The MAONO PM422 is the perfect microphone for video creators, musicians and online streamers. It even comes with useful accessories such as an articulated boom arm, pop filter, shock mount and wind cover for the mic!

The MAONO PM422 microphone uses a printer type USB-B connection located at the bottom of the microphone and the microphone grille mesh capsule at the top, concealing the cardiod capsule. On the front of the MAONO PM422 microphone body, there is a touch sensitive mute control, mic gain control knob (to make the microphone louder or quieter) and 3.5mm audio jack for live monitoring. 

 

The mic gain knob is made of threaded metal (for grip) and has a strong resistance which provides a nice tactile feedback. The mic gain knob sits on top of a standard potentiometer with stops for 0% gain and 100% gain.  It's nice that the mic gain knob has a white arrow marking to help set the mic gain to 50%.

 

You can also control the microphone volume via a computer. If using a Windows computer you can adjust the microphone volume level (and sample rate) from the recording tab in Sound control panel. From the playback tab, you will see the MAONO PM422 microphone is recognized as a speaker playback device. This is because of the 3.5mm audio port built-in, which is designed for monitoring the microphone pickup in real time. The microphone's 3.5mm audio port also works as an audio passthrough so, you can listen to audio from the computer.

The MAONO PM422 microphone mute touch control has a status ring led around it to show when the mic is muted (red) and unmuted (cyan). The MAONO PM422 microphone weighs 329 grams and, it is made of solid metal with 3 metal mesh guards protecting the capsule. The microphone has a cool vintage styling and measures 16cm tall and 5cm in diameter.

As mentioned earlier, the MAONO PM422 microphone comes with accessories. There is the spring loaded scissor arm, which is basically an articulated microphone desk stand/suspension boom arm. 

 

The articulated boom arm is made of black anodized hollow zinc alloy (so it's very lightweight) and integrates several metal springs and thumbscrew to allow you to retract and adjust the boom arm and position the microphone at different angles. The articulated boom arm also integrates a long aluminum threaded pin (M22 thread size) to connect the shock absorber mount. 

The MAONO PM422 shock absorber mount weighs 67 grams and measures 9cm in diameter. It comes with 4 suspension rubber bands and a M22 thread built-in to attach to the articulating boom arm. The threaded ring in the centre of the shock mount is made of metal and designed to screw the MAONO PM422 microphone or any other microphone that fits.

The articulated boom arm weighs 333 grams and measures 80cm long and has a height of 40cm when clamped on to a desk. The boom arm also has a pivoting joint for the shock mount, which allows you to rotate the microphone up side down so, you can use the microphone like you do in a recording music booth.

 

The pop filter weighs 155 grams and it is attached to a non-detachable metal memory wire and clamp for attaching the pop filter to the articulated boom arm. The memory wire is 36cm long and bendable, just like the boom arm of a gaming headset, allowing you to position the boom arm at any angle you want. 

 

The pop filter enclosure is 1cm thick, 15cm in diameter and, it is made of plastic with two layers of fabric mesh (similar to spandex material). The pop filter clamp has a G-clamp design with foam padding and a rubberized long metal screw to prevent scratching the articulated boom arm.

The MAONO desk clamp weighs 124 grams and, it is made of metal and works similarly to a metalwork/woodwork G-clamp so, it has two clamping jaws that clamp via an adjustable threaded screw. The desk clamp also has foam padding on one of the jaws for extra grip and prevent the clamp from scratching the desk. The purpose of the desk clamp is to hold the articulated boom arm via a quick release thumbscrew.

 

The MAONO PM422 is suited for vocals, streaming (on Twitch, YouTube, etc), in-game chatting, recording a band upclose and online conference calls on Zoom and Microsoft Teams. It is ideal for recording speech and close-miking (recording very close to the sound source of the sound being recorded, typically no more than 12 inches).

 

 Being a cardiod microphone, the MAONO PM422 microphone technically picks sound from the front and sides only but, it will also pick sound from the top and rear (see video test). 

 

The quality of the MAONO PM422 cardiod capsule is very good, picking up voice clearly and naturally with full depth so, it's able to capture a wide range of voices (e.g. baritone voice, bass voice, etc). There is no noise filtering built-in to the MAONO PM422 mic capsule so, you will need to use software (e.g. Audacity) with noise removal tool and EQ to clean out the recording.

 Potential deal breakers with the MAONO PM422 microphone, it uses the old style USB-B standard and there is no USB-B to USB-C cable for USB-C only devices such as MacBooks. That said, you can buy a USB-B to USB-C cable very cheaply. The microphone is a cardioid-only microphone so, you cannot change the pickup pattern and, there is no volume control for headphone monitoring.

 

Selling points for the MAONO PM422 microphone. It includes replacement rubber bands for the shock mount. Comes with a useful gold plated copper threaded adapter (5/8" male to 3/8" female) that allows you to use the boom arm with other shock mounts, 3/8" threaded microphones and other equipment. The MAONO PM422 kit has a premium construction, responsive touch mute control, easy installation and good user guide with diagrams showing you how to install the kit. 

The MAONO PM422 is more versatile than an XLR microphone too because it uses a USB connection so, it connects directly to the USB port on a computer, making it more convenient to use. An XLR mic such as the Maono PM320 requires such as the Maono PM320 that you have an external recording interface or a digital I/O in order to use an XLR microphone.the The MAONO PM422 mic also has zero latency monitoring, it is plug and play (no software required) and compatible with Windows and Mac computers.

Accessories included are a microphone desk suspension boom arm, adjustable pop filter, desk clamp (for the boom arm), windscreen foam mic cover (7 grams) and a 2.5 meter long USB cable (USB-A to USB-B). The cable weighs 86 grams and has a premium construction (entirely rubberized and thick) with MAONO branding. You can buy the MAONO PM422 microphone kit from amazon. Check out the review of MAONO's WM820 A2 wireless microphone system