---
title: 'The BEST Microphone For Streaming Under $100'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=9NPXvSb2h9Y'
video_id: '9NPXvSb2h9Y'
date: 2026-07-28
duration_sec: 498
---

# The BEST Microphone For Streaming Under $100

> Source: [The BEST Microphone For Streaming Under $100](https://youtube.com/watch?v=9NPXvSb2h9Y)

## Summary

The RØDE NT-USB MINI, a popular budget microphone for streamers, received a major free software update called RØDE Connect. This app allows mixing multiple audio sources (mic, game, chat) and routing them to streaming software, elevating the microphone's capabilities. The video reviews the update, compares it to Elgato's Wave Link, and provides a setup tutorial.

### Key Points

- **NT-USB MINI Overview** [00:20] — Condenser microphone with cardioid pickup pattern, built-in pop filter, includes desk mount or can attach to a mic arm, costs just shy of $100.
- **RØDE Connect App Release** [00:35] — New free application for Windows and Mac that allows mixing all audio sources (mic, game, Discord) and handles routing to send one audio source to streaming software.
- **Key Difference from Wave Link** [01:13] — RØDE Connect supports up to four separate microphones on a single computer, while Wave Link currently supports only one. This is a big advantage for multi-person streams or podcasts.
- **Built-in Filters and Effects** [01:33] — RØDE Connect includes noise gate, compressor, big bottom effect, and aural exciter. Wave Link does not support adding filters to voice, requiring VST plugins in streaming software.
- **Channel Limitations** [01:51] — Wave Link allows recording nine separate channels (mic + eight others), while RØDE Connect currently supports three channels (mic, system sounds, chat). The reviewer expects RØDE to increase channels over time.
- **Setup Steps** [02:29] — Download RØDE Connect from website, install, connect microphone, update firmware if needed. Drag microphone into one of four channels, assign system and virtual devices for system sounds and chat.
- **Microphone Controls** [03:46] — In the app, three faders for mic, system sounds, and chat. Clicking the channel provides gain control, noise gate, compressor, and Aphex effects (aural exciter, big bottom).
- **System Sound Setup** [04:25] — Set Windows output device to 'System Output RØDE Connect' so all PC sounds go through the system channel.
- **Discord Setup** [04:50] — In Discord settings, set input device to 'Virtual Input RØDE Connect' and output device to 'Virtual Output RØDE Connect' to route Discord audio through the virtual channel.
- **OBS Setup** [05:13] — In OBS Studio settings > Audio, set Mic/Auxiliary Audio to 'Stream Input RØDE Connect' to receive the mixed audio as a single input.
- **Sound Test and Recommendations** [05:57] — Reviewer demonstrates microphone with and without effects. Recommends using a boom arm instead of the included desk mount to get the mic closer to the mouth.
- **Critique and Future Wishes** [06:31] — Effects are limited to checkboxes without extra controls; reviewer desires adjustable threshold for gate/compressor, keyboard shortcuts for muting, and more channels. Hopes for future USB versions of broadcast mics like Procaster.

### Conclusion

The RØDE NT-USB MINI, combined with the free RØDE Connect software, becomes a compelling option for streamers under $100, offering multi-mic support and built-in audio effects. While it has some limitations compared to Elgato's Wave Link, its potential for future updates makes it a strong contender.

## Transcript

- This microphone, the RØDE NT-USB MINI
has always been a popular
option for streamers
looking for a high quality microphone
that won't break the bank.
But last night, this got a
huge and free software update
that might just make this
the best streamer microphone
under $100.
Let's take a look.
(upbeat music)
So, the NT-USB MINI has been around
for a couple of years now.
It's a condenser microphone
with a cardioid pickup pattern
and a built in pop filter.
It comes with an included desk mount
or it could be attached to a Mic cam
and it comes in at just shy of $100.
So what's changed then?
Well, yesterday, RØDE
released a new application
for windows and Mac
iOS called RØDE Connect
which completely elevates this
microphone to a new level.
What it allows you to do
is to mix all of your
audio sources together.
So your microphone, your game audio,
and your discord chat
and then it handles
all the rooting for you
so you can send just one audio source
to your streaming software
and can control a mix.
All of your audio from one place.
It also doubles as software
that you can use to record podcasts
with separate channels
for each of your guests.
But I'm going to focus here on
the live streamers perspective.
Now, those of you that
watch my Elgato wave review
might recognize this software
as something that closely
resembles Wave Link
and you're not wrong,
but there are some key differences.
Firstly, road connect supports up to
four separate microphones
on a single computer
whereas Wave Link currently
only supports one microphone.
This is obviously a big advantage
if you're doing a two
or more person stream
or if you ever want to have
a guest on for a podcast.
Being able to control four
separate USB microphones
from a single computer
is something that used to cause issues.
RØDE Connect also allows you to
add some filters and
effects to your microphones,
such as the noise gate, compressor,
big bottom effect and an oral exciter.
And those can really enhance
the sound of your voice.
Currently Elgato's Wave Link,
doesn't support adding
any filters to your voice.
So you have to do this
through the streaming software
and adding some VST plugins.
But one area where Wave Link wins out
is it allows you to record
nine separate channels
consisting of your
microphone plus eight others.
Effectively allowing you find a control
over more audio sources.
Whereas RØDE Connect currently supports
three separate channels
consisting of your
microphone, system sounds
and your chat application.
I don't see any reason
why RØDE won't be able to
increase this over time
so that you can have more channels
and more control over
different applications
because it's just about them
adding another virtual device
on your computer.
So, let's test out the
NT-USB MINI with RØDE Connect
and get it set up with OBS Studio
so we can see exactly how it sounds
and what kind of control you get
for your live streams.
Okay. So the first thing you need to do
is head to the RØDE website
and download the connect app.
I'll leave a link down
in the description below.
RØDE do require you to
choose an operating system
between windows and
Mac and enter an email,
but you won't be included
in their newsletters
as long as you don't check the boxes.
So it's just for software updates.
Once that's downloaded,
unzip the file and just
install the RØDE Connect app
by going through the wizard.
Once that's finished installing,
launch the RØDE Connect app
and then you can connect the NT-USB MINI
to the computer with the USB cable.
Once you're connected,
you can click get started.
You can see here that my NT-USB MINI
requires a firmware update.
So I'm just going to do that now.
And if you have the same,
obviously update that
so you can get the best functionality
out of the NT-USB MINI with RØDE Connect.
Now that the firmware update is complete,
we can drag our NT-USB MINI
into any of the four channels here.
So I'm going to drag it into channel one.
And as you can see here,
you can plug in four
different NT-USB MINIs
into a single computer
and still use all the
functionality of RØDE Connect.
But for me, it's just one microphone.
So drag it into one and then click next.
Next we can drag our
system and virtual devices
into these available channels.
These are effectively going
to be our system sounds.
So all the sounds coming
through our PC like our game,
and our virtual device is going
to be our chat application.
So something like discord
and then click next.
Okay. So here we are
in the RØDE Connect app
and you can see we have
three separate faders.
One for our microphone,
one for our system sounds
and one for our chat application.
First of all though,
let's look at what controls
we get over the microphone.
So by clicking on the channel,
we bring up some options
for the microphone controls
such as the gain of the microphones.
So we want to end up in
this green section here
as well as options to enable
the noise gates and compressor
that run on the digital signal processor
built into the microphone.
You also get some options here
to enable the Aphex Aural
Exciter and big bottom effects.
These are effects that are typically found
on much more expensive interfaces,
things like the Rode caster pro
you can enable them here
to enhance the sound of your voice.
So next let's make sure that
we set up our system sounds
to be running through this system channel.
So on windows, you need to head
through your sound settings
which you can get to
from the control panel
and just make sure your output device here
is set to system output RØDE Connect.
What this effectively means is that
now any sounds that happen on your PC
are going to be coming
through this system channel.
The only thing that we're
going to separate out
is our team chat into
this virtual channel.
So to get discord audio
to come through this virtual device here
we want to open up discord,
go to user settings, voice and video,
and we want to set our input device
to be virtual input RØDE Connect
and our output device to be
virtual output RØDE Connect.
So find these two devices,
make sure they're set up in discord,
and then you can close back out of discord
and all of your discord audio now
is going to be coming
through this virtual channel.
So the last thing that we need to do
is actually set up our streaming software
to take this mix of
audio as a single input
and make sure that our stream can hear it.
So open up your streaming
software of choice.
For me that's OBS Studio,
go to settings and then audio tab
and make sure that we set
the mic slash auxiliary audio
to stream input RØDE Connect.
So make sure you have this one selected,
add that as the audio source,
and you can see here my microphone
but also my discord chat
and any system sounds,
my game sound will be coming
through this single channel.
And if you need to make any
changes to any of your audio,
you can do that from the RØDE Connect app.
This is where you're going to control
all aspects of your audio.
So your teammates, your system sounds,
your game sound, your microphone,
all controlled in RØDE Connect.
And then OBS is just
taking that one audio mix
and sending it out to your stream.
Okay. So I've swapped the audio over
now from the shotgun
microphone I was using before
to the $100 NT-USB.
So you can hear exactly how it sounds.
One thing I would recommend
like I do with all microphones is
not to use the included desk mounts
because they just make the microphone
too far away from your mouth
and much closer to your keyboard sounds
get it up on a boom arm,
like the RØDE PSA one
or even just a cheap Amazon alternative
and get that microphone
closer to your mouth.
As you can see here in
the RØDE Connect app,
I have all of the options enabled
and my game's set to around 25.
If I disable these effects.
So this is how my microphone sounds
without any of the effects enabled.
I'm going to enable them again.
I do think it's a little bit limiting
that these are just check boxes
and you have no extra controls.
I guess it's a little bit
more beginner friendly
that you can just enable a
noise gate with an option.
But, personally, the know that I am,
I would love to dive in and be able to
adjust the threshold of the
gates and the compressor
and things like that.
I would also love if RØDE
built in functionality to be able to mute
and change volumes of sources
into something like the Stream Deck.
I realized, that's probably
not going to happen
because effectively RØDE
and Elgato are competitors
and they built a very similar
application to each other.
So it's probably a bit of a pipe dream
but at least if RØDE could
implement some way of saying
keyboard shortcuts to at
least mute certain sources
that would be really
handy for us streamers.
I'm excited to see where this app goes.
I said before, I'd love for
them to add a few more channels.
That's a bit more competitive
with the Wave Link app
but the fact that you can
record multiple microphones
in one PC is really great.
And I'd love to see, is RØDE
going to go down the same path
that Shure has done with the MV7
and turn some of their
really popular broadcast mics
like the RØDE Procaster
into USB alternatives that
will use the RØDE Connect app?
Hopefully this video has been helpful.
If it has to, give it a thumbs up
and let me know down in the comments,
what do you think of the $100
or sub $100 NT-USB MINI
now that the RØDE Connect app
allows loads more control
over your stream audio.
I'd love to hear your thoughts
and I'll catch you in the next video.
Peace.
(upbeat music)
Jimmy Fallon has the budget
and the ability to hire a
team that can make this good.
(chuckles)
If he reached out to me,
I'd do him a deal.
I told you about this last week,
10 grand and I'll help you serve OBS.
It's easy.
- Jimmy come on, we've got
connections for you man.
- I mean, come on Jimmy, just hit me up.
I'm only a Google away.