Rode M5 or NT5?

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jasonlam1995

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As the title suggested, which one is better? In terms of recording acoustic instruments such as strings and piano
 
The Rode NT5 is a more expensive mic, and this should relate to sounding better. The M5 has very good reviews and I would guess it will sound very good for the price.

Depends on your budget as you can buy a pair of M5's for the same price as a single NT5.

Alan.
 
I have a matched pair of M5s that I use on acoustic guitar pretty regularly because they sound good to my ears. I have never used an NT5 so I can't give a comparison of the two though.
 
The NT 5 is a nice little, inexpensive, cardioid SDC that is good value for money.

An added advantage is that you can also buy the omni heads designed for the NT 55 and swap them with the cardioid heads on the NT 5 for use when recording piano (for example).

For recording a grand piano, a directional mic loses the bottom end, so an omni (which goes much lower) is better for this.

So, the NT 5, getting the omni heads at a later date if you can't afford them now, is a good budget option.

If you go, instead, for the NT 55, then you get both cardioid and omni heads included in the price.

An alternative at a similar price is the Sontronics STC 1 - these can be bought as a matched pair and also have optional omni and hyper-cardioid heads available.
 
have owned both, didn't like the self noise on the m5 mics, the nt5 mics had much lower self noise, and I prefer them much more, but always thought it was too bright (for my tastes) some people love them.
 
The NT5's are indeed a bit quieter - they seemed to have more detail in the top end than the M5's (I had both for a while before selling the M5s) but are quite bright which is possibly related - nothing a bit of EQ can't fix normally but it helps to be aware before buying.
 
I don't know anything about the M5's, but I have a pair of NT5's and I'm not very happy with them. The NT5's are bright and brittle. I bought them for use as drum overheads but found them to be not usable for that purpose. AT4041s are much better.
 
vbass said:
I don't know anything about the M5's, but I have a pair of NT5's and I'm not very happy with them. The NT5's are bright and brittle. I bought them for use as drum overheads but found them to be not usable for that purpose. AT4041s are much better.
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yes, that's what I'd suggest or AKG 451 have a brightness that is much more pleasant, they are like the nt5's without the harshness
 
Btyre2013 said:
yes, that's what I'd suggest or AKG 451 have a brightness that is much more pleasant, they are like the nt5's without the harshness
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Funny how the original Poster asked for a recommendation between the M5 & the NT5, and now we are talking about something comply different.

Alan.
 
witzendoz said:
Funny how the original Poster asked for a recommendation between the M5 & the NT5, and now we are talking about something comply different.
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But reasonable if what is suggested is in the same ball-park price-wise and a better solution is obtained.

Very often "newbies" are only acquainted with the mass-market brands and may miss other solutions that can be in the same price bracket, so this is sensible - as long as the new suggestions to not go silly and way over budget.
 
John Willett said:
But reasonable if what is suggested is in the same ball-park price-wise and a better solution is obtained.

Very often "newbies" are only acquainted with the mass-market brands and may miss other solutions that can be in the same price bracket, so this is sensible - as long as the new suggestions to not go silly and way over budget.
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I checked the Sweetwater price (because where I am in Oz the prices are all over the place)

M5 for a pair $199 (under $100 each)
NT5 single $219, pair $429
AT 4041 $299
AKG 451 $499

So as everyones personal preference takes over the price usually starts to climb. Why not a Neumann KM184 at $850?

Recommending microphones is like recommending studio monitors, how long is a piece of string.

That was the point I was trying to make.

Alan.
 
I would like to wade into this thread (if I may [sorry for the bump]) to discuss the viability of using NT5s to record a small (like 5 or 6 members) choir. Does anyone have any thoughts on that?
 
lenswipe said:
I would like to wade into this thread (if I may [sorry for the bump]) to discuss the viability of using NT5s to record a small (like 5 or 6 members) choir. Does anyone have any thoughts on that?
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Reading the reviews, this is an application that many people have used them for and they have been highly delighted.
 
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