Thronmax MDrill One Pro Usage
Installing the MDrill One Pro is a simple task, thanks to its USB connectivity and plug-and-play configuration. The included three meter braided USB cable is of good quality, and has a good amount of flexibility; not overly stiff like some braided cables can be. Once the microphone is connected to your PC or Mac, it will be listed as the “Thronmax MDrill One Pro” in both recording and output settings. These devices can be selected in your audio applications of choice, and once that is set, the MDrill One Pro is ready to get to work!
Most of our time spend with the MDrill One Pro has been in podcasting and gaming sessions, and in both instances the microphone performed quite well. When used with the included stand, and placed in front of our keyboard, we did need to use a fairly high gain level in order to fully capture our voice. Once mounted to our microphone arm however, we were able to turn the gain down a bit, as the microphone was much closer to our mouth in this use case.
As only a single audio source was tested with, we used the cardioid polar pattern for our testing, resulting in good audio pick up in front of the microphone, and reduced pickup to the sides and behind, where our keyboard and mouse were making audible sounds. We used the MDrill One Pro both in front of and behind our keyboard, and while we did get better results with the microphone in front of our keyboard, it was definitely in the way when typing or playing games. The included stand is nice to have, and does a pretty good job, but we were happy to see the inclusion of not only a microphone stand connection on the body of the microphone itself, but also the included boom adapter to get it up and away from our peripherals and close to our mouth for better pickup.
There are a few things we want to point out with the MDrill One Pro. First is that the microphone definitely picks up a lot more ambient sounds than what we have experienced with other microphones. Our testing environment is typically pretty quiet, but there can be times were someone might be talking outside the room and the microphone was picking up that sound. This also results in a lot more keyboard and mouse sounds being transmitted or recorded than we would like. This behavior was present in every polar pattern, and with and without the foam windscreen. Second, the audio from the MDrill One Pro seemed a bit echoey, which was noted in multiple conversations we had using the microphone. These two items definitely don’t keep the MDrill One Pro from being a good upgrade from an integrated headset microphone, but they are definitely worth noting in this review.
As we have noted in our previous microphone reviews, the sound quality improvement when moving from a headset-based microphone to a dedicated condenser-style microphone is night and day. Below is a sample audio recording from the Thronmax MDrill One Pro, as well as some of our previously reviewed microphones.
Thronmax MDrill One Pro
Samson G-Track Pro
MXL BCD-1
MXL Tempo
HyperX QuadCast
Corsair VOID Pro
Final Thoughts
With Thronmax being a new name to us, we weren’t really sure what to expect from the MDrill One Pro and its associated Studio Kit. As it turns out, this kit is a pretty good deal, at just $99 at our favorite online retailer. That includes not only the MDrill One Pro microphone with its four polar patterns and latency-free monitoring, but a carrying case, pop filter and foam windscreen, desktop stand, and associated cables and adapters. The only thing missing from making this a complete kit, in our opinion, is a microphone stand or arm. Fortunately, Thonmax does offer their Caster Boom Stand, which is available for $88.
The build quality of the microphone is sufficient for most uses, being a mix of a really nice metal upper portion, and a somewhat cheap feeling plastic lower section. Additionally, the stand’s plastic arms are quite flimsy, which really brought down the quality level, in our opinion. As far as sound quality goes, the overall results were much better than those found on an integrated headphone microphone, but falling behind some of our previously reviewed microphones like the Samson G-Track Pro, MXL BCD-1, and HyperX QuadCast. The inclusion of four polar patterns is a great feature, as it helps this microphone be a suitable option for many types of audio recording situations. We just wish the results weren’t so echoey, and that there was a bit less pickup of ambient sounds. All things considered, the Thronmax MDrill One Pro Studio Kit gives you just about everything you need to get started with good quality audio recording, and earns a 7 out of 10.
Pros:
- Four Polar Patterns: Cardioid, Stereo, Bi-Directional, Omni-Directional
- Built-In Gain and Volume
- Latency-Free Monitoring
- Mono & 2-Track Recording
- No Drivers Required
- Good Accessories Bundle
Cons:
- Echoey Audio
- Lots of Ambient Sound Pickup
- Flimsy Stand