M-Audio M Monitor Duo HD Producer Pack Evaluation: Scorching Takes, Chilly Opens

M-Audio has packaged every thing this individual would want in a tidy little field with its M Monitor Duo HD producer pack. It features a two-channel class-compliant audio interface, an M100 condenser mic, a pair of HD41 headphones, a mic clip, a USB-C cable to attach the interface to your pc or cell machine, and an XLR cable to attach the mic to the interface—all for the low worth of $200. Other than a mic stand (we love this desk clamp growth arm stand from Innogear) and the unearned confidence vital to talk right into a mic for hours about all kinds of esoteric subjects, you want nothing else than what’s on this field to get began. Plug a couple of issues in, hearth up OBS or your favourite DAW, alter the achieve on the mic preamp, and get to work.

The interface is a light-weight field of plastic that’s in regards to the dimension of a VHS tape or a self-help guide you’d purchase at an airport bookstore. The entrance panel has two combo XLR quarter-inch enter jacks, each of which have separate line and instrument degree impedance selectors. A 48-volt swap permits phantom energy for each inputs without delay, which is crucial to energy the included condenser mic or a Cloudlifter when you determine to go full-on PodBro and improve to a dynamic mic. There’s additionally a single quarter-inch TRS headphone jack and a three-way selector that dictates whether or not a direct mono, direct stereo, or USB sign feeds the dual-mono quarter-inch tip-sleeve output jacks on the again of the field.

Every channel has its personal achieve knob on the highest of the unit, with an indicator gentle under that flashes white when a sign is current and crimson when the sign is clipping. Every preamp has 55 dB of achieve on faucet, which is greater than sufficient to show even the meekest of Groups assembly NPCs into audible, lively members. The movement of the knob is easy and jitter-free till you hit the final 10 p.c of its sweep, at which level some ambient digital noise seemingly clicks on and off as if it have been triggered with a swap. That is approach an excessive amount of achieve for any sensible utility as a result of quantity of clipping it’s prone to trigger, so this isn’t a serious concern for anybody who’s spent half-hour or so dialing of their ranges and getting a really feel for the factor.

A Mic for the Plenty

The included condenser mic pairs nicely with the preamp within the interface. It’s a unipolar large-diaphragm condenser mic, which in normie language means the steel grate that covers the entrance of the mic is the place you’ll wish to level your voice, as an alternative of the again. Condenser mics are way more delicate to ambient noise than a dynamic mic, which is each an upside and a draw back. A condenser mic works nicely a bit farther out of your face than a dynamic mic, however you’ll want to spice up the achieve to choose up your voice at a better distance. This picks up extra background noise as nicely, which might result in some embarrassing moments on Zoom calls when, say, the small flock of fowl your neighbor is illegally housing of their storage begins clucking nervously when a rubbish truck rattles down the block. Fortunately, Zoom has first rate built-in noise suppression instruments, so this was simple to deal with with none further plugins or {hardware}.

The mic handles an ordinary male talking voice fairly nicely. I’m not absolutely skilled on pensive NPR-speak simply but, however my customary tech-guy patter broadcast as clear as a bell with the mic 6 inches from my face, and the achieve knob turned as much as round 3 o’clock. The mic doesn’t have a high-pass filter swap to roll off low-end rumble from unintentional bumps into the stand or the mic itself, so that you’ll must take care to keep away from fumbles that trigger loud thumping noises when you choose larger achieve and a bit extra distance out of your mouth to the mic.