's a way-impressive surface-mount array, including the prized FETs, which interestingly enough, were originally developed for the CIA. I guarantee you, you've never seen mic guts that look anything like these.

What's in it for Me?

Bringing it all back to my original thought, these microphones are a great example of what's right and good in our industry. They are the polar opposite of the slew of what I'd call "exploitation mics." Everywhere you look, there are great-looking, mediocre sounding large diaphragm condensers. It's like a disease. Everybody wants to sell you a look, exploiting the profile of classy mics, but substituting dirt-cheap parts because they don't think you're smart enough to notice.

Not so with these. Not even close. Every aspect of the NT1000 and NTK is pure class. Instead of just trying to exploit the classics, RØDE has built a better mousetrap, designing a structure so elegant and so smart that the money saved can be reallocated towards stuffing these great cases with some of the best sounding electronics you've ever heard.

This is what it's all about. This is what we wish every manufacturer would do - be artists and scientists first, and trust that musicians will recognize quality when they see it. Kudos to RØDE for bringing back a little class to a marketplace that's gotten downright depressing.

I don't see how anyone could miss it. This is everything that's right with microphone design, and then some. I cannot say enough good things about these mics, and I'm damn hard to please. They are top-notch, they have a voice all their own, and quality far above the asking price. They break ground. Don't buy a new large diaphragm condenser without listening to the NT1000 and NTK. But be prepared. Once you've heard them, you'll have a hard time letting go of either one. At less than a grand for the pair, maybe you don't have to.

Don't take my word for the sound. Please. Go listen to these mics yourself. Stand on something soft, so your jaw won't get bruised when it hits the floor.