I cannot live without a descent mic. At one point, long time ago, I bought a very good [Beyerdynamic Fox](https://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/p/fox), which made me utterly addicted to 
descent USB mics.

![Beyerdynamic Fox](/pictures/user_upload/blenderdumbass/beyerdynamicfox.jpg)

Don't get me wrong, these USB mics are not the stuff you would use in a proper recording studio. Firstly because most of them are Condenser Microphones. Which means they hear everything in the room as loudly as everything else. Professional studio setups might opt for a more directed Dynamic Microphones which hear only the sound coming in a specific direction. That makes the noise easier to control. And overall gives you a much cleaner sound. Also they are USB mics. Not mics with a dedicated professional sound port. But those USB Condenser mics are still pretty fucking good. They have a fantastic range of frequencies, fantastic sound bit-rate. And in a controlled environment could very much be used for professional studio work.

I broke my Beyerdynamic Fox. One time I yanked so hard on it ( because I was angry on something, if I remember correctly ) that the USB port detached. I [tried fixing it](https://odysee.com/@blenderdumbass:f/soldering-disaster:0), trying to solder the damn thing back. But it didn't work. I ended up totally burning the damn thing down.

![RØDE NT-USB Mini](/pictures/user_upload/blenderdumbass/rode_nt_usb_mini.jpg)

So I bought [RØDE NT-USB Mini](https://rode.com/en-us/products/nt-usb-mini) next. It was a little simpler ( UI-wise ) than the Fox. Instead of 2 nobs and a button, this one had 1 nob that also was a button.

These mics have an option of "zero-latency monitoring". Which means you can connect your headphones ( or anything else really ) directly into the mic itself. You press a button and you hear what it hears. But because it might not be convenient to constantly switch the headphone between the mic and the computer, you also have a built-in ( quite good ) sound-board inside. And via the USB ( via which it is connected to the computer ) it can act as your computer's sound-board.

Let me tell you that. I have 3 options now, on this computer to listen to sound. I can connect the headphones directly into the box. And the sound is okay. I can connect the headphones into the game-controller. And the sound is shit. The sound-board on the game-controller is probably not very good. Or I can connect it via my USB mic. And the sound is fantastic. And more than that, the knob lets me amplify the sound ( cleanly ) to such an extent,  that I can use my headphones as speakers.

But alas, the other day, about a week ago, my RØDE NT-USB Mini also broke. This time I invited my entire family over and my little brothers were playing [Dani's Race](/games/Dani's_Race) very loudly. One of them ( I don't know which ) yanked so hard on the mic, that the damn USB port broke off.

*Insert a gif from Spaceballs of John Hurt going "Not again"...*

I tried soldering this one too... Also unsuccessfully. But this time I didn't burn anything. I noticed that the metal pads were yanked with the port. To fix it I will need to get a microscope. And some specialized tools. 

One little tangent. And it might be intentional or not intentional, but RØDE engineers made a very weak USB-C port. The port itself has 4 anchors on each side that have to go through the board and soldered on both sides, for strength. Specifically so it would be hard to yank it off. The 4 legs on the NT-USB Mini were folded outwards and there were no holes in the board. Which means it was basically "glued on". It was soldered on. Which is a bit stronger than glue. But it was still pretty weak. 

In any case I needed a mic. And I really wanted a RØDE NT-USB Mini. I went to a place that had it listed on their website. But they just ran out of them. Thought they did have something quite similar, which I ended up buying. They had a [RØDEX XCM-50](https://rode.com/en-us/products/xcm-50).

![RØDEX XCM-50](/pictures/user_upload/blenderdumbass/rodex_XCM-50.jpg)

As you can see, it is the same old RØDE NT-USB Mini, but tinted red and with a stupid "X" plastered to the side of the logo. This has to be the same mic. Right? .... Right?

Well I got it. I went home with it. And I have thoughts.

First of all, the mic didn't come with the small stand, like the NT-USB Mini. The stand I have for NT-USB Mini can be used on the XCM-50. It is the same mic. But they shipped it with a fancy-looking tripod thing instead. Currently I have it on the fancy tripod. Why not?

Quality-wise it is the same mic. The quality of the sound coming from the mic and the quality of the sound coming through the mic to my headphones is the same. It is the same mic.

But I have 2 problems with it:

First. They made it so if you are not monitoring the sound ( as in, if you don't hear yourself through the "zero-latency monitoring" ), the mic just simply, doesn't work at all. As in the button on the nob, both turns on the monitoring and the mic itself in the same time. And turning off the monitoring turns off the mic. 

I get why they might have done that. This RØDEX thing seems to be a slightly different brand than the regular RØDE. It is the same company, and the same gear, pretty much. But it targets different consumer markets. RØDE is for professionals that know what they are doing. RØDEX is for gamers and streamers. They assume that people buying RØDEX are dumber. And therefor they have to make it absolutely clear when the mic works or doesn't work. You know, for privacy reasons and stuff.

This is annoying though. Sometimes I might want to be on a call with somebody ( using the mic ). And I have to hear myself talk. It is fine, if I only heard myself. But it is a condenser mic. It hears all of the noise in my room. And unless I want to make it less sensitive, and move my mouth right up against the mic, I would hear the constant buzz of all of my room while being in the call. The whatever noise-cancellation the call software might do, doesn't apply to the direct "zero-latency monitoring" wire.

I tested it, I still can connect my headphones into the computer directly. It would totally work. But then it is less convenient. And I don't get the excellent sound quality of the in-mic sound-board.

And then secondly, it feels like the nob doesn't get the sound to as loud of a volume as on the NT-USB Mini. I thought it would be the same, but I guess because RØDEX is for dumbasses and therefor is more paternalistic, the RØDEX mic tries to harm the listener's ears a bit less, or something. IDK.

It is not that big a difference. I still can use my headphones as speakers. But I had to adjust the sound volume in the operating system a bit, to make it be as loud as I remember. 

**Happy Hacking!!!**