greetings earthlings today i'm back with another edition of the versus series
in today's episode we're going to be comparing one of the original late 90s or early 2000s road
nt ones versus one of the current production run versions of the rode nt1 to see what the
differences are and see which one sounds better but before we get into the tests let's go ahead
and talk briefly about the differences in the build quality first up on the outside the
most notable difference will be the color the original has this tan or gray paint job to it
and the current model is going to be black the grilles on both versions seem to be very
similar in terms of strength and mesh the only difference is the color of the grilles
the bottom of the microphone is slightly different as well where the original requires a screwdriver
to access the internals while the current model unscrews by hand and the only other external
difference that's noticeable is the weight where the current model is about 70 grams heavier
then when we look at the internals that's where things start to get interesting at least for some
people i will admit i don't know what any of this stuff on the pcb board does but you can tell there
are quite a few differences in terms of components and layouts the pcb board on the original is also
mounted sideways for some reason not quite sure about that and then when we look at the capsule
the original has a center terminated capsule while the current run uses an edge terminated capsule
and that is about it for the differences in the build quality now let's jump to the tests we'll
start out on the original nt1 and for both of these microphones i will be connected to the
focusrite 18i20 second gen gain will be set at one o'clock and make sure to check the lower
third to see how much i boost each of them but as far as the pricing of this microphone
according to recording hacks this originally cost around 530 dollars it has a cardioid polar pattern
a frequency response of 20 hertz to 20 kilohertz a sensitivity of around negative 34 db
an ein of less than 13 dba a max spl of 128 db and an impedance of 40 ohms now we are on the
current production model of the rode nt1 this will cost you between 230 and 270 us dollars depending
on the kit that you get this also has a cardioid polar pattern a frequency response of 20 hertz to
20 kilohertz but this has a sensitivity of around negative 29 db an ein of less than 4.5 dba a max
spl of 132 db and an impedance of 100 ohms now i am spinning around the original nt1 to 90 degrees
you can hear the off axis rejection and coloration will continue around to 180 degrees here's what
the rear of the microphone sounds like continuing to the second 90 degree angle there we go and then
rotating and ending at the front of the mic now i am spinning around the current road nt1 to 90
degrees so you can hear the off-axis rejection and coloration we'll continue around to 180 degrees
here's what the rear of the microphone sounds like continuing to the second 90 degree angle there we
go and then we will rotate and end at the front of the the new the current road nt1 why did i
forget what it was now i am typing on a keyboard with gatoron blue switches to see how much of my
voice versus how much of the keyboard the original nt1 rejects now typing like a maniac on a keyboard
with gateron blue switches to see how much the current road nt1 rejects of that and now i am
typing on the sad ws to test the rejection of gateron blue switches of the original rode nt1
and now i am typing on the sad w keys to see how the current nt1 rejects that
in case you're a gamin folk person type thing now i am right on top of the original rode nt1
and here is how the audio sounds now i am right on top of the current rode nt1 to demonstrate the
proximity effect on this thing about three inches off of the original rode nt1 with it pointed at
the corner of my mouth and here is how it sounds about three inches off of the current nt1 with it
pointed at the corner of my mouth and here is how the audio was sounding about one foot away from
the original nt1 one foot away from the current nt-1 two feet away from the original road nt-1
two feet away from the current road nt-1 and about four feet away from the original road nt-1
and about four feet away from the current road nt1
so
we've got a mic versus the same model of mike and all i wanna know in this fight
is which of the mics will be right or are they the same now let's find out
honestly that's what all of this is about sorry for the loud noises outside it's about finding
this little sluttle differences i can't speak let's just go to the outro because i'm an idiot
and the winner of this versus series i don't think is going to surprise anyone
it is the current production run model of the rode nt1 and i think this wins both on paper
as well as strictly by the sound when we look at the specs the current production
model is a big improvement over the original you get a better self noise by almost 10 dba you get
an improved max spl and a hotter sensitivity so if you were just a spec junkie and you just wanted to
look at the sheet and say which one's better the current production model is going to win
but then we get to the most important aspect of the microphones and that is how they sound and
again the current model is the winner here by far when we listen to the original the top end sounds
over boosted it sounds harsh it sounds artificial and as soon as we look at and compare the
frequency response graphs it becomes abundantly clear why the original sounds the way it does
in comparison to the current model the original has a nearly 5 db boost around 12 kilohertz and
to me that is just too aggressive and it sounds unnatural unpleasant and i am not a fan of it
but when we get to the current production model the top end boost is much more subtle
it is much more broad and to my ears it offers a much more balanced and pleasing and smooth sound
across the entire frequency range and not just in the top end so as far as specs as far as sound on
everything that i threw it at i think the current production model of the rode nt1 is the winner in
conclusion i'm a really big microphone nerd and that's why i think it's pretty cool to own a piece
of history and own one of the original rode nt1s because i am such a big fan of the current model
and i do recommend it so much but in terms of usefulness of the original rode nt1 in 2021
i don't see any reason why anybody really ought to be seeking out one of the originals
because in my opinion the current model is better in every single way in terms of sound
in terms of specs in terms of reliability and you also get a 10-year warranty so today 2021
it may be cool for history's sake but usefulness not really that is going to wrap up for this
edition of the versus series like always i want to pass the question off to you what do you think do
you prefer the current version of the rode nt1 or are you a bigger fan of the original with the much
brighter and bigger boost to the top end let me know in the comments down below if you found this
video fun interesting or helpful go ahead and give me a thumbs up if you hated it thumbs down if you
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you so much for watching thank you so much for listening i will talk to you next week
you