What else you need to use it
Worked out from RØDE’s own specifications and box contents for this model. The setup builder checks the same parts against your computer and the rest of your gear.
You need
- A microphone stand or boom arm. No stand comes in the box.
Check first
- For USB: a USB cable. Our record of the box lists no USB cable. Check the box before you plan the connection.
Optional
- For XLR: an audio interface or mixer with an XLR microphone input. A computer has no XLR input. The interface’s preamp raises the microphone’s signal and sends it to the computer over USB. Compare audio interfaces
- For XLR: an XLR cable. None comes in the box.
- Wired headphones with a 3.5 mm plug. Its headphone socket lets you hear yourself straight from the microphone, before the computer adds delay. Headphone test
When this model makes sense
- Record one voice over USB now, or through an XLR interface later; get the placement right before adding effects.
- Use its headphone socket to hear yourself while you set distance and gain.
- Use it with an XLR cable and an interface that has enough gain. Its USB voice effects don’t apply on XLR.
The USB versus XLR guide weighs it against the other ways to fill the same role.
Connections and specs
- Full name
- RØDE PodMic USB (Black)
- Still sold
- Yes, a current model
- Type
- Microphones
- Connection
- Connector shape
- USB-C; 3-pin XLR; 3.5 mm headphoneA plug’s shape doesn’t tell you its speed →
- Audio outputs
- USB; XLR
- Microphone type
- Dynamic
- Needs 48 V phantom power
- No
- Direct monitoring
- YesWhat direct monitoring does →
- Connects by
- USB/XLR
- Pickup pattern
- Cardioid end-address
- Frequency response
- 20 Hz-20 kHz
- Sample rate
- 48 kHz
- Bit depth
- 24-bit
- Max SPL
- 148 dB SPL
- Sensitivity
- -57 dBV/Pa
- Output impedance
- 460 ohms over XLR
- Voice processing
- High-pass filter; Noise gate; Compressor; Aural Exciter; Big Bottom
- Built in
- Internal pop filter; Internal shock mount
- Size and mounting
- Mounts
- Integrated swing mount
- Dimensions
- 172 x 107 x 62 mm
- Weight
- 900 g
- In the box
- Included parts
- PodMic USB; External pop filter
- Computer
- Operating systems
- Windows 10+; macOS 10.15+; iOS; Android
Check these conditions first
Not yet confirmed from RØDE’s documents: power draw. The builder treats it as unknown, never as a yes.
For a microphone, set your distance and input gain before adding any processing. Speak as loudly as you will on stream, listen back to a recording and leave some headroom. Judge a USB/XLR microphone in the mode you will use: its USB voice processing does not carry over to XLR.
What is included, and what may be missing
- PodMic USB
- External pop filter
Both cable ends and the data rating matter more than the plug shape: streaming cables and ports explains how to match them.
Place it in the complete setup
Every connection
- Webcam USB outUSB cable → A USB port on your computer
- Microphone USB outUSB cable → A USB port on your computer
- Microphone / interface headphone out3.5 mm or 6.3 mm headphone connection → Headphones (what you hear)
- Computer Ethernet portEthernet cable → router; your upload → Platform (check the stream preview)
- Wall socketThe maker’s power supply, or USB power → Computer and devices that need their own power
The diagram shows a simple USB setup. Find where the RØDE PodMic USB (Black) goes, then follow each input back to what feeds it and each output on to where it goes. HDMI and XLR gear needs a capture card or audio interface between it and your computer; it doesn’t plug straight in the way this USB example does.
The setup builder turns this into a connection list for your own computer and gear, and the pre-stream checklist covers the rehearsal once it is wired.
Compare it head to head
Each page sets the two models’ specs side by side and says what else each one needs.