Maono PD200X microphone and Maonocaster G1 NEO audio mixer review

The Internet gives everyone the opportunity to become a leader of public opinion, an alternative to media or a blogger for an audience of different profiles and interests. Long-read formats are becoming a thing of the past, and text news is being replaced by shorts, reels, TikToks and interview videos or podcasts. It is for videos that you will need good lighting, cameras and microphones. Today we will meet representatives from Maono. The brand offers not only sound recording equipment, but also gadgets for mixing audio streams. We will talk about the Maono PD200X microphone and the Maonocaster G1 NEO audio mixer further.

Maono PD200X design and ergonomics

The Maono PD200X microphone looks familiar, but still has several distinctive features. From the factory, the microphone is fixed in the “spider” with elastic bands. All connectors are located on the back, and there are two buttons on top. And the smaller one, with the icon of a crossed-out microphone, respectively, turns it off. The multifunctional large round washer is pressed and rotated. The backlight around it changes from green to blue. The first lights up in microphone volume mode, and the second when adjusting the volume in the headphones.

An unpleasant feature of both buttons is that the click when pressed is perfectly audible on the recording, no matter how gently you press it. They clearly lack even a minimal damper to soften the click.

Black foam windscreen covers the mesh glass with sensors. The sound with it and without it is noticeably different, becoming deeper and bassier in the worn version. The voice is well captured with a distance of 5-10 cm from the microphone. When recording speech at a very close distance – there is no “overload”, although this can be separately configured in the proprietary software.

The microphone is available in white and black. White looks elegant, the painted device is high-quality. There is a decorative backlight on the microphone body. Its shade is adjustable via the program. The RGB ring is located at the junction with the windscreen. If you remove the foam, the backlight will literally hit your eyes. It’s good that you can turn it off completely.

Our delivery set, in addition to the microphone itself, includes a pantograph. For the most part, it resembles pantographs for table lamps, but with a special mount. The quality of the fittings is not impressive, but it copes with its tasks. The metal is thin, the clips are plastic, the table mount is made of metal. The neck is movable and allows you to mount the microphone on the edge of surfaces of various configurations.

The springs hold the links well, allowing you to smoothly position the device. However, sometimes they ring, which during online broadcasts will again not sound very good. However, the microphone is also sold on a stand, so you can choose the best option.

Equipment

The Maono PD200X microphone supports 24-bit sound, however, this range, which is typical of more expensive models, is more likely to be nominal. not enough. That is, of course, Maono can record the sound of falling water drops, breathing. wind, turning pages or a laser shot in a vacuum, but the detail is unlikely to be sufficient compared to professional solutions. and a resonant body. In terms of components, given the price, there should be no complaints from our point of view. The microphone will perfectly cope with the task of recording lets-plays, interviews, podcasts and vlogs.

The microphone can be connected via digital and analog interfaces. For the first, Type-C is used. For the second, XLR. The sound when using them, as it should, is different, so you can choose for each task. There is also a 3.5 mm audio jack.

It is noteworthy that the microphone can also be connected to a smartphone via USB. Not only that, the complete 3-meter cable has a removable USB Type-A-USB-C adapter. The proprietary program for the Android OS is as convenient as on a PC. The smartphone starts working without any problems and will allow you to record sound on a smartphone with much better quality. This is exactly what mobile vloggers need.

If we look at the frequency range of what can be recorded on the PD200X, we did not notice any critical deviations. If we compare it with one of its price competitors, there are places where the low and high frequencies are more, but this can also be caused by parasitic ambient noise. The working range looks even and sufficient.

In the proprietary Maono Link utility, you can “cut off” the lower and/or upper range and try to solve the issue with extraneous sounds. In general, if you leave the upper one, the sound recorded by the microphone naturally becomes louder. If you leave the lower one, in places there will be some load with strange low-frequency artifacts. Therefore, working in the mid-range, which is active by default, seems to be the most optimal. The software has frequency presets. They allow you to radically and qualitatively change the effect of the voice acting. Here, it is more likely that the time for taste and preferences comes again, who likes which frequency range more.

The company’s audio mixer will allow you to significantly diversify your audio recording. First of all, it is noteworthy that it allows you to mix analog and digital channels. The same XLR connector also has a socket for a 5 mm plug inside. The mixer will also allow you to connect Bluetooth to a smartphone or laptop and play audio from them. Surely, someone needed it.

The mixer allows you to run audio effects live. There are some installed, and there are additional ones that can be downloaded from the site. Echoes for those who like to sing on streams, voices of otherworldly beings, and more.

An interesting possibility would be to record audio on command from the mixer and then launch it from a button right during the broadcast. A kind of audio macro. For example, you can record sound from a microphone or sound played on a computer.

The mixer can only accept audio from XLR or 5 mm audio. There is no digital jack for this. But you can connect headphones to the connector responsible for monitoring and thus hear yourself while recording. There are separate ports for outputting sound to a PC and headphones or speakers via USB-C and 3.5 mm ports. The mixer also has its own backlight settings.

Impressions

The Maono PD200X microphone seems to us to be a good solution among audio recording devices in an affordable price range. It has good characteristics that will satisfy beginners, experienced streamers and leading podcasters. The microphone will also cope well with recording interviews. An important bonus is the ease of setup when connecting to a smartphone.

Yes, there are flaws in the design, such as buttons and noises when touching the case. But overall, this is a balanced solution that can be recommended. If we refer to the opinions of experts, the microphone gives a “ready” sound out of the box, without the need for additional processing. You will not have to master specialized software for setting up the equalizer. The proprietary utility has basic functions and nice additions.

The Maonocaster G1 NEO mixer is distinguished by good ergonomics and functionality. It’s hard to think of anything it lacks in terms of features and special effects. The entire set of described features makes it a versatile and noteworthy addition to the microphone.

Microphone Specifications Maono PD200X

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