Elgato Wave:1 Microphone Review
Peter Donnell / 5 years ago
How Much Does it Cost?
It’s pretty fairly priced at £129.99 for the hardware and features you get. However, the HyperX QuadCast has a lot of cool features of its own and is about £10 cheaper. The Razer Seiren X is about £30 cheaper, and honestly, that’s no slouch either. But I still think Elgato has the edge due to their class-leading software.
Overview
If you’re going to spend £100 on a microphone, you’re not short of options. There are some great ones out there. Elgato is a little more expensive but I think their brand is strong enough that they can get away with it. Corsair is often a little more expensive on their high-end stuff too so it’s to be expected. However, if you’ve got Elgato Keylight, green screen, multi-mount, Dock, and Stream Deck, or any combination of them, you’re going to complete the set.
Streamdeck
That’s the strongest card in the deck for me. A lot of streamers and gamers are using Streamdeck. The powerful shortcut and macro controller is a big hit. Being able to set gain levels, adjust the mix and more on the fly while you’re gaming is a big advantage. Rival products require you to tab out to their software to do any major adjustments. Is that worth paying a little more for? Absolutely.
Build Quality
It’s pretty robust overall, and it looks ultra-clean and stylish at the same time. Aesthetics are a big deal for streaming. You want your channel to look professional and Elgato has nailed that part nicely. Plus, they’ve used quality materials throughout, and it really is the sum of its parts there. The Type-C cable is a welcome addition too, one less thing to fuss about.
More is More
The Wave:1 is impressive and I think it’s more than enough for just about any streamer or those recording at home. However, they’ve also launched the Wave:3, which offers a touch-sensitive mute button, on-board input gain controls, crossfade control, and offers u a 96 kHz sample rate. That model is £159.99. Which one is right for you? Well, that’s for you to decide, but I’m quite happy with the Wave:1 myself. Andy’s been using the Wave:3 on our YouTube, check it out here.
