When it comes to enhancing your gaming and streaming experience, having the right audio equipment can make all the difference. Enter the Maonocaster G1 NEO Audio Mixer, a versatile and feature-packed device designed to elevate your sound and give you precise control over your audio settings. With 48V phantom power, this mixer ensures your XLR microphone delivers top-notch audio clarity so your guildies can hear your rage loud and clear as they run out of range of your healing spells.
Specifications
- Current Price: $59.99 (Maono)
- Data Connectivity: USB-C
- Frequency Response: 20 Hz-20kHz
- THD: THD<0.05% 1kHz
- Headset Output Power: 20mw,32Q (1kHz,THD+N=1%)
- Sample Rate: 44kHz /16bit
- Wireless Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
- Dimension: 6.29*5.19*2in
The Maonocaster G1 NEO’s intuitive design includes one-press mic and music mute functions, two-level noise reduction, and seamless direct monitoring control. The Bluetooth input (which is incredibly fun for playing music on your phone), loopback, and custom sound effects add layers of entertainment and engagement, while the colorful RGB lighting complements all the other RGB tech in your kit. We’re still not sick of RGB, right? Right?
Before we dive any deeper, if you haven’t heard of Maono or are curious about their other products, take a look at our Maono Mic Face-Off review! I still use my PD200X microphone for gaming, streaming, and recording a little over a year later and haven’t been disappointed. It’s by far the clearest and most user-friendly mic I’ve ever used.
Maonocaster G1 NEO Features
- XLR microphone input with powerful preamp
- 48V phantom power for condenser microphone
- Bluetooth and AUX input to enrich your content
- Microphone and background music volume control
- Fast mute for inputs
- Two-level noise canceling to reduce ambient noise
- Direct monitoring and loopback switch
- USB-C for easy connection with computers and mobile devices
- Compatible with Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
So with all of its shiny bells and whistles, who exactly is the targeted audience for the Maonocaster? From previous review experience, Maono aims to fill the industry gap with budget-friendly alternatives for newcomers to gaming or streaming, and I think the Maonocaster is no exception. The G1 NEO is usable right out of the box, requiring no extra software or drivers, and comes with an in-depth manual that explains its layout and key functions. I was pleasantly surprised to also receive a bright yellow Maono-branded support card with helpful tips and links to tutorial videos as well. From the last time I reviewed my PD200X microphone, it definitely felt like Maono put more resources into their customer support and user experience.
With my microphone secured on a boom arm and ready to go, all I really had to do was to connect the XLR cable, power cord, and headphones into the back of the mixer to start playing. However, on the other end, I noticed that I was pressed for USB port space. So, I had to do a few adjustments first. Unlike some other pieces of tech, the Maonocaster G1 NEO does require a steady stream of power and can’t function off of batteries. However, the cord you use to plug into your gaming PC can absolutely double for a power cable, which is how I intended to use it. Pressing the 48V button, which lit up red to indicate its “ON” status, my microphone came in fairly loud and clear with virtually no loss in quality. My one gripe is that it sounded a little quieter than normal, so I needed to boost the gain knob considerably to make the volume even out.
One of the biggest features highlighted for the Maonocaster is the two faders with backlit buttons that let you directly control your microphone and background/music volume during a stream. They’re easy to use with decently sized buttons and smooth tracks, but I did notice that the sound seems to cut out altogether around level 2, so maybe not quite as much control as you’d think.
You might also have noticed that there is a Bluetooth button in the screenshots. The Maonocaster allows you to connect to another device via Bluetooth and play music or sound directly into your mix. For example, I could connect directly to my phone and play some of my favorite royalty-free tracks on Spotify for watchers to enjoy. I’m incredibly excited for this feature because it allows me to play eerie atmospheric music for viewers for my up-and-coming Old Gods of Appalachia tabletop game. I don’t have to stop what I’m doing to tab out of Foundry and change my music. Instead, I can just make a quick change from my phone and viewers are instantly immersed.
Let’s talk a little about the design of the Maonocaster. The Maonocaster comes in either a sleek white or black frame, either of which look great with any setup. However, I opted for the black design so it would match my Stream Deck. I’m a huge fan of the texture of the mixer because I don’t have to worry about leaving fingerprints and the feel of the soft, backlit, silicone buttons is amazing. While they’re soft to the touch, they do take a firm touch to activate, so thankfully I didn’t have much room for error when it came to accidentally pressing the wrong button. The knobs, however, are smooth and seamless. Depending on how you like your tactile feedback, this could be either a plus or a con. A tiny, inset, circular groove on the top of the knobs indicates where the marker for the volume is located but can’t be felt when you run your finger over the top. In addition to this design choice, there isn’t any physical resistance to tell you where the increments are located when increasing or decreasing volume. Personally, it doesn’t bother me much, but I might have liked a fading ring light indicator around the knob like my microphone has when I’m adjusting its volume independent of the mixer.
When it comes to the integrated features, I’ll probably never use the Voice Changer, but it’s a fun feature that works extremely well for those who like that sort of thing. There are male, female, robot, chipmunk/baby voices to choose from respectively. If I had to pick one of the voices, it would be the chipmunk voice. Maybe I could see myself using it around Christmastime when I break out the music bot in Discord.
There are also four unnamed buttons beneath the Voice Changer that can be used to record and play short sound clips back. This could be anything from music, to sound effects, to a funny quote that one of your friends said you wish the group could relive over and over again. I will, however, be using it to terrify my tabletop players with creepy door hinges, banshee wails, and other things that go bump in the night in my horror game. The one caveat with these buttons is that they only record up to about 20 seconds worth of sound, which in my opinion is plenty of room to get a few scares in. You could even program in certain sounds you’d like to play for your viewers when you reach certain milestones or want to play a funny “Thank you!” sound bite.
The Maonocaster has tons of options when it comes to setting up a stream, and it’s honestly not just for gamers. If you like to stream on TikTok or Youtube and just chat, you can actually plug in your smartphone as a streaming device, attach an accompaniment device into the input, and use your fancy XLR microphone. That’s kind of incredible! I’m more of a watcher than a content creator on TikTok, but maybe one day in the future. Regardless, I love having the option to use the Maonocaster across several devices and platforms.
However, when it comes to post-production you may run into a few issues. The Maonocaster is a “gaming audio mixer”, and as such it mixes all of your sound into one channel. While you can adjust your microphone and background volume on the fly with faders, on export you’re typically looking at all of your audio on one track. I’m still relatively new to streaming myself, so I was a little disheartened to discover this because I wanted to transfer my recordings in OBS to Youtube. After doing a little digging, I downloaded Sonar and finally found a way to split my audio the way I liked in OBS, but having Sonar take over the mixing seemed to completely cancel out the faders on the Maonocaster-which I happened to really like! I could still monitor the volume levels a bit in real time on the mixer’s levels to see if my audio was peaking, but my recording playback still showed that there wasn’t any change in sound from my faders. With that being said, all of the other functions continued to work just fine, like the SideChain, direct monitoring, voice changer, and loopback! So if any of those features are incredibly important to you, and my features of choice are definitely direct monitoring and SideChain, I think the Maonocaster is still incredibly worth it.
With that being said, the Maonocaster G1 NEO is a fantastic budget choice for new content creators of all types looking to dip their feet into streaming, or even those looking to just take their gaming to the next level. I am certainly excited to incorporate it full-time into my own streaming kit! Post-production can offer some challenges, but the headache may be worth it for all of the other features focused on mixing live.
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