Just in time for NAB, Australian pro audio manufacturer, RØDE Microphones, is proud to announce its first broadcast-grade, 360-degree surround sound capture microphone and flagship product of a new brand in the RØDE family.
Ever since The Freedman Electronics Group, who own pro audio brands such as RØDE Microphones, Event Electronics and Aphex, purchased SoundField from TSL Products including the current product line as well as all IP associated with the iconic brand back in November 2016 and then very quickly released the VideoMic Soundfield in January 2017, we have been waiting for a more grown-up Soundfield solution from Rode.
At NAB 2018, Rode has announced what they are claiming is the first broadcast-grade, 360-degree surround sound capture microphone with full condenser capsules - The SoundField By RØDE NT-SF1 Ambisonic Microphone. Freedman Group CEO Damien Wilson explains...
When The Freedman Group acquired SoundField in late-2016, the aim was to continue producing the premier 360-degree audio capture loved by the professionals who bring us cinema sound and 7.1 broadcast.
Rode say that it is based on a completely new capsule design, so that the NT-SF1 has been designed to offer extremely low noise and unprecedented smoothness and extension of frequency response. The ambisonic arrangement and tuning are apparently drawn directly from high-end SoundField technology, "ensuring the most accurate spatialisation possible for the ultimate in 3D audio positioning"
Completely designed and made in Australia at their Sydney campus, the NT-SF1 features four of RØDE’s all-new, ultra-quiet ½-inch TF45C capsules in tetrahedral array, the NT-SF1 produces four channel A-format recordings which can be transformed and manipulated in B-Format, courtesy of the soon-to-be-released SoundField by RØDE plugin.
Head of RØDE’s New Product Development and former Director of New Product at SoundField for 16 years, Pieter Schillebeeckx, told us that this is the most exciting development in the technology in decades. He continued...
Delivering this kind of professional-use technology at a sub-$1000 price point is a world first in the ambisonic world. It gives budding VR creators, immersive filmmakers and video game world builders an accessible and high-quality way to dive into 360-degree-with-height audio capture.
Rode says that the SoundField By RØDE NT-SF1 is due for release "soon in 2018" and at this price point will give the Sennheiser Ambeo mic a run for its money. We look forward to putting these two microphones side by side once Rode release the NT-SF1.