Hi Bruce--
I've never had a chance to personally compare Rode-matched and chance
pairs. I'm pretty sure that Rode selects sequential or near
sequential serial numbers-- opposed to matching measured performance.
I've paired-up a couple of dozen NT1-A's and a few of the pairs had
small differences in the character of the high frequency noise (which
would become audible only under the most demanding of applications).
No differences that were obvious to the ears.
Rode often ships dealers sequential or close to sequential orders.
You could contact some larger volume dealers who have a good number
in stock and ask them to check their inventory and hand-pick a pair.
Even the larger eBay dealers might do this and you can save some $.
I know one dealer who has done this for me if you want to contact me
off-list. <>
Incidentally, Rode has 10 year warranty if you register them:
http://www.rodemic.com/warranty.php Tech Support will look at any mic
that is not working up to spec and fix or replace it. Turn around was
about 14 days.
Don't forget you'll need a phantom power supply to operate these
condenser mics with your D-50. No need to buy the expensive one from
Sony. Rob D.
=3D =3D =3D =3D =3D
At 6:50 AM +0000 6/30/09, brucethehoon wrote:
>Apologies for not realizing this and asking sooner, but for MY
>purposes, is there any advantage to purchasing the NT1-A in a
>matched pair, or will just buying a couple of them on Amazon
>suffice? I want to buy them tomorrow if possible :)
>
>--- In
><naturerecordists%40yahoogroups.com>=
m,
>Rob Danielson <> wrote:
>>
>> At 8:00 PM +0000 6/29/09, brucethehoon wrote:
>> >Thank you so much for your reply. The number of private email
>> >replies I got rather overwhelmed me and as such I didn't get back to
>> >the group in my usual speedy manner.
>> >
>> >To update, I have purchased the PCM-D50, realizing that I really
>> >don't care how much this costs, but ruggedness is a factor.
>> >
>> >That said, as requested below, my first and most important use will
>> >be to record one hour or more of waves / surf at a california beach
>> >with 30mph winds gusting to 50mph.
>> >
>> >I will have the unit on a sand compatible tripod (legs buried) and
>> >would like to record the EXPERIENCE of being there. While not
>> >necessarily suggesting a binaural setup, I would like to play it
>> >back later and be fairly able to close my eyes and be there again.
>> >
>> >If I was able to pack the whole setup (excluding tripod) into an
>> >average sized backback, that would be "portable" for me.
>> >
>> >Spending ANOTHER $300-500 on microphones seems reasonable to me. I
>> >can appreciate that it might seem absurd to drop so much in advance,
>> >but I would rather take the risk of spending too much money than
>> >take the risk of getting a lower quality recording during a once in
>> >a lifetime trip.
>> >
>> >I am using Shure E5C's as my listening method, so I suppose anything
>> >they can't play, I don't care about, when it comes to quality :)
>> >
>>
>> Hi Bruce--
>> In the $300-$500/pair price range, the rigs that John Hartog and
>> variations others have made for Rode NT1-A's have produced striking
>> recordings and these ultra low-noise mics provide the ability to
>> record very quiet locations too.
>>
>><http://www.rockscallop.org/how/barrier10.html>http://www.rockscallop.org=
/how/barrier10.html
>>Any condenser mic will
>> require phantom powering which the PCM-D50 doesn't have. The cheapest
>> way to provide phantom powering (with no compromise in quality) is
>> with a portable phantom power supply like an Art Phantom II or Rolls
>> PB224.
>>
>> For dealing with steady winds that strong, Rich Peet has some designs
>> made with "Shop Vac" filters that work very well. [Contact him
>> directly at If you go with a traditional
>> zeppelin approach, I'd favor a larger than usual "basket" size with
>> 3-4" of dead air space around the capsules, an inner liner made of
> > taut panty hose stocking and an outer layer of long pile fake fur (2"
>> or longer). Here are some NT1-A ideas:
>>
>><http://www.uwm.edu/~type/audio-reports/Rode_NT1-A_Mics/NT1-A_index.htm>h=
ttp://www.uwm.edu/~type/audio-reports/Rode_NT1-A_Mics/NT1-A_index.htm
>>
>> Another thought. Surf and wind are quite loud so you can get by with
>> small electret mics and put some energy into making wind protection
>> for them. The tiny Panasonic WM-61A's mics are very accurate in terms
>> of tonal response and can be purchased in a variety of packages well
>> under $100 a pair:
>>
>><http://www.uwm.edu/~type/audio-reports/PanasonicWM-61A_OtherBinauralRigs=
/docs/CompareCommercialLavs_1_2009.doc>http://www.uwm.edu/~type/audio-repor=
ts/PanasonicWM-61A_OtherBinauralRigs/docs/CompareCommercialLavs_1_2009.doc
>> The popular Shure WL-183's are larger and quieter. You'll find lots
>> of discussion about the WL-183's in the list archive. These electret
>> mics will produce considerable "hiss" if used in quiet locations
>> where the record level is turned up high but they are fine in loud
> > locations. Rob D.
>>
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