Thronmax MDrill One Pro Overview
Like many of the microphones we have looked at recently, the MDrill One Pro offers quite a few built-in features that make it well suited for getting serious about your audio quality. The three 16mm internal condenser capsules allow for four polar patterns, which expands the use-cases for the MDrill One Pro.
Taking the MDRill One Pro from its protective travel case revealed to us that the microphone and stand are comprised of both plastic and metal, which results in a solid, yet not too heavy desktop configuration. The upper portion of the microphone body is comprised of a single piece of metal, with thin vertical slots that make their way around the perimeter of the microphone body. This design is named Vertigain, and Thronmax claims up to 10% more quality and clarity compared to other digital USB microphones. Their reasoning is that sound waves move in a vertical direction, and are not scattered by a microphone mesh. We aren’t 100% sure of Thronmax’s claims, and we do wonder about their legitimacy, as we can clearly see a mesh-like material behind the vertical slots.
Moving down to the lower half of the microphone, we first encounter four icons and associated LED indicators for the four available polar patterns of the MDrill One Pro. From left to right, the patterns are indicated; Cardioid, Stereo, Bi-Directional, and Omni-Directional. Depending on the mode selected, the associated blue LED below the symbol will light up.
Just below the polar pattern indicators is vertically aligned section of polished plastic with a button at the top and bottom for mute and polar pattern selection, respectively. The mute button shines bright green when the microphone is live, and red when muted. And when we say shine, we mean it. The LED indicators on the MDrill One Pro are almost distractingly bright. Pressing the lower button cycles through the polar pattern selections, which are also accompanied with very bright LEDs.
Situated between the two buttons is what Thronmax describes as a “Smart LED Indicator”. This digital display shows the levels of microphone gain and headphone volume when each of the associated knobs is adjusted, and the color of the display changes depending on which setting is being adjusted. That’s about as smart as this indicator is, and we think Thronmax is just throwing around a buzzword to see if it sticks. We will admit though, that the lighting indicators for the associated levels does give the MDrill One Pro a pretty cool look.
Turning the MDrill One Pro around to the back presents us with the aforementioned control dials for microphone gain and headphone volume. These large dials are easy to adjust, and have a nearly 360-degree rotation. Just below the dials is the only indication of the microphone brand, as a Thronmax logo and nameplate are printed on the body of the microphone.
Looking at the bottom of the microphone body, we see a few openings, each with its own dedicated functionality. The first is the 1/8″/3.5mm audio jack for real-time monitoring. This port lets you hear exactly what is being picked up by the microphone with zero latency. Also found on the bottom of the microphone is the USB Type-C port for connecting the included cable. Additionally, there is a small recessed button for cycling through seven colors of mood lighting at the bottom of the microphone, which is a neat touch, but might be lost on many users. And finally, there is a 5/8″ threaded microphone stand connector for directly mounting the microphone to a microphone arm.
Speaking of arms and stands, the MDrill One Pro comes preinstalled in a desktop stand with tilt functionality. Two plastic arms extend up from the base of the stand, holding it in place, while a plastic-handled bolt on each side tightens the microphone to your desired orientation. We did notice when examining the microphone and stand that there is quite a bit of flex in the stand’s arms, which made the whole package feel a bit cheap. So while the entire base has some heft to it, the vertical arms are definitely wimpy. The bottom surface of the base has a large rubber pad to keep the combination in place on your chosen surface.
