‘Good morning, Vietnam! Is this thing on?’
I know it’s been done to death, but that was my debut line as soon as I was done setting up the Maono PD100W wireless gaming microphone.
This is Maono’s new compact, wireless gaming microphone with adjustable automatic noise suppression, promising high-end audio with budget pricing.
Though I loathe Zoom meetings and fall asleep to most podcasts, I’ve been on the hunt for a quality mic for gaming, calls, and the occasional video recording. My previous setup gave me the wonderful choice between the G435 headset’s built-in mic with extremely muffled audio and the HyperX SoloCast wired USB microphone with its dinky mount.
By virtue of being wireless, the PD100W was the perfect excuse to remove at least one element from the cable-management hell going on behind my desk.
From Maono With Love
First things first, let’s talk shipping. The courier picked up the package in China on December 25th. Despite the usual chaos around the holidays, the box with the microphone was in my hands by January 7th, so great performance there.
The Maono PD100W comes inside a durable cardboard package. Although additional documentation is provided, the first thing you see as you open the box is a quick start guide showing how to run the microphone on PC and mobile phone, in both wired and wireless modes.
Besides the microphone and its mount, Maono provides a USB-C receiver dongle with a built-in USB Type-A adapter. The company also offers Lightning and 3.5mm TRS options separately, should you need that instead.
To charge the PD100W, you get a USB-C to USB-C cable, again with a hinged Type-A adaptor on one end. It would have been nicer to get a braided cable like the ones provided by Corsair, but that’s not critical for a cable meant only for occasional charging.
Computer setup was a breeze: plug the receiver in, screw the microphone onto the mount, hold the power button for two seconds, and voilà, we are live.
This was also my first exposure to one gripe I have with this. The mount is perfectly fine, and I much prefer it to the short one on the HyperX SoloCast, but the screw that holds it in does not quite fix the mic in place. There is a lot of wiggle, even after screwing it to the point where I feel I’m stripping the threads.
Meet the PD100W
While the PD100W is marketed as a compact microphone, it is still relatively hefty compared to other desktop gamer options.
The base of the microphone has a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB-C plug, a power button that doubles as a brightness one, and a noise-cancelling preset button.
On the front, you’ll find a tap-to-mute button that works every time, 80% of the time. Initially, I thought it required a longer press to work, but after a while, I’ve convinced myself that this is a problem for an exorcist rather than a gaming journalist.
Plug the receiver in, screw the microphone onto the mount, hold the power button for two seconds, and voilà, we are live.
Next to it is a big knob that can control both the microphone gain and the output volume, which you cycle by pushing it in. This one works as intended.
The actual microphone comes with a nice 8mm pop filter cover. Aesthetically pleasing and functionally sound, with the tall stand leaving the mic close to the mouth.
On the wireless part, Maono promises a 50-meter stable range. I was not able to fully validate this at home by virtue of not living in a mansion, but the PD100W did perform admirably regardless of which room I was in, providing much better quality than my wireless headset microphone tested in similar conditions.
The battery has yet to die on me despite regular use, which matches the advertised 40-hour battery life.
Although the manufacturer pushes the Maono Link app, available for desktop and mobile, the PD100W works just fine without it. You can use the app to fine-tune gain, volume, EQ presets, and mess around with the RGB lighting.
Trial by Fire
Leaving the best for last, the standout feature of the Maono PD100W wireless gaming microphone is the noise-cancellation filter. You can choose between light, medium, and strong modes, indicated through a light bar under the gain knob.
As with every real-time noise cancellation solution, I approached this one cautiously, but the results impressed me.
The light mode does a decent job against constant environmental noise like a budget computer fan trying to cool a CPU out of its league. Medium is a nice sweet spot, keeping the voice track clear even in a noisy environment. Finally, the aggressive mode does what it says on the tin, allowing you to play with VoIP while someone else in the room is watching TV.
The PD100W did perform admirably regardless of which room I was in, providing much better quality than my wireless headset microphone tested in similar conditions.
To validate this, I put the PD100W through multiple rounds of the tactical shooter Squad, where clear communication is essential. Having a good microphone plays a major part in winning if you play the squad leader role, since you don’t waste time repeating commands or forcing your team to guess from jumbled information.
Throughout the matches, I had clear comms with my teammates. With the high noise-cancelling setting, I could talk just fine without being a nuisance with a TV blasting in the background.
For video essays, podcasting, and assorted yapping sessions, the PD100W has clean and crisp audio. Even when disabling the active noise cancellation, the microphone has excellent off-axis noise rejection.
The light noise suppression preset and the pop filter are enough to clean up the more inconvenient parts of the human condition, like those sighs or deep breaths that are part of existing but sound weirdly unsettling when listening over headphones.
All of these features sound cool, but what makes the Maono PD100W stand out is the price tag. At full price, you can buy the desk stand version reviewed here for $79.99, discounted at the time of writing to $51.98.
Closing Comments: 9/10
A good wireless microphone needs to have a steady signal, good battery life, and crisp audio. The Maono PD100W has all of that while also featuring an excellent active real-time noise cancellation system and an attractive price tag. The stand and button inconsistencies are minor grievances that don’t impact the audio. This is a lot of microphone for any gamer or budding content creator who wants high-quality audio without having to sell a kidney to buy it, and it is now the primary mic in my home setup.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
