Rode X XDM-100 Professional USB Streaming Mic Review

I really like RODE products – I’ve bought quite a few over the years from their OG VideoMic, to their Filmmaker kit wireless LAV system, their NTG4+ shotgun mic, and hell even the lav mic I’m normally using for these videos is a RODE one. So when RODE reached out asking if I wanted to take a look at their new RODE X products, specifically this XDM-100 dynamic mic, I was incredibly excited to try it out. They even tried to sweeten the deal with a pair of their NTH-100 over-ear headphones, their frankly amazing PSA1+ mic stand, and even a box of “swag” like a RODE X beanie. Despite all of this though, I’m feeling a bit let down with the mic. Let me explain…

The XDM-100 uses a dynamic capsule with a cardioid pickup pattern. It’s good for 20 to 20,000 Hz and since it’s a USB mic it has an onboard amp and ADC which runs at 48kHz and with 24 bits of data per sample. That’s all pretty standard, as is the I/O, with the USB C port sticking straight out the bottom, and the 3.5mm headphone jack which sticks out the back right next to the headphone volume dial. You’ve also got a little LED to show you if the headphones are muted or not on the opposite side. In the box you get the mic, a very premium feeling pop filter sock, an equally premium USB C to C cable, and one of their fancy screw-in 3.5mm jack cables. No, you can’t screw it into the mic though. It’s also just an extension. Oh, and no USB C to A adapter in the box so I hope you either have one or your PC has a USB C port – the system I’m using right now doesn’t so I am using an adapter.

The single biggest feature RODE are promoting with these new mics is their UNIFY software. This is their attempt at making a “complete audio solution for streaming”, acting as a virtual mixer, much like Elgato’s WaveLink software does. Now despite using an Elgato Wave:3 for my streams, I don’t bother using the WaveLink software so I’m predisposed to not liking RODE’s version either. With that said, RODE has added some useful features like a sound effect board built in, and has a relatively similar overall user experience, but there are a few… quirks. If you choose not to monitor the audio through the built in 3.5mm jack – which I’ll talk more about in a minute – the monitor audio is noticeably delayed. It’s enough to have a speech jamming effect on me. If you want to make that happen at all though, you need to work out that the volume icon on the bottom right is actually a mute button, and you need to select the right option from the list to get it to output at all.

On the note of unclear UI design, if you happen to accidentally click on the image of the mic – or any of the sound sources – it brings up a hidden menu where you can control gain, a high-pass filter, and features like a noise gate, compressor, “aural exciter” and “big bottom”. The last two are RODE specific features to give, as they say, “that classic, rich broadcast tone”. Here’s what that sounds like with both of those features enabled – I’ll let you make up your own mind if this sounds any better or not. One thing I do know is that a lot of these features are not clear to new users. Having never used this software before, I had to watch videos from RODE to get any clue for how to use it, and even then I still had to work things out myself. I wouldn’t exactly call it plug-and-play. There’s also one minor issue, which is that if any other applications try to use the audio devices you’ve assigned in the UNIFY software, they’ll break because UNIFY wholly occupies a device. All audio has to be routed through UNIFY, full stop.

Earlier I mentioned the headphone jack and not wanting to use it. Obviously if you already use some USB headphones, speakers, or even wireless headphones you won’t be able to use it, but even if you use the very nice NTH-100 headphones they sent along with the mic, well here’s what I hear… That noise may be coming from the large phone tower that’s under 100m from my house, but it’s worth noting that no other mics have that issue. In fact, what I’d argue is the XDM-100’s main competitor, the Shure MV7, I just happen to have here, recording at the same time. This doesn’t have that issue at all. Now that noise doesn’t pass into the actual audio source, but it’s painfully loud in the headphones and makes it unusable as a monitor source.

Also, to critique the hardware design, while this thing feels like it’s built like a tank, there are definitely some questionable design choices. First, the output control dial in theory can mute the mic, but only if you are using it with the UNIFY software. That’s a weird design, as if you just want to use it straight into something like OBS, pressing the button just mutes the headphone audio, not the recorded audio. It’s also not a capacitive button, making muting a clunky and noisy experience for you and your viewers. Second is the dial and headphone jack itself. Now RODE says that this is the front of the mic, ie this is what should be facing you. That’s fine, it’s not ideal to have the mic jack just sticking straight out, but ok fine. So why then is the mic’s mute LED on the OPPOSITE SIDE? And worse, if you use the included pop filter sock, that actually covers that LED, so it’s only visible from the front on. So which side is actually the front?

And when it comes to the USB port, I’m not a fan of a port like this just sticking straight out the bottom. This is designed to go on a stand where you can move it around. If you aren’t careful, you can ram the protruding cable into your desk and snap it right off. There’s no support built in, and it’s not even a right angled connector on the cable which would make a lot more sense. Equally, the fact the USB port is separated from the headphone jack is also a bit annoying, meaning you now have two cables spurting out of two different locations on the mic.

To give my thoughts on the sound quality, I do like how it sounds. It has a pretty clean, rather quality feel to it. The “broadcaster” features are pretty nice too, definitely giving it a more professional feel to it. Compared to the MV7, I’d say while they do have some slight differences in their tone and quality, the end results are pretty similar. They both offer pretty top notch quality that wouldn’t be out of place on a pro streamer or podcaster’s desk. But, the MV7 has a few extra tricks up its sleeve, like a capacitive mute button and XLR support making it arguably more versatile compared to the XDM 100. At the time of filming, it’s also more like £200, versus £270 for the XDM, so I think I know which one I’d prefer.