Sometimes choosing a new piece of hardware for your setup can be just as much about the aesthetics alongside the performance these days. You want something that is not only going to perform well and give you the best results for your money. But you also want something that’s going to look good too.
The Maono PD200X hits the brief in both of these areas. If you’re in the market for a new microphone, definitely take a closer look at this XRL & USB mic.
Product: PD200X
Brand: Maono
Price: £62.40 (Amazon)
Colours: Available in Black, White
This product was received for free
PD200X Review
Looks
The older sibling to the GamerWave the PD200X offers a step up in quality, looks, and performance. Featuring a sturdy metal construction. The flexibility of both XLR or USB connections. As well as, control functions for volumes, quick muting, and selecting RGB colours all within easy reach. The PD200X looks really good mounted on my boom arm. The black casing looks clean and the large foam padding covering the mic fits in nicely with the design.
There is a subtle line of lines between the casing and foam covering which you can cycle through 10 different colour settings to suit your mood. I’m not a huge lover of too much RGB. However, I do like a little splash here and there with some of my peripherals. For me, the mic has the right perfect level. Just a little ring of light to help breath a bit more style and life into it. Additionally, the knob for controlling your mic gain and headset gain – if you click it, it cycles between them, and also has a little glow of light around it. This only changes colours depending on what setting you have selected i.e. mic, headset, or muted. Which makes sense as you then easily know what setting you’re on.
Sound
The built-in dynamic mic capsule is designed to help you capture crisp-sounding mid-tones, with clear highs and lows. Additionally, the cardioid polar pattern helps with blocking out unwanted background noise – I’m looking at you noisy keyboards, it’s always the keyboards…
The PD200X definitely produces a really nice and clear sound straight from the box without having to tinker with any settings. That being said, it does still pick up a fair amount of background noise from my keyboard. Although I should mention I do use a fairly noisy mechanical keyboard. Meaning it’s unlikely you will find any mic to rid yourself of those clicks and clacks fully.
However, you do have some additional tools to help you in the shape of the Maono Link app. This app allows you to play around with a few extra settings on your mic with real ease. Tweak gains for your mic and your headset volume – if you’re plugged into the microphone. Additionally, you can adjust compression and limiter through the advanced functionality. Furthermore, you can control the colours through the app. It’s a really helpful tool and after a bit of tweaking, I found I could eliminate a little more background sound and produce a nicer richer sound from the PD200X without any other intervention.
That being said, we rarely use microphones without additional help these days – at least I don’t. With Discord you have built-in noise-cancelling, and there is Nvidia broadcast. Plus any post editing you might want to do if you’re using the mic for recording. Using any of these helps to elevate the already great sound produced by the PD200X.
A Real Contender
The PD200X feels like a well-thought-out design. The buttons are within easy reach. They’re big enough and chunky enough to not accidentally hit. Furthermore, for under £65 RRP – currently on sale for £53.03, the PD200X is a great deal. The sound is excellent. The build quality feels solid. I’ve been impressed with it. Plus, it looks really nice too.
If you’re looking for a new microphone and have a little more budget to spend then the Maono PD200X is worth taking a close look at. The only downside I have noticed is that by default it can pick up a fair bit of background noise. And to make use of the app, colours etc… it has to be plugged in via USB. Meaning, if you’re like me and have a XRL interface you can’t use the other functions without the USB being plugged in. Which makes sense. It’s just slightly frustrating to have another cable to manage. It just makes the XRL part feel a little pointless in a way.
Other than that I think the PD200X is a great microphone and it may have replaced my Rode Podmic. I’m not fully decided yet…
-Will
