RØDE AI-Micro Interface Review

[PeteL]

I use a Sennheiser. I don't know how the wireless transfer fidelity compares, but the microphone is well regarded for a lapel mic. (I think the microphone is very much the fidelity bottleneck for these systems, though to be honest I also have a condenser lapel mic from Moukey that cost me around $15 and I can't hear the difference from the expensive Sennheiser.) It doesn't have its own DAC, but I have a portable interface from Roland (actually, a box full of them) that work well.

Me I think it's a misconception. Most well designed microphones have dynamic range in the 100+dBs. Sure Frequency response are not flat in most cases but it's as much of a feature as it is a flaw, but self noise in many cases is very very low and many mics can handle 120+ dB SPL.

 

[dr0ss]

Most well designed microphones have dynamic range in the 100+dBs.

The frequency curves the manufacturers provide for my two lavalier mics are suspiciously smooth. (Not flat: they are set to boost slightly at vocal ranges and cut off early at the bottom [to help with wind and popping] and at the top [to reduce sibilance].) But that doesn't say anything about the kinds of distortion Amir is testing the interface for. Having a wide frequency response curve or high sensitivity does not mean they are free from introduced noise or distortion, and I still suspect the flaws in the RØDE interface under review would be swamped by inaccuracy and noise in the kind of tiny lav microphone one uses with this interface. (It would be interesting to do some testing of this; when I was microphone shopping a few years ago all the serious testing I saw was just for of frequency response, sensitivity, and directionality. ) For sure, when I use a studio mic with otherwise the same hardware (Roland interface to a PC) as with the two lav mics I have, the sound is noticeably better to my ears.

 

[Willem]

I met a BBC World Service journalist on location in Italy sometime in the late 1970s and he was working all alone. He said mobility, discretion and simplicity were key to a good result. He used a Walkman to record on cassette tape and a very good microphone. The lattter was the most important for sound quality he said.

 

[dr0ss]

I met a BBC World Service journalist on location in Italy sometime in the late 1970s and he was working all alone.

Was this the guy who got the exclusive on the annual Ticino spaghetti harvest?

 

[musicforcities]

With all due respect (which is considerable) this is strange. What's the point of this product? Two mics in and an out. Are the tests applicable? Or perhaps I'm completely ignorant (likely).

Two mics in for interviews likely with laviler / lapel mics. The output is likely for monitoring (with lack of latency most crucial) and listening to playback in the field.

At this price point and for intended use of in field recording this seems like a very solid product. At this price or slightly less there are many similar products that are worse to terrible. Does not cost more than two cheapo usb lavilier mics that will hiss, buzz, etc.

The filter is also likely intended to manage wind noise etc.

 

[musicforcities]

My comment was not about the "Pro" label.
But the people you describe, and that's my point, don't use (or need) pro audio hardware.
They just need some complementary accessories to do their videos correctly.

Pro means almost nothing these days except perhaps a higher tier in a companies product line, like apple: iPhone Pro means a better camera and more memory, MacBook Pro just means higher specs better able to handle graphics and audio processing, not that it’s intended for pro use per se.

 

[musicforcities]

Me I think it's a misconception. Most well designed microphones have dynamic range in the 100+dBs. Sure Frequency response are not flat in most cases but it's as much of a feature as it is a flaw, but self noise in many cases is very very low and many mics can handle 120+ dB SPL.

Indeed…for in field (often small) mics intended for vocal use a flat response is undesirable. You need a response focused on vocal ranges and which accentuates a richness of tone and that attenuates wind, birds, trucks rumblings etc.

Analog Wireless set ups are very prone to interference; digital ones at this price range very prone to lots of noise from the internal A/D converter and mic sensitivity hiss and other noise from cheap preamps etc.

the out jack is just for live monitoring and checking playback in field. Not critical listening.

 

[jerryfreak]

for the $70 this costs save yourself some trouble and buy a used sony ICD-UX560 which eliminates the phone, runs forever, and has equivalent specs for stereo recording despite being only 16/44.1. i use mine regularly in low-profile recording situations with a small preamp or iem pack feeding it

 

[s9_0d1n]

I appreciate the review, measurements and feedback.
I have one and my use case is work related even though I work in the Software industry.
One can use it for interview type situations but I use it most often with a headset + splitter for Teams / Zoom communication or online training when I'm traveling.
It can be used with (and I use it in both scenarios) good quality headsets like a BeyerDynamic MMX300 for this purpose...but when traveling or mobile it can also be used with a good pair of IEM's + some accesory like this cable + boom mic .

Purely for listening to music, accesories like an apple / samsung dongle are probably better in the sense that they have a lower noise floor when listening with sensitive IEMS and sufficient power for portable use.
However, the headphone output of the Rode is powerful enough for regular headphones (in ear or over ear) and less sensitive IEM's also respond well to the Rode AIMicro.
Even if the sound is a bit cleaner using dongles for music listening, for me the additional value this little interface brings is in some of its features.
The multiple cables included that make it easy to use on phone or laptop, the ability to low cut the 75 - 150 hz from the mic during communication, and most importantly the zero latency monitoring of my own voice when communicating through closed-back headsets or IEM's + boom mic / lav mic are invaluable.
They make for a much more pleasant day when I'm in Teams meetings for 4 hours during some work days while away from my home office where I have a proper interface and microphone.

 

[jerryfreak]

i use this when recording live concerts to stream with my phone via mixlr or sonobus. works fine for that as the streamed audio is generally low bitrate (192k or less). if there are dropped samples/clock issues they are inaudible