Røde Microphones (/ˈroʊd/; stylized RØDE) is an Australian audio technology company that designs and manufactures microphones, headphones, related accessories, audio interfaces, and audio softwares. It is recognized as a world leader in several audio categories, spanning consumer, producer, and professional markets, specializing in products for music recording, location sound recordings, broadcast and podcasting, filmmaking, and content creation.
RØDE serves as the flagship brand of the Freedman Group, which commenced operations in 1967 as Freedman Electronics and has since acquired multiple audio companies, including SoundField, APHEX, and Event Electronics.
The company is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with offices worldwide, including the United States and China. The company exports its products to 118 countries globally.
History
Freedman Electronics
Freedman Electronics was founded in 1967 by the husband-and-wife team of Henry and Astrid Freedman. Originally hailing from London, Henry Freedman moved to Stockholm, where he and his wife started a family. While working as a chief engineer for a telecommunications company, Freedman provided after-hours servicing and modifications for a local agent representing the German pro-audio manufacturer Dynacord. Eventually, he was granted the Australian distribution rights to sell the brand, leading to their migration to Australia in 1966 with their family, which included their son, Peter.
Establishing a shop in the suburb of Ashfield near Sydney, Freedman Electronics became one of the earliest companies in the city to design, manufacture, install, and service audio products, such as loudspeakers, amplifiers, and microphones.
Henry passed away in 1987, leading his son, Peter, to assume control of the business. Peter made substantial investments in expanding Freedman Electronics sound installation services. However, his limited business experience, coupled with the challenging economic conditions of the late 1980s, nearly pushed the company to bankruptcy and left Peter burdened with significant financial debt.
Origins of RØDE
As the 1990s dawned, Freedman Electronics faced financial challenges that prompted Peter Freedman to seek a solution. While exploring other ventures, he recalled a large-diaphragm condenser microphone he had encountered a decade earlier at a trade show in China. After assessing local market interest, he imported 20 of these microphones.
The modified microphone achieved immediate success. This acclaim led to the informal nickname 'RODENT-1' for the microphone, which was later rebranded as the RØDE NT1, thereby establishing the RØDE Microphones brand. The addition of the 'Ø' character paid homage to the Freedman family's Scandinavian heritage and imparted a European flair to the brand.
Studio microphone range expansion
Capitalizing on the initial success of the NT1, RØDE introduced the NT2 large-diaphragm condenser microphone in 1992. The rising demand for high-quality, yet affordable, microphones for the burgeoning home recording market further heightened interest in the NT2. Consequently, the company swiftly expanded its global distribution network and initiated investments to enhance its manufacturing capabilities in Australia. This involved adopting a vertically integrated manufacturing model to bring production processes in-house.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, RØDE experienced rapid expansion, introducing a range of studio condenser microphones, including the Classic, NTV, NT3, NT4, NT5, and Broadcaster. They also released a redesigned version of the NT1 during this period. Over time, the NT1 has undergone several iterations and is now widely regarded as one of the most popular studio microphones on the market. Additionally, the NT5 is particularly well-suited for recording drum sets.
On-camera microphone
In 2004, RØDE introduced the world's first compact on-camera microphone, the VideoMic, to its product lineup. This innovation gained popularity among indie filmmakers and the emerging vlogging and YouTube filmmaker communities. Subsequently, the company expanded its VideoMic series in the late 2000s and 2010s, introducing models such as the VideoMic Pro, VideoMicro, and VideoMic NTG, along with stereo variants like the Stereo VideoMic Pro and Stereo VideoMic X, which received the Red Dot Design Award in 2014. RØDE is widely acclaimed as a leading manufacturer of on-camera microphones.