Microphones are an often overlooked component of a computer. They aren’t necessary for it to function, and a lot of people never use them. However, for anyone who plays online multiplayer games, records audio, or streams, a good solid dependable microphone is vital. A bad microphone can ruin a game lobby or broadcast experience. Of course, you don’t want to overpay for something with loads of features you’ll never need, and there’s tons of very specific jargon That’s where I come in. In my extensive time on the internet and as a working professional, I have participated in and produced podcasts, presentations, let’s plays, audiobooks, commentaries, walkthroughs, instructional guides and even marketing materials using my voice, including some time in an actual noise isolating recording booth at a professional studio. I have experience with microphones, and their terms and what that means for you in both technical and practical terms.
That brings me to the subject of today’s review, the PD200X by Maono. The PD200X is a dynamic microphone, which means it turns sound into a signal by the movement of a metal coil wrapped around a permanent magnet affixed to a diaphragm that vibrates when noise hits it. These tend to be very durable, but can sometimes have problems picking up very quiet or very high pitched sounds. It is also a USB/XLR microphone, which means it can connect to your computer via a USB type C cable, or to a pre-amp or sound mixer via an XLR cable (these are ended either with three holes or three plugs sitting inside a recess). Lastly, it’s a cardioid pickup microphone, meaning it’s most sensitive to sounds coming in directly from the front (speak into the flit circle, not the side of the cylinder, essentially). These are also very good at excluding background noise, making them good for use while gaming, as the dramatic drop off of sound behind and beside the microphone means you’re less likely to pick up stray sounds from your speakers. That pattern also means it’s not suited for say putting in the middle of a table and recording a conversation. You can record conversations with cardioid mics, you just want to use multiple microphones and a mixer in that case.
So, with the explanation of what the PD200X is purporting to do, let’s move on to my experience with the microphone. Maono.com says to expect three to seven days for delivery and I received my package right within that time frame. While there was some cosmetic damage to the packaging material, the contents inside, the microphone, USB cable, and thread adapter, were untouched thanks to the quality of the packing foam inside. Maono also sent me a clamping microphone arm and XLR cable, but as these are not part of what you get in the PD200X box I won’t be considering them “part of” the review.
The microphone itself has three buttons on it. There’s one multifunction button that adjusts the microphone’s gain (how sensitive it is to sound), so you can turn the gain up if you aren’t coming in, and down if too much is being picked up, essentially and also the volume is for the output to the 3.5mm monitor plug. The multifunction button changes modes (and colors, green for gain and blue for volume) with a single press, rotating to adjust settings. There’s also a button to mute the microphone – the LED around the multifunction knob will turn red when the mic is muted. Lastly, there’s a button for switching the microphone’s lighted LEDs on and off and between its available colors. The LED button control, on the back of the microphone, turns the LED ring around the microphone off with a two second button press, and cycles between the color selections with a single press. The colors available are white, the ROY G BIV selection, and an ever changing rainbow pattern.
Additionally, all of these settings can be adjusted in the Maono app. Downloadable here, the app allows for all of the settings to be adjusted from your PC. It also allows you to change the details listed above, as well as settings like the intensity of the RGB light ring, and having an advanced options mode if you really want to There is a mobile version of the app as well but it is intended to be used to adjust the microphone if you decide to physically plug it into your phone or tablet, and it didn’t properly connect with the PD200X when I was testing it. The PC app, however, did automatically detect the microphone the second I plugged it in and using the app I was able to adjust my microphone’s settings in real time, even when recording and have them reflected in the recorded audio with no gaps or hiccups.
As for the performance of the microphone, I recorded myself on my existing microphone and the PDX and could discern no appreciable difference in audio quality between the two. Maono states the microphone has a range of a nearly subsonic 40 hertz to 16 Kilohertz, which I confirmed through testing. That’s not the total range of human hearing but it is overkill for the human voice, so that’s good. The multifunction knob has an LED light to show which function you’re adjusting, and the light does get more or less intense as you adjust volume and gain up and down, but it’s not as easy to read as a more traditional knob with markings. Perhaps they should have stuck with the multiple discrete LEDs like the PD400X.
Now let’s talk about the price and some caveats to that price. The PD200X currently retails for 79.99 USD. If you pre-order it from Maono’s website they include a free XLR cable, which is about a $13 value. But what do you get for your $80 dollar price tag? You get the microphone, obviously, the shock mount, which you need to actually attach the microphone to a stand or arm, an 8.2 foot (2.5m) USB C to USB C cable with an inbuilt C to A adapter so you can plug it into a standard USB plug as well, a 5/8″ threaded socket to 3/8″ socket adapter, and the user manual. What that means is there is no microphone stand of any sort included in the box. This isn’t a deal breaker, it just means you need to factor in the cost of a stand or microphone arm into the total price, and if you were wanting to add an arm anyway, then the removal of a stand means one less thing to store or toss Likewise, regarding the XLR cable, it won’t be too much use for you, unless you also happen to have an XLR capable mixer, in which case, it’s one less thing you need to buy. If you’re looking to get into using an XLR mixer but want the option to plug in via USB as well this is definitely a very solid dual function microphone.
In conclusion, this probably isn’t going to replace the microphone on my existing broadcast setup, but that’s due to the lack of multi and omnidirectional pickup, but those are tasks this microphone was never meant to do. What it is doing, for me though, is going on my work setup and getting daily use in meetings where the only thing that should ever be broadcast is my voice, loud and clear. So if you need to broadcast your voice and just your voice or a single source of sound you can put in front of the microphone, this is a very good pick for that purpose.
Tim received the PD200X from Maono free of charge for this review.
