elropoRode mics have fixed the retail selling price at ($229.00 US). This drop is actually a very, very good deal price wise.
The Rode NT1-A received the 2004 Editor's Choice Award from Electronic Musician Magazine for best mic under $600. Here's the award statement:
http://www.emusician.com/gear/1332/electronic-musician-2004-editors-choice-awards/33552
Microphone (under$600)
RØDE
NT1-A ($349)
A number of notable mics costing less than $600 shipped in 2003,including Blue's Ball phantom-powered dynamic and Audix's D6 kick-drummic. But we chose the large-diaphragm, fixed-cardioid Røde NT1-Abecause it represents an amazing value.
The NT1-A didn't take us entirely by surprise: Røde has builtits reputation by making high-quality, affordable microphones. But evenwith the company's history of success in that area, the NT1-A isperhaps Røde's most outstanding achievement from aprice-performance standpoint.
Although it's an offshoot of the NT1, the NT1-A is completelyredesigned on the inside and benefits from new manufacturing processes.One of the mic's most astonishing attributes is its incredibly quietoperation: it has a self-noise spec of 5 dBa, one of the lowest for anymic anywhere. Considering the NT1-A's $349 list price, that spec iseven more remarkable.
But specs only tell part of the story. Ultimately the way to judge amic is by its sound, and our reviewer was knocked out by the NT1-A'ssonic performance. From acoustic guitars to guitar amplifiers to vocalsto percussion, the NT1-A excelled in every application for which it wastested, and it handled high-SPL sources without a problem. Anyoneseeking an affordable large-diaphragm condenser for their studio shouldnot fail to listen to the versatile NT1-A.
elropoThere is a bit of confusion caused by their model schemes. The -1A is an improved -1, but when people say NT1 they're referring to the new version that came out in 2014? that's all black and has the (can't remember the name of the company) shock mount that looks kind of like a claw.