RØDE launches two mics for streaming and gaming alongside free mixing software

If you are in the audio capture space, whether that be for a podcast, work, or video capture, you know the name RØDE.  Their shotgun mics have been my go-to for a long time as they are high quality and portable, while not costing me an arm and a leg.  Today, RØDE is announcing that they are bringing that same engineering and price-to-performance to the gaming world with two new microphones, and a virtual mixing solution to tie it all together.  Let’s hear about the XDM-100 dynamic and XCM-50 condenser microphones.

The XDM-100 is a professional dynamic USB microphone that delivers rich, broadcast audio ideal for streaming and gaming. It features premium circuitry with RØDE’s ultra-low-noise, high-gain Revolution Preamp™ and high-resolution 24-bit/48 kHz analog-digital conversion ensuring pristine audio quality. Its studio-grade dynamic capsule and tight cardioid polar pattern offer excellent clarity with superior rejection of room noise and keyboard or mouse clicks, and it comes with a high-quality pop shield and shock mount for mitigating unwanted pops, knocks and bumps. A high-power headphone output provides flawless zero-latency audio monitoring and playback, complete with hands-on level control and microphone mute functionality.

The XCM-50 is a professional condenser USB microphone also optimized for streaming and gaming. It delivers highly detailed voice reproduction with incredible warmth and presence thanks to its full frequency response. It too features a high-power headphone output complete with a level control and mute button, and an internal pop shield and capsule shock mount provide protection from pops, knocks and bumps. To make getting started even easier, the XCM-50 comes with a desktop tripod and features an integrated 360-degree swing mount for flexible mic positioning.

Whether you are podcasting, gaming, streaming, or something in between, the RØDE team is also introducing a new utility aptly named UNIFY.  UNIFY is a virtual mixing solution that allows you to perform a lot of the mixing functions of their RØDECaster Pro II hardware, but virtually.  This means you can drop in four microphones, and up to six audio sources (e.g. game, chat, music, browser, camera, etc.), controlling the volume of each.  Just having a unified panel that users can throw onto a secondary screen to trigger sound effects, scene changes, and more could be the thing they need to push their stream to the next level.  The best news is that UNIFY is free (here’s a handy link) so you don’t have to take my word for it.

You don’t have to wait to pick up either one — both are available as of today!

Look for our review on both of these microphones, and check out RØDE’s excellent tutorial on when you’d use a condenser microphone versus a dynamic one while you wait.