Maono GamerWave Condenser USB Gaming RGB Microphone – Review

Do you want to be a streamer? Maybe make some Youtube videos? But you’re on a budget? The Maono GamerWave Condenser USB Gaming RGB Microphone (formerly known as the Maono DM20 Gaming USB Microphone) is aimed right at you. Having great sound is extremely important, but microphones usually aren’t cheap. The Maono GamerWave doesn’t break the bank, but here we’ll look at how it performs.

Open and Start

The Maono GamerWave Gaming USB Microphone comes with the microphone itself, an attached stand, a pop filter, a shock mount, a hinged joint, a manual, and a USB cable that conveniently connects to both USB A and USB C.

Opening the box, my first impression was how small it is. The body is about 11cm tall. For comparison, the Blue Yeti and EPOS B20 are both about 18cm tall. This makes it great for a portable setup.

It’s easy to set up. The pop filter, shock mount, and stand are already attached to the microphone. Plug in the cable and it should be ready to go – great for newbies, which seems to be the aim here. It comes with a manual that tells you how to set it up on Windows and MacOS, though I found it was already on the recommended settings when I tried. It works on the PlayStation 5 by default too. There is one extra step you may need to take, but that comes later in the review.

Build and Functions

You can tell that the Maono GamerWave Condenser USB Gaming RGB Microphone is for streaming and gamers right off. It has a nice bright RGB light changing color as soon as it’s plugged in. This fades through several patterns. If this isn’t for you, it can be switched to one of many solid colors or just turned off at the press of a button. On the topic of buttons, there’s a convenient one for one-touch muting or activating a built-in noise cancellation too.

The mic gain dial is worth a mention. It’s at the base and turns easily. A small detail, but one oddly omitted in some microphones is that it clearly shows which way is louder. If you want to monitor the sound, a phono port is included. This will be particularly helpful in setting it up.

I’ve found that the built-in pop filter works well to reduce plosives in testing. Considering that these usually need to be bought separately, it’s a nice addition.

The one downside in terms of the build is the stand. It works well enough, but it does seem to be made of cheap plastic that could be broken without difficulty. You get what you pay for and it doesn’t affect the sound, so it’s fair enough.

The Sound

Onto the most important aspect – how does the Maono GamerWave sound?

It’s a cardioid condenser microphone, with a single polar pattern, unlike some higher-end microphones. While restricted, most gamers would only be using this pattern anyway. It’s aimed toward picking up your speech, and I’ve found it does so with a good amount of detail, and without noticeable background noise. It’s certainly not as clear as a higher-end one such as the EPOS B20, but it is about one-fifth of the price as that. Still, it does the job much better than headset microphones. The lack of background noise gives it a point above many other streamer microphones too.

The difficulty here is the volume. I found it rather quiet, even on the highest setting, with the microphone set up on Windows at 100% volume as the instructions in the box said and speaking into it from the correct direction. What’s more, if the noise cancellation is activated, it was even quieter. I know that you need to get close to these types of microphones at times, but even that didn’t help much.

I tried the Maono GamerWave in a few situations. On a Windows PC with Audacity, OBS, and Discord were first. I then tried it on the PlayStation 5. Each of these resulted in about the same lack of volume. When the mic gain was turned all the way up and the software settings were at maximum too, it was just about loud enough. To reach the volume I wanted, I had to further boost it by 10db, which does take away from the ease of setup that it boasts in all other areas.

The sound was still nice and clear when boosting it through gain filters with no background sound, so this wouldn’t cause much of a problem for streaming through OBS or recording. Using it for Discord might require users to speak up a little though.

Verdict

While the low volume is a sticking point, the Maono GamerWave Condenser USB Gaming RGB Microphone provides a clear sound with a lot of detail. It hits far above its budget price point and should make a great first microphone for the streamer on a tight budget.

MAONO GAMERWAVE CONDENSER USB GAMING RGB MICROPHONE IS RECOMMENDED

Looking for more hardware? Maybe a headset to go with the microphone? How about our review of the Gioteck TX70 Wireless Headset or the Logitech G432 Headset?

Many thanks go to Maono for providing a review unit for this title.