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123-425: Røde Microphones ( /ˈroʊd/ ; stylized RØDE ), officially Freedman Electronics Pty Ltd , is an Australian audio technology company specializing in the design and manufacture of microphones , headphones , audio interfaces , and audio software. The company's product range focuses on applications such as music recording , location sound recordings, broadcast and podcasting , filmmaking , and content creation , for

246-435: A caveat for a version using a brass rod instead of the needle. Other minor variations and improvements were made to the liquid microphone by Majoranna, Chambers, Vanni, Sykes, and Elisha Gray, and one version was patented by Reginald Fessenden in 1903. These were the first working microphones, but they were not practical for commercial application. The famous first phone conversation between Bell and Watson took place using

369-713: A mic ( / m aɪ k / ), or mike , is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal . Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones , hearing aids , public address systems for concert halls and public events, motion picture production, live and recorded audio engineering , sound recording , two-way radios , megaphones , and radio and television broadcasting. They are also used in computers and other electronic devices, such as mobile phones , for recording sounds, speech recognition , VoIP , and other purposes, such as ultrasonic sensors or knock sensors . Several types of microphone are used today, which employ different methods to convert

492-403: A resonant circuit that modulates the frequency of the oscillator signal. Demodulation yields a low-noise audio frequency signal with a very low source impedance. The absence of a high bias voltage permits the use of a diaphragm with looser tension, which may be used to achieve wider frequency response due to higher compliance. The RF biasing process results in a lower electrical impedance capsule,

615-592: A 3.5 mm plug as usually used for stereo connections; the ring, instead of carrying the signal for a second channel, carries power. A valve microphone is a condenser microphone that uses a vacuum tube (valve) amplifier . They remain popular with enthusiasts of tube sound . The dynamic microphone (also known as the moving-coil microphone ) works via electromagnetic induction . They are robust, relatively inexpensive and resistant to moisture. This, coupled with their potentially high gain before feedback , makes them popular for on-stage use. Dynamic microphones use

738-457: A button microphone), uses a capsule or button containing carbon granules pressed between two metal plates like the Berliner and Edison microphones. A voltage is applied across the metal plates, causing a small current to flow through the carbon. One of the plates, the diaphragm, vibrates in sympathy with incident sound waves, applying a varying pressure to the carbon. The changing pressure deforms

861-698: A certificate and can use the "Red Dot" as a quality label for their product or corporate communication. The oldest of the three awards, the Red Dot Award: Product Design , had been known as Design Innovations until 2000. It is given for products with a "good or excellent design quality". The awarding ceremony takes place annually at the Aalto Theatre in Essen. Overall, the Red Dot Award: Product Design

984-464: A company that had been instrumental in establishing RØDE's US distribution channel in the early 1990s. Aphex Systems was acquired by Freedman Electronics in 2015. The APHEX Aural Exciter and Big Bottom audio processors were later integrated into the RØDECaster Pro podcast production studio and RØDE Connect software. SoundField Limited was acquired by Freedman Electronics in 2016. SoundField

1107-550: A design team that has distinguished itself through its continuously innovative design achievements has been honored with the Red Dot: Design Team of the Year award, as part of the Red Dot Award: Product Design. The Red Dot: Design Team of the Year is honored by handing over the "Radius", a sculpture as a challenge trophy on which all the names of the previous winners are engraved. Previous winners were, for example,

1230-441: A diaphragm that is at least partially open on both sides. The pressure difference between the two sides produces its directional characteristics. Other elements such as the external shape of the microphone and external devices such as interference tubes can also alter a microphone's directional response. A pure pressure-gradient microphone is equally sensitive to sounds arriving from front or back but insensitive to sounds arriving from

1353-474: A fee is charged for registering works. In order to enable smaller design offices and companies to take part in the Red Dot Design Award, 50 free places in the competition are raffled among young designers every year. Each of the approximately 3,500 winning designs each year are required to pay a fee which can range between 1,950 and 7,500 euros, depending on the category and prize. In 2006,

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1476-435: A high-quality audio signal and are now the popular choice in laboratory and recording studio applications. The inherent suitability of this technology is due to the very small mass that must be moved by the incident sound wave compared to other microphone types that require the sound wave to do more work. Condenser microphones require a power source, provided either via microphone inputs on equipment as phantom power or from

1599-492: A laser source travels through an optical fiber to illuminate the surface of a reflective diaphragm. Sound vibrations of the diaphragm modulate the intensity of light reflecting off the diaphragm in a specific direction. The modulated light is then transmitted over a second optical fiber to a photodetector, which transforms the intensity-modulated light into analog or digital audio for transmission or recording. Fiber-optic microphones possess high dynamic and frequency range, similar to

1722-546: A laser-photocell pair with a moving stream of smoke or vapor in the laser beam's path. Sound pressure waves cause disturbances in the smoke that in turn cause variations in the amount of laser light reaching the photodetector. A prototype of the device was demonstrated at the 127th Audio Engineering Society convention in New York City from 9 through October 12, 2009. Early microphones did not produce intelligible speech, until Alexander Graham Bell made improvements including

1845-453: A liquid microphone. The MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) microphone is also called a microphone chip or silicon microphone. A pressure-sensitive diaphragm is etched directly into a silicon wafer by MEMS processing techniques and is usually accompanied with an integrated preamplifier. Most MEMS microphones are variants of the condenser microphone design. Digital MEMS microphones have built-in analog-to-digital converter (ADC) circuits on

1968-645: A local agent representing the German pro-audio manufacturer Dynacord . Eventually, he was granted the distribution rights in Australia to sell the brand, which led to them emigrating 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. Peter Freedman took control of

2091-457: A preamplifier and, therefore, do require phantom power, and circuits of modern passive ribbon microphones (i.e. those without the aforementioned preamplifier) are specifically designed to resist damage to the ribbon and transformer by phantom power. Also there are new ribbon materials available that are immune to wind blasts and phantom power. The carbon microphone was the earliest type of microphone. The carbon button microphone (or sometimes just

2214-552: A range of dedicated podcasting microphones, including the Podcaster, Procaster and PodMic. RØDE’s NT-USB, NT-USB Mini, NT1-A and Broadcaster microphones are also widely used for podcasting. At the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), RØDE announced that it had commenced producing microphones for consumer smartphones , tablets and mobile devices. The first of these products was the iXY, a stereo microphone designed for Apple Inc. 's iPhone , iPad and iPod Touch devices. With

2337-673: A second manufacturing and logistics facility in Pemulwuy , Sydney. The company established offices in the United States in 2001. Besides Australia, the US is the only country where RØDE does not rely on a distributor. RØDE has a total of seven offices worldwide, including the United States (located in Los Angeles and New York ), the UK , South Korea , China , and Hong Kong . Currently,

2460-414: A small battery. Power is necessary for establishing the capacitor plate voltage and is also needed to power the microphone electronics. Condenser microphones are also available with two diaphragms that can be electrically connected to provide a range of polar patterns , such as cardioid, omnidirectional, and figure-eight. It is also possible to vary the pattern continuously with some microphones, for example,

2583-532: 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

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2706-598: A static charge is embedded in an electret by the alignment of the static charges in the material, much the way a permanent magnet is made by aligning the magnetic domains in a piece of iron. Due to their good performance and ease of manufacture, hence low cost, the vast majority of microphones made today are electret microphones; a semiconductor manufacturer estimates annual production at over one billion units. They are used in many applications, from high-quality recording and lavalier (lapel mic) use to built-in microphones in small sound recording devices and telephones. Prior to

2829-432: A thin, usually corrugated metal ribbon suspended in a magnetic field. The ribbon is electrically connected to the microphone's output, and its vibration within the magnetic field generates the electrical signal. Ribbon microphones are similar to moving coil microphones in the sense that both produce sound by means of magnetic induction. Basic ribbon microphones detect sound in a bi-directional (also called figure-eight, as in

2952-587: A useful by-product of which is that RF condenser microphones can be operated in damp weather conditions that could create problems in DC-biased microphones with contaminated insulating surfaces. The Sennheiser MKH series of microphones use the RF biasing technique. A covert, remotely energized application of the same physical principle called the Thing was devised by Soviet Russian inventor Leon Theremin and used to bug

3075-424: A variable-resistance microphone/transmitter. Bell's liquid transmitter consisted of a metal cup filled with water with a small amount of sulfuric acid added. A sound wave caused the diaphragm to move, forcing a needle to move up and down in the water. The electrical resistance between the wire and the cup was then inversely proportional to the size of the water meniscus around the submerged needle. Elisha Gray filed

3198-476: A very limited frequency response range but are very robust devices. The Boudet microphone, which used relatively large carbon balls, was similar to the granule carbon button microphones. Unlike other microphone types, the carbon microphone can also be used as a type of amplifier, using a small amount of sound energy to control a larger amount of electrical energy. Carbon microphones found use as early telephone repeaters , making long-distance phone calls possible in

3321-595: A very poor sound quality. The first microphone that enabled proper voice telephony was the (loose-contact) carbon microphone . This was independently developed by David Edward Hughes in England and Emile Berliner and Thomas Edison in the US. Although Edison was awarded the first patent in mid-1877 (after a long legal dispute), Hughes had demonstrated his working device in front of many witnesses some years earlier, and most historians credit him with its invention. The Berliner microphone found commercial success through

3444-413: A voltage when subjected to pressure—to convert vibrations into an electrical signal. An example of this is potassium sodium tartrate , which is a piezoelectric crystal that works as a transducer, both as a microphone and as a slimline loudspeaker component. Crystal microphones were once commonly supplied with vacuum tube (valve) equipment, such as domestic tape recorders. Their high output impedance matched

3567-421: Is a function of frequency. The body of the microphone is not infinitely small and, as a consequence, it tends to get in its own way with respect to sounds arriving from the rear, causing a slight flattening of the polar response. This flattening increases as the diameter of the microphone (assuming it's cylindrical) reaches the wavelength of the frequency in question. Therefore, the smallest diameter microphone gives

3690-588: Is a manufacturer of affordable compact pro audio mixers, speakers, and other audio products. The acquisition expanded the product offering of the Freedman Group significantly, with the brands under the group umbrella offering audio solutions ranging from microphones and mixers to loudspeakers and audio software. RØDE is headquartered in Silverwater , Sydney, Australia, where it operates a 110,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. The company also operates

3813-403: Is aimed at the surface of a window or other plane surface that is affected by sound. The vibrations of this surface change the angle at which the beam is reflected, and the motion of the laser spot from the returning beam is detected and converted to an audio signal. In a more robust and expensive implementation, the returned light is split and fed to an interferometer , which detects movement of

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3936-555: Is at least one practical application that exploits those weaknesses: the use of a medium-size woofer placed closely in front of a "kick drum" ( bass drum ) in a drum set to act as a microphone. A commercial product example is the Yamaha Subkick, a 6.5-inch (170 mm) woofer shock-mounted into a 10" drum shell used in front of kick drums. Since a relatively massive membrane is unable to transduce high frequencies while being capable of tolerating strong low-frequency transients,

4059-634: Is awarded as part of the Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design . In addition, the Red Dot: Personality Prize has been awarded since 2020. As of March 2023, Jean-Claude Biver and Claudio Luti have been awarded the Personality Prize. Submissions to the Red Dot Design Award are evaluated by a jury consisting of designers, professors and specialist journalists from various disciplines. In 1955,

4182-616: Is composed of around fifty categories from a wide variety of areas such as computers, medical devices, glasses, office furniture, household or bicycles. Some of the best-known award-winning products include Sony 's robot dog AIBO , the iPod , iPhone and iMac from Apple , as well as the Ferrari LaFerrari and 296 GTB . Previous winners were, for example, the Waterson Self-Closing Swing Clear Hinge, (2023) Every year since 1988,

4305-424: Is placed directly on the cooker to heat the contents. Due to the design of the spout and lid, the hot contents are inevitably splashed onto the cooker top when preparing hot drinks due to the high steam pressure inside. In addition, the metal handle piece is directly connected to the bottom of the pot, so that there is a considerable risk of injury from burns or scalding when using the espresso pot. Rossi's espresso pot

4428-399: Is practically constant and the voltage across the capacitor changes instantaneously to reflect the change in capacitance. The voltage across the capacitor varies above and below the bias voltage. The voltage difference between the bias and the capacitor is seen across the series resistor. The voltage across the resistor is amplified for performance or recording. In most cases, the electronics in

4551-564: Is situated at the company's headquarters in Silverwater, Sydney. It comprises three warehouses spanning over 110,000 square feet and houses machinery valued at over $ 100 million. Additional production and logistics operations are located in Pemulwuy, Sydney, as well as in the US , Europe , and Asia . The company has received numerous accolades for its manufacturing and innovation, including

4674-673: Is targeted towards young, up-and-coming creative talents, designers, and design companies around the world. Part of the Design Concept Award is the Red Dot: Luminary, which is the highest award within the Red Dot Award for design concepts. It has been awarded to designs such as the Trailer Drone by Hyundai Motor or glasses for the blind by Lumen. The Red Dot: Junior Prize , worth 10,000 euros ,

4797-494: Is therefore aesthetically pleasing, but not very useful. The award-winning projects are presented in various formats. All award-winning products are presented in annual yearbooks since 1985, which are published by Red Dot Edition since 2001. Designers whose products receive the "Red Dot: Best of the Best" award are presented in exclusive interviews. Award-winning brands and works in graphic and communication design are published in

4920-441: Is to sounds arriving at different angles about its central axis. The polar patterns illustrated above represent the locus of points in polar coordinates that produce the same signal level output in the microphone if a given sound pressure level (SPL) is generated from that point. How the physical body of the microphone is oriented relative to the diagrams depends on the microphone design. For large-membrane microphones such as in

5043-583: The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung stated that the Red Dot Design Award was one of only three relevant design prizes in Germany. In academia, voices stated that the Red Dot Design Award is one of the most important design prizes since the mid-2010s. Deutsche Welle stated in 2017 that the Red Dot Design Award was "one of the most important design prizes in the world". Designer Michael Brandis emphasized in 2017 that being awarded

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5166-621: The AKG K371 and Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro, was released on March 29, 2022. In February 2023, RØDE released the NTH-100M, a headset which combined the existing NTH-100 headphones with a new NTH-Mic microphone. It was targeted at podcasters and gamers. The NTH-Mic was designed with the NTH-100 in mind but it can potentially be used with other headphones or on its own, as it uses a standard 3.5 mm TRRS phone connector . The company manufactures

5289-477: The Røde NT2000 or CAD M179. There are two main categories of condenser microphones, depending on the method of extracting the audio signal from the transducer: DC-biased microphones, and radio frequency (RF) or high frequency (HF) condenser microphones. With a DC-biased condenser microphone , the plates are biased with a fixed charge ( Q ). The voltage maintained across the capacitor plates changes with

5412-482: The United States and China . RØDE exports its products to 119 countries worldwide. Freedman Electronics was founded in 1967 by Henry Freedman, a London-born sound engineer, and his Swedish -born wife, Astrid. The couple moved to Stockholm in 1952 where they started a family. While working there as a chief engineer for a telecommunications company, Freedman provided after-hours servicing and modifications for

5535-405: The diagram below) pattern because the ribbon is open on both sides. Also, because the ribbon has much less mass it responds to the air velocity rather than the sound pressure . Though the symmetrical front and rear pickup can be a nuisance in normal stereo recording, the high side rejection can be used to advantage by positioning a ribbon microphone horizontally, for example above cymbals, so that

5658-535: The 1990s. Developments in audio technology around this time, including the introduction of digital recording techniques, contributed to the growth of home recording practices. This created a sharp increase in demand for affordable studio condenser microphones. RØDE filled this gap in the market with the NT1 and NT2 microphones, which have since become popular microphones for studio recording. Since then, RØDE has released several large-diaphragm condenser microphones including

5781-406: The 2010s, there has been increased interest and research into making piezoelectric MEMS microphones which are a significant architectural and material change from existing condenser style MEMS designs. In a plasma microphone, a plasma arc of ionized gas is used. The sound waves cause variations in the pressure around the plasma in turn causing variations in temperature which alter the conductance of

5904-512: The 21st century international recognition of the award had grown and by 2005 a second museum for displaying award-winning exhibits was established in Singapore . By 2015 the Red Dot exhibition in Essen had about 2,000 exhibits from 45 countries. The Red Dot is awarded in the three categories "product design", "brands & communication design" and "design concept". The award winners receive

6027-639: The Australian Export Awards in 1999 and 2013. In 2008, RØDE launched a series of educational videos on YouTube called 'RØDE University' that demonstrated how to achieve the best results using its microphones to record music performances. It was one of the earliest series of its kind from an audio technology brand. A second series was released in 2010, this time focusing on audio techniques and theory for broadcast, film and TV. It starred professional sound designer and author Ric Viers. These videos were also released on DVD. In 2011, RØDE launched

6150-558: The Classic, Classic II, NTV, NTK and K2 valve microphones, the NT1-A and NT2-A, which are designed versions of the original models, and a redesigned version of the NT1. According to RØDE, the NT1-A is one of the world's quietest studio microphones with a published self-noise of 5dBA. The company first introduced small-diaphragm condenser microphones into its product range in 2000 with the NT3. It

6273-463: The English physicist Robert Hooke was the first to experiment with a medium other than air with the invention of the " lovers' telephone " made of stretched wire with a cup attached at each end. In 1856, Italian inventor Antonio Meucci developed a dynamic microphone based on the generation of electric current by moving a coil of wire to various depths in a magnetic field. This method of modulation

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6396-576: The MI-S, which features a locking switch. RØDE released its first USB microphone, the Podcaster, in 2007 to cater to the growing podcasting market. This was amongst the first products of its kind to utilise an in-built analog-to-digital converter and USB connection, allowing users to plug the microphone directly into a computer without the need for an external audio interface. The Podcaster was awarded an Australian International Design Award in 2007. RØDE later added several USB microphones to its range, including

6519-617: The My RØDE Reel short film competition, which invites filmmakers to submit a film to win prizes, including audio equipment, funds, and scholarships. They have partnered with brands including Adobe , Panasonic , and Blackmagic Design . In 2020, the company made headlines when it awarded US$ 1 million to the winners of My RØDE Reel. In 2019, RØDE launched the My RØDE Cast podcasting competition, modelled off My RØDE Reel. RØDE has launched several interactive media campaigns, including

6642-750: The NT-USB and NT-USB Mini. RØDE has also integrated a secondary USB audio output into several of its products, including the VideoMic NTG and Wireless GO II. RØDE released its first shotgun microphones in 2005 with the NTG1 and NTG2. The range was later expanded with the NTG3, the NTG4 and NTG4+, NTG5 and NTG8. RØDE shotgun microphones are known for their in-built batteries, digital switches, and RF-bias technology, which significantly improves moisture resistance. The NTG5

6765-554: The NT1 during this period. Additionally, the NT5 is particularly well-suited for recording drum sets. 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

6888-470: The NT2 gained attention. The company expanded its distribution network and invested in its manufacturing capabilities in Australia by implementing a vertically integrated manufacturing model. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, RØDE experienced rapid expansion and introduced a range of studio condenser microphones, including the Classic, NTV, NT3, NT4, NT5, and Broadcaster. They also released a redesigned version of

7011-515: The Oktava (pictured above), the upward direction in the polar diagram is usually perpendicular to the microphone body, commonly known as "side fire" or "side address". For small diaphragm microphones such as the Shure (also pictured above), it usually extends from the axis of the microphone commonly known as "end fire" or "top/end address". Some microphone designs combine several principles in creating

7134-732: The Philips Experience Design Team (2022), Studio F. A. Porsche , (2021), Waterson In-house Design Team, (2023) and the Fiskars Design Team (2020). Since 1993, the award has also been given for communication design . As part of the Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design, a design studio or communication agency has been honored with the Red Dot: Agency of the Year award every year since 2008. The Red Dot: Agency of

7257-569: The Podcaster – a broadcast USB microphone. This was followed by an XLR variant named the Procaster and later the PodMic. RØDE's dynamic broadcast microphones have become widely used in podcasting, voice-over and radio production. The company released its first dynamic live performance microphone, the M1, in 2008—promoted through the '$ 1 Mic campaign and supported by a lifetime warranty. RØDE also released

7380-792: The Red Dot Design Award, can be seen in annually changing exhibitions. In the 1950s, the Haus der Industrieform e.V. association received part of its financial resources from Krupp . The family and the Krupp Group financed both the furnishing of the Industrieform building and the renovation of the Old Synagogue . Since the move to the boiler house in the Zollverein, part of the income has come from renting out space for product presentations, company conferences and events. Further,

7503-527: The RØDE Microphones brand. The addition of the 'Ø' character paid homage to the Freedman family's Scandinavian heritage (although Swedish itself uses the 'Ö' character ) to impart a European flair to the brand . In 1992, RØDE introduced the NT2 large-diaphragm condenser microphone following the release of the NT1. Due to the growing market for affordable microphones suitable for home recording,

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7626-563: The RØDE Rec app, the microphone is capable of recording at a resolution of up to 24-bit/ 96 kHz , which at its launch was the only microphone for Apple Inc.'s portable devices capable of such a high sampling resolution. The iXY was recognised as a product of high-quality design in 2013 with a Red Dot award. A month after the release of the iXY, RØDE announced the smartLav lavalier microphone for Apple and Android smartphones and tablets. Microphones A microphone , colloquially called

7749-813: The RØDE Soundbooth, an application that allows users to hear real-life recordings of the company's microphones in different recording scenarios, and the RØDE Ambisonic Library, a website of free ambisonic audio recordings that can be downloaded for use with the ‘Soundfield by RØDE’ software. RØDE offers a free extended warranty on most of its products and worldwide technical support. RØDE manufactures products across several audio categories, including but not limited to studio recording microphones, filmmaking microphones, professional headphones and podcasting equipment. RØDE first made an impact with its large-diaphragm studio condenser microphones in

7872-623: The RØDECaster Pro, an 'integrated podcast production studio.' This versatile system incorporates several components commonly found in professional broadcast studios, including a mixer with microphone inputs and headphone outputs, sound pads, and channels designed for seamless integration with remote callers. RØDE entered the headphone market in early 2022 with the release of the NTH-100. It received mostly positive reviews from both professionals and audiophiles , but some reviewers preferred more "correct" sounding headphones. In 2006, Freedman Electronics purchased loudspeaker manufacturer Event Electronics,

7995-537: The Stereo VideoMic X, which won both an Australian Good Design Award and Red Dot Design Award in 2014. Several variations of the original VideoMic with updated designs and innovative features have been added to the range, including the VideoMic Pro+ and VideoMic NTG, which was voted ‘Best Microphone of 2020’ by VideoMaker. The NTH-100, a closed-back professional over-ear headphone competing mainly against

8118-608: The US Ambassador's residence in Moscow between 1945 and 1952. An electret microphone is a type of condenser microphone invented by Gerhard Sessler and Jim West at Bell laboratories in 1962. The externally applied charge used for a conventional condenser microphone is replaced by a permanent charge in an electret material. An electret is a ferroelectric material that has been permanently electrically charged or polarized . The name comes from electrostatic and magnet ;

8241-758: 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. In 2019, RØDE achieved further success in the on-camera microphone market with the launch of the Wireless GO compact wireless microphone system. Building upon technology initially introduced in the mid-2000s with the RØDELink range of wireless microphones ,

8364-664: The VideoMic range became increasingly popular in the late 2000s with the introduction of consumer DSLR cameras that could record high-resolution video, such as the Canon 5D Mark II , and the growing indie filmmaker and vlogging market. The RØDE VideoMic range has since become known for on-camera microphones. The product line has expanded to include models for use with mobile devices (the VideoMic Me series), compact models (the VideoMicro and VideoMic GO), and stereo models including

8487-569: The Wireless GO received positive reviews. Its compact size and form factor, featuring a built-in microphone within the transmitter pack, enabled entirely wireless operation. In 2007, in response to the growing podcasting industry, RØDE introduced its first dedicated podcasting product, the Podcaster—a dynamic USB microphone. RØDE's commitment to podcasting extends to other products, such as the NT-USB and Procaster microphones, which have become popular choices among podcasters . In 2018, RØDE unveiled

8610-600: The Year is honored by handing over the "stylus", a sculpture on which the names of all previous award winners are engraved. Previous winners were, for example, agencies such as MetaDesign (2022), Denkwerk (2021), Interbrand (2020), . Think Create LLC (2018). In 2005, Red Dot established the Red Dot Design Museum Singapore as well as an award for design concepts and prototypes . The Red Dot Award: Design Concept focuses on design concepts, ideas, and visions. The Red Dot Award: Design Concept

8733-414: The air pressure variations of a sound wave to an electrical signal. The most common are the dynamic microphone , which uses a coil of wire suspended in a magnetic field; the condenser microphone , which uses the vibrating diaphragm as a capacitor plate; and the contact microphone , which uses a crystal of piezoelectric material. Microphones typically need to be connected to a preamplifier before

8856-529: The annual International Yearbook Brands & Communication Design . Concepts and studies are presented in the Red Dot Design Concept Yearbook , which is being published since 2005. Together with the yearbooks, a chronicle of international product and design culture has been developed of the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Further, all winners of the three categories can be viewed online, ranging back to

8979-604: The association Haus der Industrieform e.V. (House of Industrial Form e.V.), which was founded on July 30, 1954 in Essen . Starting in October 1955, Haus Industrieform began hosting a permanent exhibition at the Kleines Haus der Villa Hügel as well as hosting a design award. Around 600 "exemplary" industrial products from 120 companies were shown, which had been previously selected by a twelve-person jury. From November 1961,

9102-619: The best high fidelity conventional microphones. Fiber-optic microphones do not react to or influence any electrical, magnetic, electrostatic or radioactive fields (this is called EMI/RFI immunity). The fiber-optic microphone design is therefore ideal for use in areas where conventional microphones are ineffective or dangerous, such as inside industrial turbines or in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment environments. Fiber-optic microphones are robust, resistant to environmental changes in heat and moisture, and can be produced for any directionality or impedance matching . The distance between

9225-472: The best omnidirectional characteristics at high frequencies. The wavelength of sound at 10 kHz is 1.4" (3.5 cm). The smallest measuring microphones are often 1/4" (6 mm) in diameter, which practically eliminates directionality even up to the highest frequencies. Omnidirectional microphones, unlike cardioids, do not employ resonant cavities as delays, and so can be considered the "purest" microphones in terms of low coloration; they add very little to

9348-462: The business after Henry passed away in 1987. 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. As the 1990s dawned, Freedman Electronics faced financial challenges that prompted Peter Freedman to seek

9471-407: The capsule (around 5 to 100  pF ) and the value of the bias resistor (100  MΩ to tens of GΩ) form a filter that is high-pass for the audio signal, and low-pass for the bias voltage. Note that the time constant of an RC circuit equals the product of the resistance and capacitance. Within the time frame of the capacitance change (as much as 50 ms at 20 Hz audio signal), the charge

9594-463: The company employs over 600 staff globally. RØDE was founded by Peter Freedman, who currently serves as Chairman of the Freedman Group. Damien Wilson was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Freedman Group in December 2016. He joined RØDE in 2007 and served as Sales and Marketing Director for several years before becoming CEO. In 2021, Australian politician and diplomat Joe Hockey became

9717-583: The competition a more concise appearance, Zec introduced the Red Dot (Roter Punkt) as a distinction for award-winning products. The idea of introducing the Red Dot as a design award goes back to the procedure in art galleries , where a red dot next to a work of art symbolizes the successful sale of the work. The symbol was designed by Otl Aicher in 1991 for the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen. However, in order to promote

9840-399: The competition developed worldwide. Therefore, the management decided to change the German expression Roter Punkt to Red Dot and to have a new logo and label designed. This led to commissioning graphic designer Peter Schmidt for a further remodeling of the Red Dot Award logo in 2000. Meanwhile, in 1997, the organization moved to its current location at Zollverein . In the early years of

9963-513: The competition is subject to a fee, the submissions are then evaluated by an international jury . Products, concepts and works that have received the Red Dot Design Award are presented in exhibitions (e.g. the Red Dot Design Museum in Essen ), yearbooks and online. In addition, winning designers and companies can use the "Red Dot" quality label for their product and corporate communication . The Red Dot Design Award goes back to

10086-463: The competition rather than the institution that hosted it, graphic designer Kurt Weidemann visually reconceived the Red Dot logo in 1994. This period marked the award’s internationalization through the encouragement of entries from companies in North and South America, Asia, and Europe. The German Roter Punkt was translated more and more frequently into other languages, so that inconsistent designations for

10209-503: The consumer, producer, and professional markets. RØDE serves as the flagship brand of the Freedman Group, which was established in 1967 as Freedman Electronics. Over the years, the Freedman Group has expanded through the acquisition of several audio companies, including SoundField, APHEX , Event Electronics, and Mackie . The company is headquartered in Sydney, Australia , and maintains a global presence with offices in key regions, including

10332-425: The desired polar pattern. This ranges from shielding (meaning diffraction/dissipation/absorption) by the housing itself to electronically combining dual membranes. An omnidirectional (or nondirectional) microphone's response is generally considered to be a perfect sphere in three dimensions. In the real world, this is not the case. As with directional microphones, the polar pattern for an "omnidirectional" microphone

10455-490: The distance between the plates. Because the capacitance of the plates is inversely proportional to the distance between them, the vibrations produce changes in capacitance. These changes in capacitance are used to measure the audio signal . The assembly of fixed and movable plates is called an element or capsule . Condenser microphones span the range from telephone mouthpieces through inexpensive karaoke microphones to high-fidelity recording microphones. They generally produce

10578-486: The effective dynamic range of ribbon microphones at low frequencies. Protective wind screens can reduce the danger of damaging a vintage ribbon, and also reduce plosive artifacts in the recording. Properly designed wind screens produce negligible treble attenuation. In common with other classes of dynamic microphone, ribbon microphones do not require phantom power; in fact, this voltage can damage some older ribbon microphones. Some new modern ribbon microphone designs incorporate

10701-466: The era before vacuum tubes. Called a Brown's relay, these repeaters worked by mechanically coupling a magnetic telephone receiver to a carbon microphone: the faint signal from the receiver was transferred to the microphone, where it modulated a stronger electric current, producing a stronger electrical signal to send down the line. A crystal microphone or piezo microphone uses the phenomenon of piezoelectricity —the ability of some materials to produce

10824-628: The exhibition was on display in the Old Synagogue in Essen. After a fire in the Old Synagogue, the exhibition moved to the Amerikahaus on Kennedyplatz in 1980. From the mid-1980s, the North Rhine-Westphalian State Ministry of Economic Affairs acted as a project sponsor and the design competition was called Design Innovations from 1985 forward. In 1990, as a result of restructuring, the organization

10947-855: The first member appointed to the Freedman Group Board of Directors. RØDE products are meticulously designed and manufactured in Australia. Since the early 1990s, the company has embraced a vertically integrated manufacturing model and invested in cutting-edge machinery, robotic automation , and advanced manufacturing technology. These have enabled the majority of production processes to be brought in-house, encompassing metal fabrication , capsule production, plastic injection moulding , and circuit board printing using surface mount technology . This model offers dual benefits: reducing reliance on overseas suppliers for production and enhancing research and development capabilities, as well as speed-to-market efficiency. RØDE's primary manufacturing facility

11070-413: The granules, causing the contact area between each pair of adjacent granules to change, and this causes the electrical resistance of the mass of granules to change. The changes in resistance cause a corresponding change in the current flowing through the microphone, producing the electrical signal. Carbon microphones were once commonly used in telephones; they have extremely low-quality sound reproduction and

11193-770: The high input impedance (typically about 10 MΩ) of the vacuum tube input stage well. They were difficult to match to early transistor equipment and were quickly supplanted by dynamic microphones for a time, and later small electret condenser devices. The high impedance of the crystal microphone made it very susceptible to handling noise, both from the microphone itself and from the connecting cable. Piezoelectric transducers are often used as contact microphones to amplify sound from acoustic musical instruments, to sense drum hits, for triggering electronic samples, and to record sound in challenging environments, such as underwater under high pressure. Saddle-mounted pickups on acoustic guitars are generally piezoelectric devices that contact

11316-513: The internal baffle, allowing the selection of several response patterns ranging from "figure-eight" to "unidirectional". Such older ribbon microphones, some of which still provide high-quality sound reproduction, were once valued for this reason, but a good low-frequency response could be obtained only when the ribbon was suspended very loosely, which made them relatively fragile. Modern ribbon materials, including new nanomaterials , have now been introduced that eliminate those concerns and even improve

11439-412: The jury had 12 members. In 2022, the jury had 48 members from 23 nations. The jury evaluates the submissions - divided into categories - by themselves. Objects that are too large for the jury's premises (e.g. cars, motor cycles and trucks) can be held in a dedicated area at Essen/Mülheim Airport . In the case of products, the jury evaluates the quality of "good design" based on four evaluation criteria:

11562-423: The microphone itself contribute no voltage gain as the voltage differential is quite significant, up to several volts for high sound levels. RF condenser microphones use a comparatively low RF voltage, generated by a low-noise oscillator. The signal from the oscillator may either be amplitude modulated by the capacitance changes produced by the sound waves moving the capsule diaphragm, or the capsule may be part of

11685-489: The microphone's light source and its photodetector may be up to several kilometers without need for any preamplifier or another electrical device, making fiber-optic microphones suitable for industrial and surveillance acoustic monitoring. Fiber-optic microphones are used in very specific application areas such as for infrasound monitoring and noise cancellation . They have proven especially useful in medical applications, such as allowing radiologists, staff and patients within

11808-511: The next breakthrough with the first condenser microphone . In 1923, the first practical moving coil microphone was built. The Marconi-Sykes magnetophone, developed by Captain H. J. Round , became the standard for BBC studios in London. This was improved in 1930 by Alan Blumlein and Herbert Holman who released the HB1A and was the best standard of the day. Also in 1923, the ribbon microphone

11931-471: The original sound. Being pressure-sensitive they can also have a very flat low-frequency response down to 20 Hz or below. Pressure-sensitive microphones also respond much less to wind noise and plosives than directional (velocity sensitive) microphones. Red Dot The competition is divided into the three disciplines Red Dot Award: Product Design , Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design and Red Dot Award: Design Concept . Participation in

12054-495: The plasma. These variations in conductance can be picked up as variations superimposed on the electrical supply to the plasma. This is an experimental form of microphone. A loudspeaker, a transducer that turns an electrical signal into sound waves, is the functional opposite of a microphone. Since a conventional speaker is similar in construction to a dynamic microphone (with a diaphragm, coil and magnet), speakers can actually work "in reverse" as microphones. Reciprocity applies, so

12177-471: The powerful and noisy magnetic field to converse normally, inside the MRI suites as well as in remote control rooms. Other uses include industrial equipment monitoring and audio calibration and measurement, high-fidelity recording and law enforcement. Laser microphones are often portrayed in movies as spy gadgets because they can be used to pick up sound at a distance from the microphone equipment. A laser beam

12300-415: The principal sound input to the principal axis (end- or side-address) of the microphone are used to describe the microphone. The condenser microphone , invented at Western Electric in 1916 by E. C. Wente, is also called a capacitor microphone or electrostatic microphone —capacitors were historically called condensers. The diaphragm acts as one plate of a capacitor, and audio vibrations produce changes in

12423-474: The proliferation of MEMS microphones, nearly all cell-phone, computer, PDA and headset microphones were electret types. Unlike other capacitor microphones, they require no polarizing voltage, but often contain an integrated preamplifier that does require power. This preamplifier is frequently phantom powered in sound reinforcement and studio applications. Monophonic microphones designed for personal computers (PCs), sometimes called multimedia microphones, use

12546-651: The quality of function, aesthetics, usability and responsibility. A product must have a recognizable purpose and be easy and self-explanatory to use, while the product must be aesthetic and sustainable or long-lasting. Although the individual qualities may vary in strength, none of them should be entirely absent. An article in the Stuttgarter Zeitung in 1992 used the example of the Aldo Rossi espresso pot to explain these assessment criteria, particularly in terms of quality of function and aesthetics: The pot

12669-451: The rear lobe picks up sound only from the cymbals. Crossed figure 8, or Blumlein pair , stereo recording is gaining in popularity, and the figure-eight response of a ribbon microphone is ideal for that application. Other directional patterns are produced by enclosing one side of the ribbon in an acoustic trap or baffle, allowing sound to reach only one side. The classic RCA Type 77-DX microphone has several externally adjustable positions of

12792-461: The resulting microphone has the same impairments as a single-driver loudspeaker: limited low- and high-end frequency response, poorly controlled directivity , and low sensitivity . In practical use, speakers are sometimes used as microphones in applications where high bandwidth and sensitivity are not needed such as intercoms , walkie-talkies or video game voice chat peripherals, or when conventional microphones are in short supply. However, there

12915-498: The same CMOS chip making the chip a digital microphone and so more readily integrated with modern digital products. Major manufacturers producing MEMS silicon microphones are Wolfson Microelectronics (WM7xxx) now Cirrus Logic, InvenSense (product line sold by Analog Devices ), Akustica (AKU200x), Infineon (SMM310 product), Knowles Electronics, Memstech (MSMx), NXP Semiconductors (division bought by Knowles ), Sonion MEMS, Vesper, AAC Acoustic Technologies, and Omron. More recently, since

13038-436: The same dynamic principle as in a loudspeaker , only reversed. A small movable induction coil , positioned in the magnetic field of a permanent magnet, is attached to the diaphragm. When sound enters through the windscreen of the microphone, the sound wave moves the diaphragm which moves the coil in the magnetic field, producing a varying voltage across the coil through electromagnetic induction. Ribbon microphones use

13161-538: The side because sound arriving at the front and back at the same time creates no gradient between the two. The characteristic directional pattern of a pure pressure-gradient microphone is like a figure-8. Other polar patterns are derived by creating a capsule that combines these two effects in different ways. The cardioid, for instance, features a partially closed backside, so its response is a combination of pressure and pressure-gradient characteristics. A microphone's directionality or polar pattern indicates how sensitive it

13284-403: The signal can be recorded or reproduced . In order to speak to larger groups of people, a need arose to increase the volume of the human voice. The earliest devices used to achieve this were acoustic megaphones. Some of the first examples, from fifth-century-BC Greece, were theater masks with horn-shaped mouth openings that acoustically amplified the voice of actors in amphitheaters . In 1665,

13407-438: The speaker is often ideal for picking up the kick drum while reducing bleed from the nearby cymbals and snare drums. The inner elements of a microphone are the primary source of differences in directivity. A pressure microphone uses a diaphragm between a fixed internal volume of air and the environment and responds uniformly to pressure from all directions, so it is said to be omnidirectional. A pressure-gradient microphone uses

13530-479: The strings passing over the saddle. This type of microphone is different from magnetic coil pickups commonly visible on typical electric guitars , which use magnetic induction, rather than mechanical coupling, to pick up vibration. A fiber-optic microphone converts acoustic waves into electrical signals by sensing changes in light intensity, instead of sensing changes in capacitance or magnetic fields as with conventional microphones. During operation, light from

13653-423: The surface by changes in the optical path length of the reflected beam. The former implementation is a tabletop experiment; the latter requires an extremely stable laser and precise optics. A new type of laser microphone is a device that uses a laser beam and smoke or vapor to detect sound vibrations in free air. On August 25, 2009, U.S. patent 7,580,533 issued for a Particulate Flow Detection Microphone based on

13776-563: The use by Alexander Graham Bell for his telephone and Berliner became employed by Bell. The carbon microphone was critical in the development of telephony, broadcasting and the recording industries. Thomas Edison refined the carbon microphone into his carbon-button transmitter of 1886. This microphone was employed at the first radio broadcast ever, a performance at the New York Metropolitan Opera House in 1910. In 1916, E.C. Wente of Western Electric developed

13899-403: The vibrations in the air, according to the capacitance equation (C = Q ⁄ V ), where Q = charge in coulombs , C = capacitance in farads and V = potential difference in volts . A nearly constant charge is maintained on the capacitor. As the capacitance changes, the charge across the capacitor does change very slightly, but at audible frequencies it is sensibly constant. The capacitance of

14022-462: The word." In 1861, German inventor Johann Philipp Reis built an early sound transmitter (the " Reis telephone ") that used a metallic strip attached to a vibrating membrane that would produce intermittent current. Better results were achieved in 1876 with the " liquid transmitter " design in early telephones from Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray – the diaphragm was attached to a conductive rod in an acid solution. These systems, however, gave

14145-516: The year 2011. The design concepts awarded by the jury and the award-winning works in brand and communication design can also be accessed. Selected winners from each category are exhibited in three museums, which are located in Essen, Singapore and Xiamen . The Red Dot Design Museum in Essen is one of the most important design museums with the world's largest exhibition of contemporary design. In Essen, on an area of around 4000 m , more than 2000 exhibits of contemporary design, which have been awarded

14268-464: The ‘Interview with a Legend’ series, which featured filmed interviews with key figures in the audio industry, including Les Paul , Al Schmitt and Alan Parsons . These videos were published on an online video portal called RØDE TV. RØDE launched a campaign in August 2009, which offered customers the chance to buy a M1 microphone for AU$ 1 with the purchase of another microphone. In 2014, RØDE launched

14391-652: Was a demand for high-fidelity microphones and greater directionality. Electro-Voice responded with their Academy Award -winning shotgun microphone in 1963. During the second half of the 20th century, development advanced quickly with the Shure Brothers bringing out the SM58 and SM57 . Microphones are categorized by their transducer principle (condenser, dynamic, etc.) and by their directional characteristics (omni, cardioid, etc.). Sometimes other characteristics such as diaphragm size, intended use or orientation of

14514-428: Was also the most enduring method for the technology of the telephone as well. Speaking of his device, Meucci wrote in 1857, "It consists of a vibrating diaphragm and an electrified magnet with a spiral wire that wraps around it. The vibrating diaphragm alters the current of the magnet. These alterations of current, transmitted to the other end of the wire, create analogous vibrations of the receiving diaphragm and reproduce

14637-700: Was followed closely by the NT4 stereo microphone and the NT5 'pencil' condenser microphone. The company later added the NT55, NT6, M3, M5, and TF-5 – a collaboration with GRAMMY-award-winning audio engineer Tony Faulkner – microphones to its range. RØDE released its first ribbon microphone, the NTR, in 2015. It was awarded the Red Dot 'Best of the Best' Award for Product Design that year. RØDE produces several dynamic microphones for studio, broadcast and live performance use. The company introduced its first dynamic microphone in 2007 with

14760-399: Was introduced, another electromagnetic type, believed to have been developed by Harry F. Olson , who applied the concept used in a ribbon speaker to making a microphone. Over the years these microphones were developed by several companies, most notably RCA that made large advancements in pattern control, to give the microphone directionality. With television and film technology booming there

14883-459: Was renamed to Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen e.V. (Design Center North Rhine-Westphalia e.V.). In the same year, the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen moved to the old municipal library on Hindenburgstraße. On April 1, 1991, Peter Zec became managing director of the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, who brought to the concept of the award a more contemporary face. In order to give

15006-411: Was the first microphone on the market to utilise circular acoustic perforations on the microphone body in place of the linear slots typically found on shotgun microphones. RØDE developed the first compact on-camera shotgun microphone, the VideoMic, in 2004. This was followed by the Stereo VideoMic in 2008 and VideoMic Pro in 2010. Originally intended for use with camcorders and other home movie devices,

15129-541: Was the pioneering company that first commercialized 360-degree surround sound recording (known as ' ambisonic recording') in the late 1970s. SoundField microphones find primary applications in 5.1 and 7.1 live sports broadcasts, video game and film sound design, as well as virtual reality . In 2023, RØDE acquired the American professional audio company Mackie . Founded in Washington by Greg Mackie in 1988, Mackie

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