NTG8

“If we start with build, then the RØDE scores very highly. It's beautifully designed and put together, with a smooth matt-black finish and gold plated XLR pins. I've used a smaller RØDE NTG3 as my kit shotgun mic for a number of years, and have found it excellent in every respect - from recording car engines to interviews. It's proved to be extrememly rugged. Its big brother looks like it was built along similar principles... just turning it over in your hands the thing oozes quality. It comes with an aluminium storage cylinder that looks like a riot police baton, and is padded inside to keep the mic safe and dry while on the move. There's also a winshield and shock mount. The [Audio Technica] 4071 came with neither of these out-of-the-box, so it's good to see them included with the RØDE. I hooked the NTG8 up to a Roland R26 portable recorder that had last been used to record an interview in a quiet room. I left all the settings the same, including sensitivity and the input dial. I then went outside to see what sound I could hunt down. I live in a fairly quiet area and as it happened one of my neighbours was getting her toddler into his pushchair and preparing to head out. She lives directly opposite me and we were about fifty to sixty feet apart. Through my headphones I could hear her talking to her child and could hear the toddler gurgling and chattering back, as toddlers do. None of this was particularly audible to the naked ear - you would possibly make out something if you really tried but that was about it. When I turned through 180 degrees, the child's voice dropped dramatically in my headphones. What was also apparent was the birdsong; well, actually crows cawing in the trees and pidgeons cooing on rooftops. With teh mic pointed at them they went from being background atmos to spot fx, clear and crisp. Bearing in mind the record and input levels were all set up for an interview in a quiet study, this was remarkable. Wow. This is an impressive mic. Good build quality, great to use and excellent audio quality. Oh, what a beauty.”
- Audio Media Magazine

“I have been of the opinion for a while now that the MKH416P48 and the NTG3 are the best shotgun microphones available in the under £1,000 price bracket but now I must add the NTG8 to that collection. So impressed am I that while I already own the MKH416P48 and the NTG3 that I am now seriously tempted to buy the NTG8 as well! In my opinion, for its price and quality the new RØDE NTG8 is the best shotgun microphone around! I believe that when it comes to buying professional audio equipment the rule should be, "Buy once and buy well!" and in the past I have had niggles about the quality of some of the so called professional microphones I have tested but have none about the RØDE NTG8, it is simply the best shotgun microphone I have ever handled.”
- Phil Janvier M.M.Inst.V., Focus Magazine

“The RØDE NTG8 is 56cm long, with a smooth matt-black finish and gold plated XLR pins. It comes with an aluminium storage cylinder which is padded inside to keep the microphones safe and dry while on the move. It also comes supplied with a foam windshield and a shock mount. The mount is designed so that the microphone's angle can be adjusted, and then clamped into place. The NTG8 has a maximum SPL of 124dB. It exhibits increased directionality across a wide frequency response range, making it a useful microphone for film, television, sports and outdoor broadcasting, live performance, and any professional distance miking application. The overall frequency range is 40Hz to 20kHz; at 4kHz only about 15 degrees either side of the centre line is picked up. It is based on RØDE’s NTG3, and like that model features low self-noise and RF bias technology. This is an impressive mic… Good build quality, great to use and excellent audio quality. Oh, what a beauty. ”
- Jerry Ibbotson, Audio Media Magazine