WIRELESS Podcast Mic – Maono PD200W Hybrid Review

I don’t know why we haven’t seen something like this before… This is the Maono PD200W, a wireless podcast style microphone. Everything you hear in this video, unless otherwise stated, will be from this very microphone, so while I will tell you what I think of it, you can easily make up your own mind. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at this thing, starting with that connectivity.

Obviously, the stand-out feature of this thing comes from this, a USB C 2.4GHz dongle. This is the magic sauce that lets this PD200W stand out from the MV7’s of the world. This comes with a USB C extension lead, which also has a C to A converter attached, so no matter the device – a PC, laptop, or an Android or iOS phone – this can connect. Generally speaking, this should offer equally low latency as if the microphone was plugged in directly (compared to connecting over Bluetooth, for example), although if you do want to leave it plugged in, you absolutely can use the included USB C port – or even the XLR out. You can also plug in headphones to the 3.5mm jack on the back too, although with what could be a fully wireless setup, I imagine you wouldn’t want to. The key thing here of course though is battery life. Maono claims 60 hours from this thing – presumably based on how bright the RGB ring is – which to me is plenty. I don’t know that I’m quite ready to have to remember to charge my microphone yet, but I can imagine how this might be useful for a number of people’s setups. 

Physically though, this does look pretty standard, with a couple little details that still make it stand out. The main shape is pretty traditional – a metal cylinder with a foam tip. The tip is easily removable though to reveal the 30mm dynamic cardioid pickup pattern microphone inside. Below that is the RGB ring, which you can just turn off of course. Below that is the mic mute switch, which I’ll quickly demonstrate. It isn’t a soft-off style, it’s a hard cut off, and same for going back on. That isn’t the end of the world, it’s just something to keep in mind. The LED ring does flash red to let you know you’re muted though which is nice. And finally below that is the control dial. This lets you control the mic volume, headphone volume, and potentially even the noise reduction level too. 

As for the mounting solution, that is a pretty typical o-ring suspension method (with two extra o rings included in the box), and the included base just screws in as you’d expect. They do offer this with an arm mount instead if you’d prefer, although those are your two options – there isn’t a mic on it’s own option if you already have an arm to use. The stand itself is solid, opting for heft of desk space to keep it stable. It’s easily height adjustable, and tiltable, so it’s nice and easy to use. 

As for the sound quality, on the face of it, I think it’s pretty good. It isn’t the absolute best thing I’ve heard, but it’s definitely clear, offering a wide range, and at least to my ears sounds pretty nice. The foam cover does a decent job at cutting out the plosives, although you might want to adjust your distance to fit how you talk. I tend to have harsher ess sounds, and less plosives. Of course, with this being a USB mic, they have apps and desktop softwares to tweak and control this. The default settings offer three levels of noise reduction, with slight being on by default, moderate being a little harsh at cutting the noise out, and aggressive being kind of over the top and not suitable for production. You can control the gain from here too, if on-device isn’t easy enough for ya! The real magic is the “Scenes” tab, which just isn’t the right name for that. “EQ”, “Profiles”, or “Modes” would all be better choices. Still, here is where you’ll find the EQ modes. You’ve been hearing “Original”. This is the “Podcast” mode, specifically “Podcast 1”, which gives a boost around 100 hertz, cuts 300 hertz and 5 kilohertz, but otherwise leaves it alone. “Podcast 2” lifts 100 hertz, and cuts 2 and 500 hertz, plus 5 kilohertz and trails off after 10k too. “Game 1” gives a weird profile – clearer mids but a pretty hard cut of both highs and lows. I can’t quite work out why you’d choose to make the audio quality worse on purpose here. If you have any idea, let me know in the comments below. Finally, the worst mode, “Sing”, which not only culls anything below 75 hertz, but also adds a horrendous reverb. The “Folk” mode drops the reverb a little and adds more to the mids, but these modes are still awful. Why would you want to pre-ruin your vocal track with reverb and harsh cuts like this? I don’t get it. I think the original mode is about right, maybe “Podcast 2” to make my particular voice sound a little softer, but that’s it.

As for a point of comparison, here is what the Shure MV7 sounds like. I’m actually pretty surprised that the PD200W sounds more clear than this to me. This sounds deeper, maybe even richer, but not quite as clear. The catch with the MV7 still though is the gain. I have this set to max gain, and I’ll likely have to pump it up in editing, whereas the PD200W has more gain than you need. The flip side is that the PD200W is brighter and a little sharper – clearer maybe – but perhaps missing with warmth the MV7 offers. Both are still great, although I can’t argue that the PD200W isn’t more convenient, both from gain and connectivity. It’s really pretty cool.

Right, now back to the PD, you can hear the difference. Considering this thing is just $99 – including the stand – that is pretty exceptional value. The (slightly newer) MV7+ is a whopping $270, so this being almost a third of that, AND wireless, AND comes with a stand… Well that sounds like value to me. Perhaps this more compares to the MV6, although that is still $150, and not wireless, and neither come with a shock mount either… I’m impressed with this thing for sure. This is not the best mic around, and I don’t think replaces the SM7b, but if you want a quality mic on a smaller budget, and you like the idea of this being wireless as well, definitely consider this. I can see myself using this, and that’s about as high praise as I can offer. Good job Maono.