When it comes to creating content—whether it's YouTube videos, gaming streams, or even the occasional voiceover for personal projects—audio quality plays a huge role. A good microphone and audio setup can make all the difference between sounding professional or amateurish.
When we received the Maono PD100X microphone and G1 Neo mixer bundle, I wasn’t quite sure how to start with it. I’m not a podcaster or a video/audio person in general, but thankfully, we do have our in-house experts available for consulting—so here’s their verdict on the Maono PD100X Microphone & G1 Neo Mixer!
Editor
Jennifer chevron_right
Table of Contents
- Design & Build: Pretty Retro
Maonocaster G1 Neo
The G1 Neo mixer is quite compact and lightweight, so it doesn’t take up too much space, leaving plenty of room for other gear. There’s a single XLR input, and all the other ports are clearly labelled, so setting it up with the PD100X Microphone isn’t as complicated as it first turned out to me.
The buttons on the mixer feel quite solid, and the RGB colour does give a gamer vibe to the whole setup. On the whole, it’s a pretty solid and intuitive interface, so even beginners like yours truly managed to figure it out within ten minutes.
PD100X Microphone
The PD100X microphone is similarly small and lightweight, especially when compared to the other microphones we usually use in the studio. It’s a tabletop microphone that fits perfectly beside the Maonocaster G1 Neo.
The RGB accents add a nice touch of flair without being too flashy, though the plastic build feels a little flimsy to the touch. All in all, though, it doesn’t look too bad for a home setup.
- Performance: As a Beginner, Voice Changing is Fun
Let’s go with the microphone first. The PD100X is a dynamic microphone with dual connection options: USB and XLR, making it suitable for a variety of setups including with a smartphone. The microphone is pretty good at isolating the user’s voice, though the audio output isn’t as impressive, gaining more sharp treble when the volume is louder.
The microphone itself is sturdy, with a simple plug-and-play setup that I found convenient and hassle-free. However, the gain sensitivity took a bit of adjustment to avoid peaking during live recordings. The audio levels also required fine-tuning, especially for live streams, but once dialled in, the PD100X delivered reliable and decent sound quality.
Next up, the Maonocaster G1 Neo. Truth be told, I’ve never used a mixpad, nor ever had need of one before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from it. It has a healthy amount of features, half of which I barely understood the use for until I looked them up, so here we go.
Besides the obvious volume and input dials, there are some interesting buttons on the Maonocaster G1 Neo, including the Noise Reducer and Voice Changer. They’re interesting mostly because they’re fun to use (remember, I’ve never really used a mixpad before), but apparently basic enough features that mixpads should have.
For the Voice Changer, there are 3 types of voices you can use to disguise your voice: Male, Female, Robot, and Baby; or what I like to call, “Yo-ho North Sea voice”, Weird voice, chipmunk, higher chipmunk. The Noise Reducer was effective in eliminating background noise.
The SideChain Feature stood out during a voiceover session, automatically lowering background music to allow my voice to take center stage—no manual adjustments required.
There’s also the Direct Monitoring feature and SideChain feature, both of which are useful for monitoring your recordings while doing said recordings. The latter also amplifies human voice while toning down any background music, which is great for livestreaming.
Another interesting feature of the Maonocaster G1 Neo is the Soundboard: four unlabeled buttons that you can program to play any sound effect you want. You can even record your own sound effects or music onto the button. I’ll be real, it took me a lot of time and a lot of fiddling to eventually manage that, so it really isn’t the most intuitive thing to use.
- Verdict: If I Were A Newbie Podcaster With 0 Technology Confidence , I Would Consider This
All in all the Maono PD100X Microphone & G1 Neo Mixer worked pretty well, even for an amateur like me. They’re not overly complicated to use, and the user interface is quite intuitive. So, for beginners and content creators just starting out, these would be a great bundle to invest in.
However, if you’re a professional or someone who needs a more plug-and-play experience, you might want to consider other options.
-End of review-
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