Photo: Pete Cottell
M-Audio has packed everything this person could need into a neat little box with the M Track Duo HD mixer package. It includes a two-stage compatible audio interface, an M100 condenser mic, a pair of HD41 headphones, a microphone clip, a USB-C cable to connect the interface to your computer or mobile device, and an XLR cable to connect the microphone to the interface—all for a low price of $200. Aside from a microphone stand (we love this handheld boom boom desk stand from Innogear) and the confidence you need to speak into the microphone for hours on a variety of esoteric topics, you don’t need anything other than what’s in this box to get started. Plug in a few things, fire up your favorite OBS or DAW, adjust the gain on the mic preamp, and get to work.
Communication is a lightweight plastic box about the size of a VHS tape or a self-help book you can buy at an airport bookstore. The front panel has two combo XLR quarter-inch input jacks, both with separate line and impedance level selectors. A 48-volt switch enables phantom power for both inputs at the same time, which is essential for powering a built-in condenser microphone or Cloudlifter if you decide to go full PodBro and upgrade to dynamic microphones. There’s also one TRS one-inch headphone jack and a three-way selector that specifies whether direct mono, direct stereo, or USB signal feeds to the quarter-mono tip-inch sleeve output jacks on the back of the box.
Each channel has its own gain knob on the top of the unit, with an indicator light below that flashes white when a signal is present and red when the signal is cut off. Each preamp has 55 dB of gain on tap, which is more than enough to turn even the mildest group of NPCs into loud, active participants. The knob’s movement is smooth and steady until you reach the last 10 percent of its sweep, at which point some audible digital noise appears to click on and off as if a switch had been activated. This is by far the most profitable method of any active application due to the amount of clipping it can cause, so this isn’t too much of a concern for anyone who has spent 30 minutes or more dialing in their levels and getting a feel for the thing.
Mass Microphone
The built-in condenser microphone is a perfect match for the preamp on the interface. It’s a large-diaphragm condenser unipolar microphone, which means in normie language that the metal grate covering the front of the microphone is where you’ll want to aim your voice, instead of the back. Condenser microphones are more sensitive to ambient noise than dynamic microphones, both upwards and downwards. Convex microphones work better away from your face than dynamic microphones, but you’ll need to increase the gain to pick up your voice farther. This also raises background noise, which can lead to embarrassing moments on Zoom calls when, say, the small flock of birds your neighbor illegally housed in their garage start to panic when a garbage truck rolls over. Fortunately, Zoom has decent built-in noise compression tools, so this was easy to deal with without additional plugins or hardware.
The microphone handles a normal male speaking voice well. I’m not fully trained in NPR-speak yet, but my tech-guy patter broadcasts as clearly as a bell with a mic 6 inches from my face, and the gain band went up to about 3 o’clock. The mic doesn’t have a high-pass filter switch to remove low-end noise from accidental bumps to the stand or the mic itself, so you’ll need to be careful to avoid the blowing that causes a high-pitched sound if you choose higher gain and more distance from your mouth to the mic.
