Allison interviews Tobias Helenstein from Maono about their collection of microphones designed for podcasting as well as their wireless lavalier mics.
Tobias starts with their podcasting mics including the PD200X and PD400X, both of which are dynamic and have XLR and USB outputs. The more affordable PD100X has colored lights on the rear of the mic and is better suited for game streamers or similar activities.
Next is the PS22 Audio Interface with two XLR/Instrument/Line-in inputs. It provides phantom power for USB mics yet has sufficient gain to handle dynamic mics. It can handle up to 60dB of dynamic range with a 24-bit/192kHz sample rate.
Tobias then moves to their T5 lavaliere set which includes two lav mics, a receiver, and a charging case. To record audio, the compact receiver plugs into a mobile device with a USB-C port, Lightning port, or 3.5 audio jack. Power for the T5 lav mic lasts up to 8 hrs on its own and up to 20 hrs with the charging case.
The interview setting is the CES show floor in the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Learn more at http://maono.com/
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Transcript of Interview:
Allison: We were walking by a booth here called from Maono and it says it’s the number one best-selling internet microphone and I think we better know about it if it’s that popular. So I’m here with Tobias Holenstein from Maono. I’m saying it wrong again. Is that right?
Tobias Holenstein: Yeah, Maono. Yeah, you’re almost right.
Allison: All right. You’ve got a lot of microphones here, but we’re going to try to do a quick tour to get an idea of the offerings you have.
Tobias Holenstein: Yeah, sure. Let’s take a quick look at the podcasting mics. Right here, this is our best dynamic microphone. It’s both XLR and USB. This is called the Maono PD400X.
Tobias Holenstein: And then if we make our way around here, we have another dynamic microphone. This would be just like one step below that one. This is called the Maono PD200X. It’s also both XLR and USB. Actually, most of our dynamic microphones are both USB and XLR.
Allison: So what’s the difference between these two microphones?
Tobias Holenstein: This one, I believe, in my opinion, it has…
Allison: He’s pointing at the 400.
Tobias Holenstein: Yes, I’m pointing at the 400 over there, which is the more expensive one. I’d say that one has maybe a more of a warm sound compared to, say, the 200X, which is this one right here.
Allison: All right. You have them both plugged into an interface here.
Tobias Holenstein: Yes, this is the Maono PS22 audio interface. This is our best audio interface that I would usually recommend for people interested in podcasting. It has individual phantom power for both inputs in case you are using a condenser microphone, but it also supplies enough gain to power these dynamic microphones.
Allison: And what’s the price point on the PS22?
Tobias Holenstein: $120.
Allison: That’s not bad. That’s really nice. It’s got pretty blinky lights, too.
Tobias Holenstein: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Allison: And what is the price point on these two microphones, the PS200 and 400?
Tobias Holenstein: The PD200X goes for around $70, and then the PD400X goes for about $150.
Allison: Those are pretty competitive prices. Now, we got a third one over here. We’re going to walk around the table. Keep going. And now this one is more of a rectangular, odd-looking shape. This is kind of fun, and it’s got colorful lights on the back. What is this?
Tobias Holenstein: Yeah, so this is the PD100X. This is going to be the least expensive out of the three. I would recommend this one, maybe more for gaming, but it could also work for podcasting as well.
Allison: Okay. And how much is this one?
Tobias Holenstein: This one, I believe, is going for $55 right now.
Allison: Okay. That’s very cool-looking. So it’s got to be gaming because it’s fun on the back, right?
Tobias Holenstein: Yeah.
Allison: All right. Now, you’ve got some lavalier mics over here, I wanted to take a look at. We’re going to keep Steve moving as much as possible as we go around here.
Tobias Holenstein: Yeah, we have several different lav mics here. This one right here, this is the T5. It comes with a charging case. You can use these microphones for up to eight hours and with the charging case up to 20 hours.
Allison: I wonder whether we’re… Oh, Steve still has it on. I’m going to make sure this gets back in your pocket. We took that off. I noticed there’s one missing.
Tobias Holenstein: Yeah.
Allison: So what we’re looking at here is a little charging case, maybe a little bit bigger than an AirPods Pro case, with two magnetical lavalier mics that pop in here and looks like they charge in the case. And I’m going to leave that sitting there while I talk. And then you’ve got a little piece that plugs into the bottom of the phone. They’ve got a USB-C model and I think a lightning model right next to it here.
Tobias Holenstein: Yes, we do have a lightning model. And we have a lightning model, and also a 3.5 millimeter for the camera.
Allison: Oh, okay. So now the idea is you plug this little receiver into a phone and then what happens?
Tobias Holenstein: Yeah, you could use any recording app or even what I like to do is just record a video and then the audio will automatically be on your video.
Allison: Oh, so you don’t even need a specialized piece of software. Oh, that’s cool.
Tobias Holenstein: Yeah, yeah.
Allison: And what is this model called again?
Tobias Holenstein: The T5.
Allison: And how much is the T5?
Tobias Holenstein: I’m actually not sure because I believe it’s not even released yet.
Allison: Okay, so we should look to the website to see when that gets released. You’re not sure when it’s coming out either?
Tobias Holenstein: Probably soon, but I can’t say for sure. Oh, sorry, our website and also everything’s on Amazon.
Allison: And your website is at?
Tobias Holenstein: maono.com
Allison: And you’re going to spell that for everybody?
Tobias Holenstein: Yeah, M-A-O-N-O dot com.