Rode AI-1: works on Linux

Published: May 4th 2026 (week 19 of 2026)

Rode AI-1 is a small USB-C audio interface with an XLR port. It works well on Linux.

I bought Rode PodMic without realising that it needs an XLR connection. Of course the audio that comes built-in with my motherboard does not have such a port, so I had to buy an external audio interface. This is what you get for not reading product descriptions.

However, this setup works great, and I am more than satisfied with how it turned out.

The AI-1 has an audio jack that I use to connect my loudspeaker, and the XLR port I use to connect the PodMic. It also has two physical knobs: one to change the loudness (or whatever the proper audiophile term is) of the speakers, and one to change the loudness of the microphone.

To make PodMic work I had to buy an amplifier, and settled on FetHead Phantom. It is a little device that sits between the XLR cable and the PodMic, and uses the phantom power supplied by the AI-1 to do its job.

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