The NT2-A is an all-round winner that's versatile enough to take on the innumerable miking tasks that the world presents." Audio Technology Features At the heart of the NT2-A is the Australian designed and manufactured HF1 dual diaphragm capsule. The frequency and transient response of this transducer has been voiced to complement today's modern recording techniques, and yet still evoke the silky smooth character of the legendary microphones of the 50's and 60's. These features provide the flexibility and superlative audio characteristics that make the NT2-A one of the most versatile condenser mics available. Specifications I bought Rode NT2-A Studio Solution Set for my home studio, and totally surprised with the quality and variability of the ways that I can use this microphone. I use it in conjunction with Ableton Live + Focusrite Scarlett 6i6. I can record from 1 to 4 or even 6 vocalists in one time due to three variable positioning polar pattern. Also i easily can record acoustic guitars, percussions like shakers etc. and even a piano. It is amazing how versatile this microphone is. I hook it up to my Steinberg UR44 audio interface , switch the phantom power on, and it is ready to record speech, singing, rapping, acoustic guitar, bass guitar from an amp, cajon, darbuka, various noises, or even low volume ambient sounds.

The sound of Rode NT2-A is similar to 900 EUR+ Neumann models, although high freqs slightly lie to achieve that. But that lie is not that obvious as in case of Rode NT1-A. AT4040 high freq. seem to sound "true", but the "lie" of Rode NT2-A makes the sound more "crystal". Anyway, both mics sound great and allow your recording to sound pro. The mic’s pad and HPF features are built on a small round PCB with the switches. The image at right identifies the capsule wire connection points.Rather than just update the design of the original NT2, the NT2A looks radically different to its predecessor, with a very distinctive inset panel housing the pattern, filter, and pad switches. It's also very different inside. This FET, transformerless mic can be switched between figure-of-eight, omni, and cardioid modes, and has a choice of 80Hz or 40Hz low-cut filter frequencies as well as a filter-bypass switch position. Similarly, there's a choice of 5dB or 10dB pads.

The figure-of-eight position has nominally the same tonality as the cardioid pattern, but switching to omni allows more of the room sound to contribute, so in most cases the tonality will change according to the character of the room you're working in. As expected, the omni pattern sounds slightly more open, but in cardioid mode the NT2A's design is still pretty airy, whereas some cardioids can sound noticeably congested.

Rode NT2-A Studio Solution Pack Overview

However, the Gear4music extended warranty scheme provides an enhanced service, and is designed to offer a higher level of protection than many 'free' warranties offered by some retailers and manufacturers. While many companies are building mics in China, or simply importing standard Chinese models badged with their company names, Rode can honestly say that they've been there and done that — and moved on. They were probably the first successful mic company to use Chinese manufacturing, but over the past couple of years they've finished moving all their manufacturing to Australia, where state-of-the-art automated machines and circuit-board assembly devices have taken over from cheap labour. Even parts of the capsule manufacture traditionally done by hand are carried out using high-precision machines. Doing things this way means you have to sell a lot of mics to make the sums add up, but Rode have gained a strong reputation for building high-quality mics at medium to low prices, so that doesn't seem to be a problem for them. From NT2 To NT2A Evidently, the NT2-A is presented as a refinement upon RØDE’s long line of condenser microphones. It’s 1” diaphragm being a hallmark of the company, but how does it vary from previous models? As discovered in our in-depth comparison, the UR22 is the noisier of the interfaces. Putting the NT2-A through a stress test with the UR22 however, only solidified how quiet this microphone really is. At its extreme, there was an audible amount of noise. At a reasonable level, however, the noise was almost unnoticeable.

I'd always thought of the Australians as being proudly original — so why have they styled this mic after Neumann's U87? I know there are only so many shapes you can make a mic, but to copy somebody else's cosmetics so blatantly is almost like shouting out loud that you're producing a cheap copy. However, having taken the mic apart, I have to say that it's very nicely put together, and the satin chrome casework is quite solid; the whole thing weighs 530 grammes. The transient response, while being less audible on vocals than a drum kit for instance, still colors sound profiles. Due to the softer transient and prolonged decay, the sound has a smoother character. The Rode NT2 was a large-diaphragm FET condenser. The most common version of the NT2 used a transformerless circuit adapted from the Schoeps design by Jim Williams, The NT1 and NT2 were companion microphones with similar circuits and similar sound; the primary difference was that the NT2 had an Omni/Cardioid polar pattern switch. The NT2-A offers a frequency range of 20Hz – 20kHz, and a dynamic response of 140dB meaning it is more than capable of capturing natural and clear sounding vocals in a podcasting scenario. Collection and delivery costs are included for the first 2 years in the event of an item becoming faulty

Reviews

It is honest enough to fit snugly into various specific areas where its undeniable high-mid lift is a pronounced advantage.