Maono Link (Windows, macOS, Google Android)

While the Maono PD400X can function as a simple plug-and-play microphone without requiring any software or configuration, its full potential is unlocked through the Maono Link app, available for Windows, macOS, and Android. The mobile version of the app mirrors its desktop counterpart in both features and functionality. Kudos to Maono for their consistent, platform-agnostic approach. Of course, in order for the app to recognize and access the microphone, the microphone has to be connected to the source via USB. When the XLR interface is used, you'll control the microphone through your audio interface and its accompanying software.


The Maono Link app is split into two "modes": Standard and Advanced. The most obvious difference between them is in the way they name the available settings. The Standard profile uses simpler terminology and lets you pick the desired sound profile (Deep, Natural, Bright, Legacy), distance from the microphone (Near, Mid, Far), monitoring headphone volume and monitor mix (whether you'll hear more of your voice or the source audio while using the headphone monitoring output). The distance toggle essentially limits the microphone's gain range. When set to Near, the maximum gain will be lowered to prevent clipping (and vice versa).


The Advanced mode keeps the headphone volume and monitor mix sliders, but replaces the "Tone" section with what the sound profiles actually are: a flat profile, a high-pass filter, a presence boost, and a high-pass filter with presence boost combined. It also adds two custom EQ profiles, Standard and Advanced (perhaps different wording should have been used here, to avoid confusing them with the aforementioned modes). The Standard EQ offers three bands (100 Hz, 1 kHz, 10 kHz), while the Advanced lets you tweak your voice across seven different bands (63 Hz, 160 Hz, 400 Hz, 1 kHz, 2.5 kHz, 6.3 kHz, 16 kHz). Then there are limiter, compressor and noise gate sliders, which will be very familiar to users with experience in audio interfaces and audio tweaking in general. The Advanced mode uses the Legacy sound profile by default, and it unlocks the entirety of the microphone's gain range (equivalent to setting the distance toggle, available in the Standard mode, to "Far").


The Settings menu, accessed through the cogwheel icon in the upper right corner of the interface, lets you update the microphone's firmware and factory reset it.


As I've already mentioned, the Android app offers all the same features as its desktop counterpart, in a simple, easy to use interface.