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Maono PD300X USB-XLR Dynamic Microphone

 | Microphone | Audio Interface | XLR | USB |

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Maono PD300X USB-XLR Dynamic Microphone, the newest microphone from MAONO.

MAONO specializes in the manufacturing of microphones and audio interfaces with a friendlier price than mainstream brands and the promise to provide competitive performance for a fraction of the price.

The MAONO PD300X is part of the mid and upper-tier models of their microphones, aimed to higher quality recordings and professional use.

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Maono PD300X USB-XLR Dynamic Microphone Review

Tests & Scores

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A

Accessories & Packaging

The MAONO PD300X get shipped in small packaging bundled with:

• Shock mount
• USB-C/A to USB-C cable
• 5/8″ to 3/8″ thread adapter
• 2nd USB-C/A to USB-C cable (only with the BA37 bundle)
• 2nd 5/8″ to 3/8″ thread adapter (only with the BA37 bundle)
• (only with the BA37 bundle)
• 2x Cable organizers (only with the BA37 bundle)

If you buy it as a bundle you can also choose to include an adjustable boom arm; in our case the MAONO BA37.

^4.5_/5

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D

Design

When seeing the MAONO PD300X most will immediately see the aesthetical resemblance with one of the most popular mics on the market (Shure SM7B).

In fact, the brand has done a pristine job making the MAONO PD300X look polished, clean and professional with a premium vibe and no flashy nor tacky details.

The mic makes use of a black, pearled metallic finish across the whole shell with the same aesthetic extending to the shock mount and knob.

The only piece with a different color is the removable, dark-grey foam windshield that slides onto the front end of the mic.

Around the knob, the MAONO PD300X has a 10-step LED dots indicators system for levels, gain and mix – there are also tiny icons that indicate the mode but are too small to see at bare sight.

If you get the combo with the MAONO BA37 boom arm you will notice that the brand has added a headphone hook function to the clamp, which is a neat detail.

^5_/5

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OC

Operation & Control

The MAONO PD300X has an intuitive multi-control system that works through a button and a knob that is also a 2nd button.

The first dedicated button gives access to immediate mute/unmute with a single press while a 2 seconds press and hold can respond with different functions that can be customized through the brand’s software.

The knob has a multi-function design that can be rotated to control the levels of mic gain, headphone gain and monitor mix; to select which mode the knob is controlling you need to press the knob and the multi-step LED indicators will change color according to the mode set:

• White= mic gain
• Blue= headphone gain
• White with purple indicator= monitor mix

With these 3 elements, the mic can be fully operated on-the-fly while the software and app serves to fine tune extra features and access elements such as EQ, recording and customization.

^4.5_/5

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CB

Construction & Build

Unlike what we found while reviewing the MAONO G1 NEO, the MAONO PD300X seems to be in a whole different category with a rugged, all-metal build that covers the full shell and even the protective “cage” of the cardioid end and back cover of the mic – the only details made of plastic are the button and knob.

Even the shock mount is entirely made of solid metal and complemented with a silicone shock-absorbing mount system.

Internally, the MAONO PD300X sports an audio core able to provide 192kHz/24bit recordings and a large dynamic cardioid driver rated as broadcast-grade.

To be honest, it was unexpected such a good construction quality seeing the low retail price of the MAONO PD300X.

Regarding the boom arm (MAONO BA37) that we are using to test the MAONO PD300X; the accessory adds a layer of control and adaptability with all sort of angle and extension positions with 5 adjustable axis (360, 120, 225, 270) and 2 sections of 13.8″ height and 13.8″ horizontal that can combine to reach either 27.6″ horizontal or 29.6″ vertical.

The whole boom arm is made of metal but does not feel as robust as the PD300X mic and the movements of the axis felt a bit too stiff but, still, the boom arm has a respectable load handling capability of up to 2.5KG which is more than enough to support any mic or even repurpose the boom arm to hold other accessories – if you can fit some extra bucks in your budget, we, still, recommend to upgrade to the bundle with the BA92 that seems to be a better model than the one that we are using.

^4.75_/5

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C

Connectivity

In comparison with other microphones on the market (even way pricier competitors), the MAONO PD300X is well-equipped with many input/output connectors, including:

• XLR to connect with an audio interface (MaonoCaster G1 NEO for example)
• USB-C for PC and/or mobile devices (including smartphones and tablets)
• 3.5mm output for headphones (active speakers can work too)

^4_/5

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SF

Sound and Features

After testing the MAONO PD300X we were surprised to find that this budget microphone was able to provide a smooth, natural tone with a cozy and inviting flavor.

At the same time, we were also gladly welcomed by a versatile sound nature with excellent response to equalization.

Most of this was thanks to a remarkable baseline sound quality, frequency response, clarity and factory tuning that provided plenty of room to fine-tune, re-tune and completely change the initial sound flavor at will.

As a side note, we find essential to highlight that being shaped and promoted as a microphone, the MAONO PD300X might not showcase enough the fact that the device is also a capable and respectable audio interface for headphones, monitoring and/or active speakers.

Other very good capabilities shown while testing the mic where the noise reduction performance (tunable) which managed to maintain under control the typical noise issues presented with microphones and recording; even interference from other devices where not picked up and pop and typical mouth noises where handled with excellence by the flocked pop foam filter. This is quite expected from a mic like this that includes 5 layers of noise control/reduction (shock mount, filtering windshield foam, off-axis noise rejection, EMI shielding and software noise controls)

In addition to this, the MAONO PD300X was a breeze to operate and manually tune thanks to the robust complementing software from the brand (MAONO Link) – available for computers and also as an app for mobile devices.

Many mic competitors either not include a dedicated software or are shamefully poor in features; instead, MAONO Link is a must have if you own the MAONO PD300X as it exponentially empowers the capabilities and tuning potential of this microphone.

Specifically we found remarkable the inclusion of factory presets for different use scenarios with tailored EQ to make the best out of the sound obtained through the PD300X and Maono Link – including Podcast, Gaming, Recording, Streaming.

On top of that, this software includes a wide manual tuning potential for more experienced users to fully override and create custom equalization curves with audio tools that are usually sold by VST and audio plugin companies but that come bundled for free with Maono Link.

To be more specific, users can access:

• 10-band parametric EQ
• Gain control
• Frequency tuning
• Q control
• Gain
• High-pass filter
• Low-pass filter
• Compressor
• Limiter
• Noise reduction

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From a purely technical sound point of view, the MAONO PD300X did not disappoint with broadcast quality recording that can reach sampling rates of up to 192kHz/24bit and a wide spectrum coverage with a frequency response of 40Hz-16000Hz; which provided professional quality right out of the device for immediate publishing and/or plenty of headroom for post-production and editing on any DAW for pro-level final results.

^5_/5

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Maono PD300X USB-XLR Dynamic Microphone  Scores

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