Elgato is a brand known in the game streaming community. Its video capture devices are the go-to solutions for the YouTube gaming channel creators and superstars as well.

The company teamed up with Lewitt to make an affordable USB microphone for content creators that gives professional results.

The result is an about $160 USB mic that gives you excellent audio quality for recordings. YouTubers and Podcasters equally market the mics.

The Elgato wave 3 is high-quality, affordable hardware and an excellent software mixing panel. It makes it ideal for anyone who records podcasts, YouTube videos, voiceovers, etc.

Here we give an Elgato Wave 3 Microphone review.

Specifications

• Capsule: 17 mm Electret

• Polar Pattern: Cardioid

• Resolution: 24-bit

• Sample Rate: 48 / 96 kHz

• Frequency Response: 70 to 20kHz

• Sensitivity: -25dBFS (minimum gain) | 15dBFS (maximum gain)

• Max SPL: 120dB (140dB Clipguard engaged)

• Dynamic Range: 95dB (115dB Clipguard engaged)

• Interface: USB-C

• Dimension: 153 x 66 x 40mm / 6.0 x 2.6 x 1.6 in

• Weight: Mic & U-Mount 280g / 9.88 oz | Base 305g / 10.76 oz

• Headphone Amplifier Impedance: 16 Ohms

• IN THE BOX: Wave:3, USB-C Cable, Desktop Stand, Boom Arm Adapter, Quick Start Guide

• Price: check on Amazon

An elegant, lightweight design

The Elgato Wave 3 comes in black color. The mic is simply elegant. It is a very minimalist microphone that will take very little space on your desk. This mic is already attached to its weighted circular black base with a thick 6.5-foot USB-C cable. Also, you can get an adapter to connect the microphone to a boom arm if you want. On the front side of the mic, you will get a multifunctional knob. When you press it, switch to control headphone volume and, when pressed again, switches to control the mic/pc audio mix.

LED lights beautifully indicate all these functions that are very well designed and built into the front face of the mic.

The best part of the mic is its seamlessly integrated mute button at the top. It takes only a gentle tap to mute or unmute, yet this button is not so sensitive that you will find yourself accidentally muting in the mid recording.

You’ll get a USB Type-C port and the 3.5mm headphone jack on the backside of the wave three microphone.

The Wave 3 is a very well designed superb USB microphone, but you will notice that the grille is metal, a third of the unit is made from plastic. It is okay, but some of its competitors mostly make metal & alloy mics, but it looks and feels very good.

Most of the weight of the microphone (1.3 pounds is the combined stand and capsule weight) is in the base because it is all-metal construction, which feels very strong.

Due to its lightweight plastic design, this mic is perfect for travel.

Features

• Wave link app: with this, you can control eight audio sources, plus create two independent mixes

• Cardioid condenser capsule: capture your speeches with clarity and detail

• Proprietary clip guard technology: this technology makes distortion virtually impossible

• 24-bit/96 kHz Analog-to-Digital converter: you’ll get a professional broadcast audio quality

• Superior circuitry: this feature gives you a seamless sonic transmission throughout the entire signal chain

Stream Ready

If you want to take complete control of your audio workflow, add WaveLink as a master audio source in your OBS Studio.

Effortless Control

You have complete control over this. You can mute copyright music in your stream to avoid violations and keep listening via your monitor mix.

Smart Processing

WaveLink uses less than 1% of your CPU, and no external hardware requires for audio processing.

Audio Quality

The sound quality of the mic is superb. You can improve its sound quality through some tweaking in the software. There is a pop filter at this mic’s grille (you can buy a bigger one, too) and a 17mm electret capsule that captures sound in a cardioid pattern. It feeds a 24-bit, 96KHz analog to digital filter with some clean circuitry.

Elgato creates two additional sound features in this mic that you can enable or disable using the included WaveLink app. The first is a low cut filter, which helps eliminate unwanted background room noise or fan noise from your recordings, and the second is an excellent hardware-based limiter called Clipboard. Whenever the sounds peak above a certain threshold, then the microphone is instantly switched to a separate hardware signal path in the analog to digital converter, which is 20dB quieter. This feature effectively extends the 95dB dynamic range to 115dB.

Software

Like other USB mics on the market, the Elgato Wave 3 Microphone has its proprietary software designed to enhance its performance. The Wave Link software set up is very easy and quick.

This software gives you more control over headphone volume, mic gain, and mic/pc mix. It also allows you to control up to 8 other audio inputs and resources that your computer is using.

Also, you can control external resources outside of the mic, as audio pulled from your web browser or even an additional USB mic connected to your PC. This master digital mixing board allows you to make two independent output mixes, one is for yourself, and the other is for your audience. At the same time, it is easy to work in tandem with other software, such as Audacity, OBS, or Elgato’s Stream Deck, to give the user a great deal of control and options.

The Elgato Wave 3 Microphone: Pros & Cons

Pros

• Affordable

• Easy-to-operate onboard level controls

• Low-latency monitoring

• Free software for blending various audio sources when streaming

Cons

• No pop filter included

• No switchable mic patterns

• Not for home studio use

Conclusion

The Elgato wave:3 is a fantastic microphone. For less than $ 200 you will get a device that provides excellent sound, whether recording or live streaming. The proprietary software is straightforward to use, and it gives you the ability to control up to 8 other audio inputs and resources that your computer is using.

This Microphone is lightweight and travel-ready. Also, it looks professional.

But if you need a comparison and know the list of the best USB microphones, please read this article.

Have a good time!

Dr Walnut