We are a global leader in audio technology with a mission to amplify the voice and vision of the world’s creators. With a storied history dating back over 50 years, RØDE is a uniquely Australian-owned and operated company with a passion for innovation, obsession with quality, and enduring commitment to making incredible audio accessible to everyone. Since the beginning, we have been at the forefront of creator technology, revolutionising everything from home studio recording to audio for filmmaking to podcasting with iconic products that continue to inspire.
We are The Choice of Today’s Creative Generation™.
RØDE products are designed and manufactured at our headquarters in Sydney, Australia. Comprising five warehouses with a total footprint of over 280,000 square feet, RØDE’s state-of-the-art facilities house over 500 million dollars in precision machinery and an international team of more than 450 people across highly skilled disciplines: electronics engineering, industrial design, technical engineering, robotics, audio and acoustics engineering, metal production, toolmaking, injection-mould technology, logistics, assembly, quality control, finance, marketing, and sales.
As well as our Sydney HQ, we have offices around the world, including the USA, China and the UK. RØDE products are exported to 118 countries globally.
RØDE is part of The Freedman Group, alongside APHEX, Event and SoundField.
The RØDE Story
1967
The Doors Open
The RØDE story began in 1967 when Freedman Electronics – the parent company of RØDE – first opened its doors in Sydney, Australia. Established by husband-and-wife Henry and Astrid Freedman after migrating to Australia from Sweden, Freedman Electronics soon became a leader in the fledgling Australian audio industry, becoming experts in loudspeakers, amplifiers and custom electronics, as well as dabbling in the odd microphone. Freedman Electronics was also the first company in Australia to carry Dynacord consoles, which gained fame in Australia whilst Henry sat behind the desk mixing a young Tom Jones during his 1968 tour of Australia.
1990
The Birth of RØDE
With the technological advancement and relative low cost of equipment for home recording enthusiasts hitting new heights in the early 1990s, the stage was set for the entry of an affordable, high-quality microphone. Having sourced and modified a large-diaphragm condenser microphone from China and tested the market to great interest, Henry’s son Peter Freedman began creating the infrastructure to design, build and manufacture microphones in Australia. RØDE was born. This microphone was the now-iconic NT1, which would go on to become one of the best-selling microphones of all time. This was soon followed by the NT2, another immediate success that well and truly kickstarted the RØDE journey towards revolutionising how creators capture audio.
1990s-2000
Studio Domination
Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, RØDE dominated the studio microphone market with models like high-end valve Classic and NTK, industry-standard radio microphones like the Broadcaster, and reissues of the NT1 and NT2. In just under a decade, the company had made an incredible impact in the pro audio industry with a winning formula of high quality and price accessibility and had become the brand of choice for a new generation of musicians and audio professionals. But another creative revolution was just around the corner, and in 2004 (rather RØDE released the microphone that would be there recording it all: the VideoMic.
2000s
Expansion at Home and Abroad
The early 2000s were significant years for RØDE. In 2001, the company established operations in the USA, marking the first step towards global expansion that has continued ever since. These years also saw RØDE invest heavily in manufacturing technology and expand its operations with a goal to produce world-class microphones at accessible prices in Australia. This ethos has been the foundation of the brand since the very beginning and one of the reasons RØDE products are so revered around the world. This commitment to in-house manufacturing and investment in the precision technology required to do so continues to be a hallmark of the RØDE difference today.
