I have been a big fan of Rode for many many years. I think they offer excellent quality to a reasonable price, being a hobby musician without too much nerd knowledge of studio recording. The few times I've had issues with their products, they've provided fantastic support with no hassles whatsoever.
Before buying these microphones, I did some research on YouTube and was a bit concerned. Some of the demo videos (not going to specify) did not sound too good. But I found one or two that sounded fantastic as well. So my conclusion was simply that those failing to provide good results probably positioned the microphones in a less favorable way.
To my great relief, my gut feeling was right. I was simply blown away when testing them at home, recording some acoustic guitar. They sound great and well defined to my ears. I think the problem in the videos I listened to was that people tend to place the microphones too far from the source. While the NT5's were indeed designed to be placed with some distance to the source, I think they sound better when placed a little closer than you'd think - especially when recording acoustic guitar.
Also, I love the bar that makes it easy to adjust the direction of the microphones according to your preference. Many people seem to prefer the XY position, but I actually like the ORTF position more. A bit wider stereo image. But that is a matter of taste, of course.
I have still not recorded a lot with these, but so far I am very very happy with them and I am sure I will be using them a lot. Using my NT-2A for vocals and the NT5's for acoustic guitar seems to be just what I needed. A nice combination which gives me a good and defined sound for vocals and guitar alike.
