To prevent the signal from clipping, there is some cutting-edge analog-digital hybrid processing in use, which is helpful for podcasters and gamers but may sound a little too processed for musical vocalists. also, you can check our article on Elgato Wave 3 review. We had the chance to try the Elgato Wave 3 microphone after spending some time testing the Yeti X, another option that kept coming up when we looked into which microphones people liked to use when game streaming. A lot of people will vouch for one over the other; one person even commented on a tweet about our Yeti X review to claim that the Wave 3 was superior, but we think they’re fairly comparable. However, they are both excellent in terms of audio quality, with the Wave 3 offering us a little less room for criticism.
Design
The Elgato Wave 3 is incredibly attractive thanks to its silky matte-black appearance. Due to its low profile style, it takes up less room in your workspace. A sturdy 6.5-foot USB-C cable that is already linked to the microphone’s weighted, circular black base. You also receive an adapter so you can, if you like, connect the mic to a boom arm. One multifunction gain knob, located on the front of the Wave 3, switches between controlling the headphone volume and the mic/pc audio mix when pressed. LED lights that have been artfully incorporated into the microphone’s front face beautifully indicate each of these functions. The LED lights above the multifunction gain knob serve to individually register the volume for each of the three speakers. The top-mounted capacitive mute button, which is seamlessly integrated, is our favorite feature of this microphone. It only requires a light tap to mute, but it isn’t too sensitive that you won’t accidentally mute while recording. The 3.5mm headphone monitoring jack and USB-C input are both located on the Wave 3’s back. Although the Wave 3 USB microphone grille is constructed of metal, most of the device is composed of plastic. It’s good, however other rivals primarily produce metal and alloy microphones, which somewhat detracts from the Wave 3’s quality appearance. But we must admit that there is nothing inherently cheap about this mic. Unlike the Blue Yeti Nano (1.4 pounds), which feels solid throughout thanks to its all-metal construction, the majority of the weight (1.3 pounds, which is the combined weight of the capsule and stand) is in the base. The Elgato Wave 3 is ideal for travelling with and carrying around for streaming, podcasting, and conducting interviews on the go because of its lightweight plastic construction.
Elgato Wave 3 review: Feature
It is commonly known that the Yeti and Quadcast have additional settings appropriate for presenting interviews or a two-person podcast. In contrast, the Wave 3 only records in that direction. Some people might find this to be a deal-breaker, however even though I do record other kinds of content, my microphones are almost always in cardioid mode. It also eliminates the possibility of new streamers being set up incorrectly because it is the mode single-person streamers should be using to sound their best. It doesn’t feel like a significant omission given that the majority of streamers will never use those other modes, especially when weighed against the extra features it does offer. Even before considering the Wave’s mixing capabilities, Elgato has removed a lot of the guesswork from optimizing the audio on your broadcast. There is a headphone connector on the rear for zero-latency monitoring, which allows you to monitor your levels in real-time. Elgato’s ClipGuard built-in compressor will prevent you from peaking and distorting your audio if you become too loud during your stream. It contains a built-in pop filter that actually works, and ClipGuard improves it by eliminating plosive distortion. Even a hardware-based low cut filter is included to reduce voice boominess. You’ll need to experiment to determine what sounds best for you because this may make you sound a little thinner. You won’t ever have to be concerned about your audience not hearing you, that much is certain. Despite the fact that the microphone sounds best when it is six inches from your mouth, there is enough gain to be heard properly from a distance of up to several feet if you need to get up or move while streaming. There is an amazing amount of headroom if you need to leave and want to continue speaking, however turning up the gain causes additional background noise to enter the mic. The mic doesn’t start to sound extremely thin until you’re a good two feet away, which is crucial. We were amazed at how rich our voice still sounded even when we were sitting a little more than a foot away on our desk. However, you’ll get much better, much cleaner results with the mic close to your mouth unless you’re sound treating your room, and the included stand is simply too short for that. Only a few inches are added to the microphone’s height, and Elgato neglected to include any kind of extension in the box. It’s unfortunate that you have to purchase an additional stand in order to use the mic to its full potential. With the exception of the typical desk stand, the Wave 3 is already a popular option for streamers based only on hardware. It gets to a whole other level when you combine it with the Wave Link programme.
Software
The Wave 3 features proprietary software created to improve its performance, just like the majority of USB microphones on the market. It takes little time to install the Wave Link software. You can control up to eight additional audio inputs and resources your computer is using in addition to having more control over the mic gain, headphone volume, and mic/pc mix. you can read our article on Elgato Wave 3 review. You can also control resources that aren’t part of the microphone, like audio that comes from your web browser or even another USB microphone that’s connected to your computer. With the help of this master digital mixing board, you can easily create two separate output mixes—one for you and one for your audience—while collaborating with other programmes like OBS, Audacity, or Elgato’s own Stream Deck to provide the user with a wide range of options and control. However, Elgato’s Wave Link software is by far the most important feature. It is impossible to connect more than one microphone and record distinct audio tracks for each microphone or audio source, as the majority of PC content developers are aware. On a Mac, you can (kind of) do it using Garageband, but it can still be a hassle. No matter the operating system, Wave Link makes multi-mic recording effortless. Additionally, it uses a user interface that is simple to learn.
Elgato Wave 3 review: Sound Quality
The Elgato Wave:3’s audio quality can be enhanced by software adjustments, although the streaming microphone functions well out of the box. This offers the mic credit for portability and ease of use. It’s not a flexible quasi-studio model with a selection of polar patterns, explaining why a mic takes up sound in certain directions. It’s best to look elsewhere, such as the Yeti X or the HyperX Quadcast, if you’re looking for a microphone that can be used for both your at-home re-recording of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and other purposes. The Wave:3 solely has a cardioid arrangement, in contrast to those aforementioned microphones. This polar pattern accentuates sounds that are close to the microphone’s diaphragm. As a result, rather than being a jack of all crafts, the mic is designed to be a master of the vocal streamer mic game. Additionally, it sounds really good. The Elgato Wave:3’s high end clarity and richness stood out when we utilized it, which is useful for discussing gameplay footage. And that wasn’t burdened with the tinny or cheap sound. No matter how loudly you shriek as you open FUT packs or win in Fortnite, The Wave:3 is full-bodied, sounds professional, and will make sure your streams remain very listenable. This is made possible by the Wave:3’s stealthy killer feature, a strong compressor/limiter called Clipguard by Elgato that prevents you from ever peaking. We spoke into this device at a distance of 0.5 inches while turning the volume up to its highest setting, and it continued to resist us. That’s not to say it sounded completely agreeable in those circumstances, but it’s much more comfortable to the ear to hear a limiter kick in aggressively than to hear the fuzz of a distorted signal. It’s a very useful feature. Additionally, the Wave:3 is capable of high-res audio recording in up to 24-bit / 96 KHz, despite being primarily designed for compression-based services like Twitch or YouTube. That’s useful to have on hand in case you decide at some point to start podcasting at a higher quality than livestreams permit. Even at extremely high output levels, headphone monitoring is excellent, defying peaking and distortion, which tells much about the circuitry in this mic. Of course, having the monitoring volume level easily available on that front dial is incredibly convenient. Despite all these wonderful features, the Wave:3’s recordings have significantly less low end than Blue’s Yeti X. Both microphones have excellent tones, but the Yeti X is superior for picking up a little bit more of those bass frequencies.
Performance
Before sending the audio to a stream, we always test our microphones using simulated recordings in Audacity to hear the unedited, uncompressed audio. The clarity was simply amazing. Compared to our Yeti, the Wave 3’s clear, natural sound gave our voice a little bit more “bite.” Elgato did not provide a frequency response graph, but our vocals gained a little extra edge from the slightly elevated middle frequencies. Because of this tuning, the microphone sounded slightly less warm while remaining rich and improved the ability of our voice to be heard over game audio. But, like other streaming microphones, the desktop stand is inadequate. It can be used if you have no other option because of the considerable amount of gain, but doing so demands you to let in additional noise from your surroundings. Elgato advises keeping the microphone “two fists” from your mouth (6-8 inches), but using the included stand, we had to stoop and lean in order to do so. We wasted no time mounting it on a boom arm with the provided adapter so that we could sit comfortably and enjoy the Wave 3’s rich, crisp sound. Without a doubt, we communicated clearly whether we were playing a game in real time or speaking with pals on Discord. On a conference call, a coworker even mentioned how much better our microphone was than everyone else’s. It even worked flawlessly when we used it to record voiceover for a tech review on our individual YouTube channels. The Wave 3 would be a fantastic vocal mic even if there was no audio mixing involved. also you will learn our article on Elgato Wave 3 review. But the value here really becomes clear when Wave Link is factored into the calculation. We really don’t need another box on our desk with our computer setup, Stream Deck, lighting, headphones, and decorations. Despite using GoXLR for about a year, combining the Wave 3 with our Stream Deck allows us to use nearly all of its features without any additional hardware. Even without the Stream Deck, we can still get close by taking a few extra seconds to double-check that the software has our levels set correctly.
Elgato Wave 3 review: Price and availability
Conclusion
One of our favorite and most underappreciated streaming microphones is the Elgato Wave 3. We don’t hear about this microphone mentioned enough, but we keep mentioning it because of its low cost, potent capabilities, and supportive software ecosystem. Elgato Wave 3 is a pretty specialized product, unlike many of the mics we get to work with here at Musician Nerd. It has advantages and disadvantages to be built and delivered for a certain niche of the microphone market. Given its lower versatility, we will be expecting it to deliver ten times more for the streaming market. It’s also not the most inexpensive choice in this market niche, despite being reasonably priced.
