A great microphone is essential nowadays when almost every part of our lives has turned virtual. No matter if you’re looking for the best microphones for gaming, streaming, virtual meetings, or just chatting, a microphone that doesn’t produce distorted sound and doesn’t emit too much noise is important to almost everyone. You probably don’t want to be the only person who makes everyone turn the volume down whenever you speak.
As a result, we’ve found that the Elgato Wave: 3 is a strong candidate for a quality microphone that won’t break the bank. There are many excellent features to explore in this Elgato Wave: 3 review so let’s see what it can offer.
Generally speaking, this microphone will serve almost anyone who uses it except for maybe professional studio use where it simply won’t be enough. However, it wasn’t intended for professional studio recordings in the first place as it has a few features that affect the sound, making it more suitable for everyday use, gaming, or streaming.
In fact, the perfect user for the Elgato Wave: 3 is often a gamer or streamer who wants to sound professional, without any distortion, background noise, or too much low-frequency emission that provokes turning down the volume on your speakers.
Another amazing use for this microphone is for podcasts. It sits extremely comfortable on any surface and all of the features it packs make it perfect for recording podcasts. You will find out exactly why as we explore its design and specifications.
When looking at the Elgato Wave: 3 for the first time, it looks like a standard podcast microphone that doesn’t attract too much attention. However, there is so much going on inside that elegant black casing. For example, this is a condenser mic, meaning it is more sensitive than dynamic microphones and yet still does a great job of avoiding background noise. However, the quieter the room the better the audio recording will be.
The Elgato Wave: 3 features a cardioid polar pattern. This basically means that it only captures the audio signals coming from the front and sides, similar to a heart shape around the center of the device. It picks up almost no signals at all coming from the back, making sure that even less background noise is detected. You can scream standing behind it and you will be barely detected.
The user interface on the Elgato Wave: 3 couldn’t be simpler. It includes an elegant dial in the front that clicks between various volume settings. It also features 3 LED lights that display sound levels. At the top of the device, you can see a touch-sensitive pad that serves as a quick way to mute the mic. The lights will glow red to show you that it is muted.
When we look at the specifications, hardware, and the overall performance of the Elgato Wave: 3, it becomes clear that this device was specifically designed for speech. Why do we say that? Well, first of all, it features a premium condenser capsule that is designed to capture verbal nuances with high precision.
The multilayered noise shield provides an excellent filter and keeps plosive noise at bay. Also, as we mentioned, the cardioid polar pattern is perfect for speaking into the mic as nothing else from behind will be detected, meaning only voice coming from the front and slightly from the sides will be recorded clearly.
Another feature that adds quality to the recordings is the popular 24bit / 96KHz recording. It’s an excellent feature that comes with the price as it allows more headroom for edits in post-production. Even drastic edits can be made without affecting too much of its quality. Lastly, the result will include crystal clear, zero-latency monitoring that is perfect for professionals.
Another highly important feature for users is whether the microphone is compatible with their device. You can rest assured knowing that the Elgato Wave: 3 is great for both PC and Mac. It features a USB-C port and auxiliary connection as well. It comes with a plastic mount that is sturdy enough to keep it in place and compact enough to prevent taking up too much space.
The Elgato Wave: 3 also includes an app called Wave Link. This is where all the magic happens and the tool that you will use to control the microphone with only a few simple clicks.
Wave Link allows you to assign buttons to perform various actions on the mic. This makes it extremely easy and quick to control. With Wave Link, you can easily control up to 7 other audio sources alongside the Wave 3 microphone.
So far, this Elgato Wave: 3 review has shown us all of the crucial takeaways regarding this condenser microphone. This mic is relatively easy to control. By simply turning a knob, you can tweak the input gain, adjust the volume when using headphones, and crossfade between the mic and PC mix instantly. If you’re looking for one of the best streaming microphones that are also perfect for gaming and recording podcasts every day, then the Elgato Wave: 3 definitely fits on that list.
After hearing about all of the important features that the Elgato Wave: 3 comes with, only you can conclude whether it’s suitable for your needs. If you’re planning on using it for recording daily podcasts, for streaming on Twitch, recording Youtube videos, simply chatting with your team while gaming, or anything similar that requires clear and noise-free voice recording, then this microphone will more than get the job done.
Standing at around $140, this is an excellent microphone that will serve you well. It’s important to know that this device is more than capable of recording crystal clear and distortion-free audio. It includes Proprietary Clipguard technology, preventing any kind of distortion whatsoever.