Omnidirectional dynamic microphones with balanced XLR connections remain the first choice for most ENG (electronic news gathering) organizations to connect to broadcast cameras or professional audio recorders. I decided to test the RØDE Reporter (which fits that description perfectly) with the extremely popular Electro-Voice RE50N/DB. Ahead I’ll describe the technical and physical differences, and I’ll let your ears analyze the acoustic ones, thanks to video recordings on an a Panasonic Lumix GH4 courtesy of Ríchard Izarra of PRODU.com who also lent me the RE50N/DB for comparison.

Omnidirectional dynamic microphones with balanced XLR connections remain the first choice for most ENG (electronic news gathering) organizations to connect to broadcast cameras or professional audio recorders. I decided to test the RØDE Reporter (which fits that description perfectly) with the extremely popular Electro-Voice RE50N/DB. Ahead I’ll describe the technical and physical differences, and I’ll let your ears analyze the acoustic ones, thanks to video recordings on an a Panasonic Lumix GH4 courtesy of Ríchard Izarra of PRODU.com who also lent me the RE50N/DB for comparison.

What is common among the two tested mics

• Both are dynamic (not condenser).
• Both have balanced XLR analog outputs, so neither require phantom power.
• Both are marketed for ENG (electronic news gathering), i.e. informal field interviews.
• Both have an omnidirectional pickup pattern (not a cardioid or otherwise directional one), so both are more forgiving when one of the two people in an interview unexpectedly interrupt one another.
• Both are long enough to accept a mic flag with no problem, even if you have larger hands.

What is different among the two tested mics

• At 272.50mm long, the RØDE Reporter is much longer than the very popular RE50N/D-B from Electro-Voice, whose length is only 197mm. Although slightly less portable, I like the extra length of the RØDE Reporter for doing interviews. (Electro-Voice does offer a longer version of the RE50N/D-B, which is called the RE50L, although it does not have the special neodymium capsule and I have never seen one in use. The longer RE50L measures 242mm, longer than the RE50N/D-B but still shorter than the RØDE Reporter at 272.50mm.)
• At 41.50mm wide, the RØDE Reporter is slightly narrower than the 49mm wide RE50N/D-B. The reason why the RE50N/D-B is wider is because of its “mic-inside-inside-of-a-mic” design for extra shock absorption, which makes it less susceptible to handling noise than most other microphones. However, after getting a good grip on the RØDE Reporter, I fortunately didn’t suffer any handling noise.
• The RØDE Reporter has a published frequency response of 70Hz – 15kHz, while the RE50N/D-B 80 Hz – 13 kHz. That should really be compared by listening to the recordings ahead.

• In addition to being able to be used with a conventional mic flag or a branded windscreen (see my RT and DirecTV Sports go beyond conventional mic flags article from July 2014, illustrated above), the RØDE Reporter also includes its own over-the-top mic flag holder as you’ll see in the photo below.

• The included accessories also vary slightly. The RØDE Reporter includes a zippered pouch, the aforementioned over-the-top mic flag, and a limited 10-Year warranty after online registration. The RE50N/D-B comes with a mic bag, stand clip, a Euro-thread adapter for the clip, and a limited 2-Year warranty.
• The RØDE Reporter has a street price of US$129 as of publication time of this article, while the RE50N/D-B has a street price of US$199.

Test recordings and how they were done

The video portions were recorded by Ríchard Izarra of PRODU.com using his Lumix Panasonic GH4. The audio from the camera was used only for reference to sync automatically with the independently recorded audio, which I recorded at uncompressed 48 kHz sampling rate (the absolute digital audio standard for video) at 24-bit resolution using a plug-in recorder I’ll be reviewing soon here in ProVideo Coalition magazine. I did the automatic synchronization and inserted the lower thirds (designed by Gonzalo Mendiola of IVIUX) in Final Cut Pro X. Although the original recording in the GH4 was 4K Ultra HD at 29.97p, I created each project at 1920×1080 at 29.97p and that’s what I published.

Additional audio recordings supplied by RØDE

Conclusions

Both sounded very good to me. They sound different, but neither sounded better or worse than the other. I prefer the length and price of the RØDE Reporter. Feel free to comment below about the sound you hear from each of these two microphones.

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Books, consulting, articles, seminars & radio programs

Contact Allan Tépper for consulting, or find a full listing of his books, articles and upcoming seminars and webinars at AllanTepper.com. Listen to his CapicúaFM program at CapicúaFM.com in iTunes or Stitcher.

My latest book (paperback + ebook)

My most recent book is available in two languages, and in paperback as well as an ebook. The ebook format is Kindle, but even if you don’t have a Kindle device, you can read Kindle books on many other devices using a free Kindle app. That includes iPad, Android tablets, Mac computers, and Windows computers. Although generally speaking, Kindle books are readable on smartphones like Androids and iPhones, I don’t recommend it for this particular book since it contains both color photos and color comparison charts. The ebook is also DRM-free.

In English, it’s The Castilian Conspiracy. Click here and you will be automatically sent to the closest Amazon book page to you based upon your IP address. Or request ISBN–10: 1456310232 or ISBN–13: 978–1456310233 in your favorite local bookstore.

En castellano, se llama La conspiración del castellano. Haz clic aquí para llegar al instante a la página del libro correspondiente a tu zona y moneda en Amazon, según tu dirección IP. De lo contrario, solicítalo en tu librería preferida con los ISBN–10: 1492783390 ó el ISBN–13: 978–1492783398.

FTC disclosure

No manufacturer is specifically paying Allan Tépper or TecnoTur LLC to write this article or the mentioned books. Some of the other manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. Many of the manufacturers listed above have sent Allan Tépper review units. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs.

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