Practice English Speaking&Listening with: Elgato Project Wave Review - USB MIC + GOXLR = WIN | Wave:1 vs Wave:3 Explained
THE MYSTERY [voiceover, trailer, CES footage, b-roll]
At CES 2020, Elgato Gaming - the company best known for their popular and accessible video
capture cards, and more recently the Stream Deck - teased a new kind of product.
Something they’ve never done before.
They called it “Project Wave.”
It was mysterious, they tried to avoid making it obvious, they wanted everyone to guess
about what it was, they didn’t want to come out and say it.
It was clearly audio-related, but what could it be?
A mixer?
A microphone?
A GoXLR competitor?
A red herring?
[cut to camera, up close]
It’s a microphone.
It’s clearly a microphone.
CES was mostly a blur, so I was originally remembering the product trailer being much
shorter and less… obvious of what the product was, but nope, they show the entire thing
plain as day.
All the articles questioning “what ever could it be?”
feel even more silly now.
But the cool thing is - it’s not JUST a microphone.
It does have a lot more to it, functionality and tricks up its sleeve.
Despite going against a few things that I typically say are “no-nos” for streaming
microphones in 2020, this thing has actually impressed me.
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Head to eposvox.gg/nerdordie to learn more.
What Nerd or Die WON’T tell you, though, is what Project Wave actually is…
[back to video]
THE REALITY
Well congrats, “captaincool31”, you were correct.
Project wave is kind of like a USB microphone and a GoXLR all in one.
Well, before I go much further, I guess it’s worth clarifying that “Project Wave” is
not just ONE product, but two.
Possibly more later, but that’s unclear.
And if you count accessories, then it’s closer to like 5 products, but let’s not
worry about those for now.
There are two “Project Wave” microphones, the Wave:1 and the Wave:3.
They’re basically the same thing, though, and I’m not sure the Wave:1 should even
exist, but we’ll cover that later.
The main concept is actually a pairing of a wonderfully-crafted microphone with a LEWITT-made
capsule, with some pretty nice software to make your life easier as a streamer.
The “Wave Link” software runs on your computer and works very much like the GoXLR
software.
This means you get a full, multi-virtual audio cable setup registered within Windows or Mac
OS.
So yes, it’s like a USB microphone and a VIRTUAL mixer all-in-one.
But there’s no physical inputs on this thing, it doesn’t qualify as an actual mixer.
But the software can still replace one - if you are a single PC streamer - we’ll touch
on this in a moment.
[“thinker” b-roll]
IS IT A TOY?
The wave microphones as a physical product do not feel great.
Mostly made of plastic, it’s lightweight, almost cheap feeling - though they’ve made
major improvements from the earlier test products from CES - but it’s not a toy and outside
of dropping one down a flight of concrete stairs, I don’t anticipate any build quality
issues over time.
The mic shape and design resembles classic vocal mics, like you’d see on the desk of
a late night talk show host, which is pretty neat.
I wasn’t kidding about it being lightweight, though.
The mic itself is actually under the minimum weight limit for a mic arm like the Rode PSA1,
so you’ll want the pop filter and shock mount to help with that.
Cheaper mic arms should rejoice, though.
They’ll hold up fine unlike typically-heavy expensive microphones.
In the box, Elgato provides you with a USB type C to A cable - though this is only 2.0
mind you, you can use it on basically any USB port you have - a thread adapter for attaching
to boom poles, mic arms or mic stands, and the mic itself, pre-attached to the surprisingly
robust for its size desk stand.
But, as usual with USB microphones, this desk stand is… mostly useless unless you’re
a child?
It’s so short, I’m sure to develop neck problems or even WORSE posture trying to use
it like this.
That being said, it is a condenser mic and can be used from far away, so you can aim
it up a bit at you and keep it at a distance without much trouble - just keep in mind you’re
introducing more room and desk noise as a result, we’ll talk about this later.
My biggest complaint here.
Such an obvious one....
These mics only come in black.
While the “wave” is supposed to be some sort of play on “sound wave” - WAVE, PROJECT
WAVE, ELGATO’S COLOR IS BLUE, WHERE’S THE OCEAN BLUE COLORWAY VERSION?!
COME ON, TEAM!
[shot in use at desk]
A TALE OF TWO WAVES
Depending on which mic you have, the interface on them might look a tad different.
Oh yeah, and Wave:3
(that’s strange to say out loud) is a tad taller.
The Wave:1 microphone just has a single knob on the front to adjust monitoring volume to
the headphone jack and can be pressed in to mute the microphone.
The Wave:3 on the other hand has many more lights.
That’s where the “3” and “1” numbers come in.
The Wave:1 only controls one level adjustment, monitoring, whereas the Wave:3
controls 3 different levels - monitoring to headphones, gain for the microphone, and a
“balance” of the mic between real-time monitoring of the microphone and sound being
output to it via USB.
Pressing the knob in on this mic will switch between modes, with muting being delegated
to a capacitive button on the top of the mic.
The mic capsule itself in both microphones is exactly the same, so overall the sound
“quality” achieved from both will be basically identical.
The only real difference here is that the Wave:3 can operate up to 96khz, while the
Wave:1 is limited to 48khz.
Both mics operate at 24-bit.
The back of both mics is also the same.
You have a USB type C connector - but again it only needs a USB 2.0 port - and a 3.5mm
headphone jack for real-time monitoring and USB audio playback.
There’s a $30 pricetag difference between these two devices.
While I personally feel they should have gone all-in on the one microphone and having one
without all the fancy features feels a tad non-committal, I also feel there’s plenty
of people who will want the mic itself and the cool audio routing software without actually
using anything ON the mic itself, so saving $30 while doing so isn’t a bad deal.
Thankfully, their software makes it easy to not use the onboard tools.
[b-roll of both mics together]
CONDENSER DISPENSER
As I mentioned at the start, Project Wave goes against two rules I usually have for
my audio recommendations for content creation: It’s both a USB microphone AND a condenser
microphone.
I have long spoken against using condenser mics for desktop streaming setups due to the
issue of background noise and controller or keyboard and mouse noise.
Without a heavily sound-treated room, moreso than you think it should be, once you start
EQ-ing and adding compression, it’s gunna start sounding bad.
Dynamic mics are almost always a superior way to go when it comes to noise rejection,
that’s why virtually all broadcast mics are dynamic.
That being said, condenser mics do have a place, and plenty of streamers use them with
finely-tuned noise filtration without issue.
And RTX Voice makes that even easier, assuming you’re not on the new Windows 2004 May update.
[joke R_T_X it’s in your voice]
Weirdly, Elgato’s reviewer guide spent time justifying the condenser capsule choice for
“higher quality” and other weirdness, which is technically true, but if your mic
track is way more full of keyboard or ambient noise, most of that is moot.
I also frequently suggest viewers don’t invest in USB microphones because they always
come with compromises and don’t allow for much of an upgrade path and limit what additional
audio gear you can add to your chain.
You can’t plug a USB mic into analog-based audio hardware - I mean, you CAN with the
headphone out, but that’s just terrible practice.
BUT there’s also a massive market of people who want something more plug and play and
easy to use while still having some flexibility.
I think Project Wave provides that.
In fact, that ties in with why I consider the use of a condenser capsule ok in this
context, too.
Overall, condenser mics - good ones at least - don’t really need an “upgrade path”
like dynamics.
There can be some pretty big jumps in what you can do going from cheaper dynamic mics
to the big boys, but good condenser mics can kinda just be used indefinitely without a
compelling reason to “upgrade”.
Just evolve your processing skills over time.
So with the kind of audience that wants this mic - mostly a single PC streaming setup with
all the audio routing features - this is one of those “set and forget” kind of setups
where you never have to worry about upgrading.
As long as you don’t want too complex mixing, hardware processing, things like that.
For Project Wave the condenser mic capsule - which, again, was developed by LEWITT, a
legendary audio company - is still pretty nice.
It’s not going to reject much background noise at all, but the sound you get from it
is lovely.
In fact, this entire video, voiceover and all, has been recorded using the Wave:1 and
Wave:3
microphones, albeit with some post-processing applied.
Here’s how it sounds unprocessed compared to a couple competitors using my usual Lord
of the Rings quote: [Three Rings for the Elven Kings under the
sky, seven for the Dwarf Lords in their Halls of Stone, Nine for the mortal Men doomed to
die, one for the dark lord on his dark throne.
In the land of Mordor, where the Shadows lie.
One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them.
One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
In the land of Mordor, where the shadows lie.]
Overall, I like the sound you can get out of this microphone.
By default, it sounds MOSTLY natural - though feeling a little muddy on my voice and still
carrying some of that “compressed” sound that every USB mic seems to have - but can
be EQ’d to clean up and really fill out and sound great.
[Retro room LCT440 PURE] Granted, it doesn’t compete with some of
the big boy mics from LEWITT, but for a fraction of the cost I wouldn’t entirely expect it
to.
[back to main take] The default “muddiness” I feel doesn’t
allow for the natural “warmth” to my voice that I aim to re-create, something you hear
IRL but not so often over microphones, like the 440 PURE mic picks up.
But it’s super clear in the high range and not boomy at all, which is great.
This is how a microphone should sound.
You can get a nice, clear presence to cut across your background music bed, gameplay
sound, and so on.
There’s a couple settings you should be aware of with this microphone in the Wave
Link software, though.
By default (at least for my installation) there are two checkboxes enabled for the microphone,
labeled “Enhanced Lowcut Filter” and “Clipguard.”
I’m not sure what is enhanced about the lowcut filter, but since the mic is already
not very boomy and I don’t have any low frequency hum in my room, I leave that unchecked.
With it enabled, I feel like I lose even more warmth and start to have a “cold” or “tight”
feeling to my voice.
Clipguard is this mic’s secret weapon.
I absolutely love this.
Clipguard is a technology that Elgato have implemented within the analog-to-digital converter
of the mic, very similar to how some of the more expensive audio recorders operate with
a “safety track”.
Two different audio channels are run from the microphone, with the second one running
20db lower than the first.
The microphone, then dynamically switches between these tracks to circumvent any peaking
or clipping.
This means you can basically get as loud as you want without distorting.
The main mic track has 95db of dynamic range, but you get the extra 20db of range via Clipguard.
This is a KILLER feature for this microphone and makes the lives of basically all streamers
instantly better.
I’m so tired of hearing distorted, clippy and peaky audio on streams, it’s so exhausting
on the ears.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this - as I mentioned, audio recorders can do this
quite well - and I discovered during my HyperX Quadcast review that it seems to have some
sort of limiter running on it to prevent clipping, and the GoXLR has one, too that can’t be
disabled - but this might be the best execution of the idea for streaming-specific gear.
Color me impressed.
[screaming into mic samples]
Here’s what that looks like in waveforms compared to it being disabled.
Now, you should still manage your mic gain appropriately to your distance from the mic,
as cranking up the gain to max and relying on Clipguard to avoid clipping just means
you’ll have a massive noise floor compared to what you could have.
Also, this will have no impact on the tone of your voice, just levels.
Here’s a quick white noise test to see how the noise rejection feels.
Here’s a quick test while typing to hear cherry MX blues with O-rings behind this microphone.
Here’s a test from up close and far away to test for proximity effect.
Both microphones claim on the box to have a built-in pop filter.
Yet they sell a pop filter as an added accessory.
What gives?
Well here’s some plosives testing.
Now with the pop filter on.
I do appreciate that Elgato committed to the primary cardioid pickup pattern for this mic.
Many USB mics coming out from gaming companies today take the Blue Yeti clone approach of
having like 5 different pickup patterns and dual capsules in it, which no one is using
for that kind of product, and I feel it just requires more cost-saving corners to be cut.
Plus the extra controls to do all of that switching.
No such nonsense here.
So yeah, it’s a pretty solid mic.
Am I still waiting for a streamer-focused USB microphone that’s dynamic?
Yes.
Though I know one is in the works but I can’t say more than that.
BUT do I think a condenser mic is a solid choice for this product?
Also yes.
THE SOFTWARE
The main superpower of this mic that makes it stand out from all the other “just a
USB mics” out there is the Wave Link software it ships with.
Now, this software doesn’t run “on” the mic or anything, it is just software with
the mic basically acting as a hardware license key to activate and use it, but it’s very
powerful and intuitive for what it is.
When you plug in the mic and install the software, it registers about 7 virtual audio devices
to utilize for routing your sources through.
On Mac, this actually allows you to capture desktop audio sound to OBS and other streaming
programs - which isn’t possible by default, even with Apple’s own Quicktime screen recorder,
and some alternatives to set that up could cost you a hundred bucks.
Using the software and operating system routing settings you can completely separate and balance
sound from your games, music, browser, voice chat, and so on.
You have complete control over your audio mix.
Plus, you don’t even need to use the virtual audio devices they provide - you can remove
them from the queue and add other devices registered to your computer - including other
microphones and output devices.
This lets it play nicely with the GoXLR, too!
Though somehow the software overrode the icon for the GoXLR’s “Broadcast Stream Mix”
with the Wave Link icon, even though they don’t use the same device names, it’s…
weird.
The software UI is mostly intuitive, but let’s run through it quickly.
The main window presents you with your audio channels.
This is the main fader section of the mixer, if this was physical.
You can add and remove audio devices to the list, change the levels, and tweak mic settings.
You’ll notice there’s actually two faders per microphone.
The awesome thing about Wave Link is they’ve actually implemented a main mix and a submix
- or two different mixes that you can manage.
One is your monitoring mix - how loudly you hear things to your headphones or speakers
- and the other is your stream mix - how loudly the stream will hear everything.
This is super powerful, as it allows you to set up audio devices that only you hear in
your headphones, or only your stream hears and not you.
So if you want to play music you don’t have a license to but don’t want it going to
your stream so you don’t get DMCA’d, you can just mute that device going to your stream.
Or if you play sound effects to your stream but don’t want it interfering with your
ability to hear your game, you can mute them to your headphones.
Plus you can manage the audio balance of each.
I cannot understate how powerful and important this is.
This is also super useful for managing your voice chat, such as from Discord, and controlling
if your stream hears it or not, balancing it against your voice, etc.
You can change the name of each track to better identify what they’re for.
There’s a chain link icon above the level faders which allow you to always keep the
headphone and stream levels in sync so when you change one, it changes both.
You will want this for some devices, but not all.
You can click the headphone or stream icons to mute the devices to those specific outputs.
Below this “Inputs” section is the “outputs” section, where you adjust the master volume
levels for your monitor mix and your stream mix, respectively.
You have audio meters to view how close you get to clipping for your full mix, just like
your individual devices.
There’s a dropdown for “Monitor Mix” which allows you to actually choose which
output audio device on your system that your monitor mix actually goes out to!
So if you don’t want to use the headphone output on the mic itself, if you’re using
a wireless headset or other DAC/AMP combo, you can output everything to that with minimal
added latency.
Do note that the actual “realtime zero latency” monitoring of the microphone can only be done
on the mic’s physical headphone output, but that’s fine.
In my testing, there is a fair bit of latency on the mic going to another output - so using
it to another pair of headphones might result in a kind of “stadium” sounding effect
where you get the delayed feedback.
Won’t bother some people, but will be a problem for others.
Weirdly enough, it’s more latency than the GoXLR originally had that I complained about,
and it’s like it’s just enough to not be quite as disruptive to speech as the original
GoXLR latency was.
It’s weird.
There’s also an ear icon next to the outputs.
You can use this to quickly check your stream levels in realtime, it’ll route the stream
mix’s balancing out to your monitoring device instead of the monitor mix, so if you use
different levels for each, you can make sure your stream is sounding how you’d like.
This is neat.
Elgato will also be adding a third output device to the Wave Link software, which will
basically act as a voice chat-specific mic, like the “Chat Mic” device on the GoXLR.
This allows you to mute and deafen Discord interaction completely separate from the rest
of your stream - useful for responding to new subs and follows during your stream, or
other stream-specific interactions that might disrupt your game buddies in the middle of
a match.
Good stuff.
At the top-right corner of the software, the gear icon just opens basic preferences to
check for software updates and change if the software opens at startup.
The speaker icon opens the Windows sound routing settings so you can change which programs
route to which audio device.
This is how you assign your game to the game output, music app to the music device, browser
to browser, and so on.
If you haven’t seen this feature in Windows 10, it’s pretty great.
Once you have your mix all finished and balanced, you then simply add the “Wave Link (Stream)”
device to your streaming app as the main microphone device - much like the “Broadcast Stream
Mix” device from the GoXLR and you’re good to go!
It’s that simple.
Unfortunately this highlights a hope I had for the Wave Link software that never came
to be: There’s no support within Wave Link for post-processing on your microphone like
the GoXLR has - albeit it’s doing so on dedicated DSP hardware - and there’s no
support for adding VST filters to Wave Link either.
So if you want to do any EQ, compression, or just noise removal on your voice, you cannot
have it run through the stream mix.
You need to mute it to the stream mix, then add the “Mic In” Wave device to your streaming
app and apply VSTs there.
(Or run it through RTX Voice first.)
Thankfully this workaround is supported, but I have to admit I was disappointed to not
see direct support for this in the software.
What’s also interesting to note is that the Monitor Mix and Stream mix both show up
as separate audio devices in Windows, so you could route them to different recording tracks
for different purposes.
There is no ASIO driver included here, in case you specifically wanted that for your
DAW software or something.
As far as comparing Wave Link to the GoXLR software, when you compare how they handle
just the routing alone, they mostly do the exact same thing, but with different approaches.
Wave Link uses a traditional mixer layout with just faders for the two outputs for routing.
The GoXLR, however, has 4 separate sub mixes PLUS the sampler I/O to route, so they went
with a routing table instead.
This makes sense given the additional complexity of the I/O, but since the Wave has less complex
I/O routing, its approach makes sense and is probably more intuitive for new users to
grasp.
It wouldn’t be an Elgato product without Stream Deck integration, right?
Wave Link installs a Stream Deck plugin which gives you basically full control over the
Wave Link software.
You can toggle monitoring between stream and monitor feeds, you can mute specific channels
to either the monitor or stream mix, you can mute your microphone to the stream or monitor
mix, you can mute your individual output mixes entirely, set volume levels for input and
output channels, as well as adjust mic settings such as gain, volume, low cut, and clipguard.
Good stuff.
I have two main complaints about the software.
Overall, I’m very impressed with it - it doesn’t like the mic being unplugged and
plugged in while open, and it’s had some hangups sometimes - but they spent basically
all of 2020 working on polishing the software, which is a nice step forward, given that I
usually complain about their unreliable software with most of my other Elgato reviews.
Thankfully one of my complaints is fairly benign: I can’t resize the window to view
all 8 channels at once.
For a “virtual mixer” it’s imperative that I have access to all of it at a glance,
not scroll to reach it.
And there’s literally no reason to not let me do it.
My second complaint could be a real frustration for many people, though.
If you unplug the microphone, the audio devices disappear from Windows.
The mic acts as a hardware key to let the software work, so I get that it’s not going
to let you do anything without the mic being plugged in, but to completely remove the devices
from Windows means that your entire audio configuration could be reset if the mic gets
unplugged for any reason.
I’m the kind of guy that wishes Windows would let you lock audio devices so it never
changes what’s active on its own, so that part is kinda annoying.
Along with that, if you close the app itself, the audio devices remain, but the mix stops
functioning.
You’ll stop hearing anything.
This affects your ability to hear anything whether you use the headphone output on the
mic or another monitoring device.
It won’t affect the real-time monitoring of the mic directly to its headphone output,
though.
That is always running.
Also, there seems to be some conflict with the GoXLR driver.
Not in a bad way, but just a minor inconvenient one.
I mentioned that the GoXLR’s broadcast stream mix device got a Wave Link icon already.
Well for monitoring in Wave Link, the “System” output device for the GoXLR is missing.
Weird.
Even weirder, the actual headphone device for the Wave microphone is labeled as a GoXLR
device when it’s not.
This “Headphones (4- TC Helicon GoXLR)” device is NOT a GoXLR device, but is the headphone
output on the Wave mic.
Super weird.
I do wish they would develop a SDK or whatever for users to work with, as being able to pair
it with a MIDI controller, instead of just the Stream Deck, to control levels on basically
a full “mixer” presentation for cheap would be sick.
USABILITY
This mic is incredibly intuitive to use.
We just covered the software, but the physical device is just as easy, too.
Especially if you have the Wave:1 where you only have a single dial and button to worry
about.
USB and headphones go in the back and you’re good to go.
On Wave:3, lights indicate everything you need to know.
Click the knob to change modes, turn it to change levels or balance, and tap the capacitive
spot on top to mute.
But this is what I don’t like about many microphones: Handling the mic to make these
changes is a very clunky way to go.
This is one of the big appeals of a mixer layout like a GoXLR or an actual mixer.
The shock mount would help with some of the handling noise, but it would still be there,
and at least on the Wave:1 using that dial to mute brings back flashbacks of terrible
Blue Yeti experiences.
CA-CHUNK CA-CHUNK.
Thankfully the Wave:3
upgrades you to a quieter button, but you have to be pretty careful and precise to use
it smoothly anyway.
Although they did develop a Stream Deck plugin so you can use that as your control surface
instead.
One of the major theories after CES and their original teaser was that it was a mic with
a separate control surface - due to the outline teased at the end.
This would’ve actually been a cool concept and potentially allowed them to release different
kinds of microphones to pair with it, but perhaps a silly venture since it’d either
have to be a direct GoXLR clone or competitor, or be a closed in ecosystem of products with
no expansion or upgrade paths.
The knobs on the side of the mic allow you to tighten and adjust the angle of the microphone.
Though whether it’s on a mic arm or the stand, you can only control the angle a tiny
amount before the USB C cable hits the frame.
Perhaps a super low profile thin USB C connector could solve this.
To attach your wave to a mic arm or stand, unscrew it from the base, and screw in the
bigger thread connector included in the box.
Then attach to your mic arm or stand.
On top of the handling concerns with the on-microphone interface, having the headphone cable connected
to your mic can be an issue, too.
On the desk stand it’s probably fine, but on an arm or higher stand, you just have your
headphone cable dangling and that’s not a way to go.
So for these reasons, I’d imagine most people aren’t going to actually use these features
and rely on software and monitoring to a different output device instead.
Which totally contradicts my statement that the Wave:1 shouldn’t exist and maybe changes
it to maybe most people have no real reason to invest in the Wave:3 for the extra $30.
Huh.
Well, it’s your call.
ACCESSORIES
You might want to save that $30, too, as they’re going to get you with the accessories.
They sell a shock mount and pop filter separately, for $39.99 and $29.99 respectively.
The pop filter isn’t necessary but will definitely help make your viewers ears have
an easier time and help teach you proper practice with microphones.
The shock mount isn’t entirely necessary at all unless you have a really noisy desk
or bang it a lot, BUT it makes mounting and angling the mic on an arm a LOT easier and
more how you want it to be.
Both of these look quite nice, too.
They also sell an extension rod kit to raise up the mic.
This should have just been included in the box.
It’s too short.
I have to wonder if this was thought up after packaging and everything was done.
Just throw it in.
IT’S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE
So what about dual microphone or dual PC setups?
Obviously these are completely different situations, but both are tricky.
Let’s start with dual microphones.
What if you have multiple hosts, a guest, or just generally want to use more than one
Wave microphone on a single system? Uhhh, I’m going to say for now, don’t.
Officially, two mics aren’t supported in the Wave Link software, but it was suggested
to me that you could still use two okay with OBS or something.
However, at least the first time I tried this, things went real bad real quickly.
Windows and Wave Link both got REAL confused and once it un-froze, everything broke.
Even after multiple Wave Link restarts, I was unable to get system sound out to my monitoring
device and it was no longer reading any microphone audio from either mic.
Plugging in the second mic registers an entire set of new audio devices to go with it - which
is kinda useless since you can’t use any of them.
I was able to get both mics working in OBS, though, so that’s a plus.
Now here’s a little Elgato Wave ASMR.
Because why not?
Because you’re worth it.
I don’t know what I’m doing.
I just know this is a thing people do.
Somewhere, somehow, somewhy.
And you can do it with two Elgato Wave microphones, just not using Elgato Wave Link software.
But that’s okay, right?
I’ll try pushing to 4 soon.
I was hoping that since the second mic just registers as a normal device in Windows that
I’d be able to just add it into Wave Link, but Wave Link seems to use some sort of more
strict whitelist of devices, so it doesn’t show up and many of my input devices are also
missing.
What about dual PC streaming setups?
How would you utilize this?
Well, there’s 2 approaches you could use, depending on how you want to set it up.
Either the Wave mic and Wave Link software exist on your gaming PC, or the streaming
PC.
If you wish to apply post-processing to the mic as a separate device in your streaming
app, then you really have no choice but to run it on the stream PC, so we’ll start
there.
This all works as we’ve already covered in the software section.
But in Wave Link, you’ll wanna use one of the spare channels to add in your gaming PC’s
audio - either via a capture card HDMI input, or a direct Line out to Line in 3.5mm cable
run from PC to PC.
Then you can monitor and balance it for your stream and be good to go.
If you’re running the mic on your gaming PC, you’ll need a workaround.
They could make this easier by allowing the dropdown next to Stream Mix to let us select
a secondary output device that the mix is sent to - i.e. your HDMI out to your capture
card.
You could also pair it with Elgato’s older Sound Capture app to maybe get what you want.
Alternatively, however, you can set up your balance and monitoring as normal, but then
go to your Sound Control Panel, and find the Stream Mix device under the Recording tab.
Right click it - go to Properties.
Go to the Listen tab, and enable listening and choose your HDMI output to your capture
card as the output device.
Then your final mix is sent along with your gaming PC video output to your capture card,
ready to be streamed.
But it’s probably best to run this on the streaming PC.
CONCLUSION & PRICING The mystery of Project Wave may have subsided,
but my curiosity as to how users will take to it and utilize it still remains.
As a project, it was successful, but I’m left wondering what other exciting things
Elgato has planned for this bizarre year.
Well, this has been a ride.
I’ve been playing with these mics basically since CES and it’s great to finally talk
about them, as keeping something hidden while my entire desk and workflow is regularly on
display is quite tough.
I did have a slip-up or two, whoopsie!
I’m impressed with the Wave mics.
I cringe every time I see a new gaming peripheral company release a microphone, as it’s usually
either a meh Blue Yeti clone or something totally bizarre like the deodorant stick mic
from ASUS.
Even better, those mics usually cost MORE than the Wave mics.
I hadn’t thought about it much, but while the usual naysayers who expect anything streaming
related to magically be dirt-free or cheap, $130 is actually incredibly competitive not
just for a USB mic, but the full package you're getting.
I already thought the GoXLR Mini was a phenomenal value for the interface/mixer tech you got,
but for those looking for a more plug and play or all-in-one solution, Wave has it beat
by a long shot.
But, it’s not for everyone.
Ultimately I think buyers need to take the time to make the right decision as to whether
this is the right product for them or not.
Streamers just getting into the game with no audio experience, or those with slightly
more simple needs and who are tired of messy cable setups - this is a perfect fit.
Having spent years running multiple sound cards and hum destroyers and cables everywhere
to achieve what the Wave Link software now replicates in software, I WISH this or the
GoXLR were around 5 years ago.
Would’ve made my life easier.
The simplicity here really makes it stand out as an option.
There’s been quite a few cases where I had to go take a meeting or business call on a
computer or setup that I don’t normally use or have my typical audio setup for, and
the Wave:3 is what I grabbed for it.
It allowed me quick setup for all-in-one audio mixing, balance and listening and was the
quick, convenient option I wanted.
If you’re looking to do podcasting, voiceover work, game streaming, YouTube content creation,
or just some slightly advanced presentations, webinars, or meetings, Elgato’s Wave mics
are a great option.
Also invest in acoustic treatment for your environment, and watch my video on getting
optimal audio quality with basic physics first, too.
If you are doing voiceover work in particular, you may want to invest in the Wave:3
specifically for the 96khz support.
For streaming this is completely irrelevant.
However, if you wish to loop in any other sort of analog audio hardware or processing,
this is not the right choice and you definitely need to invest in an XLR microphone.
I have a full microphone reviews playlist linked in the description if you want my recommendations
there.
If you compare these within the current USB microphone market, it really seems like this
might be the best option here.
Wave is very price-competitive against the flagship Yetis and Quadcasts on the scene,
and brings the Wave Link functionality that it would be silly to ignore.
Even if you don’t think there’s anything too unique about the sound of the mic, you
wanna choose the one that brings you all this extra functionality and convenience, right?
The Clipguard, the virtual cables, it’s a solid package.
Ultimately, Wave serves a couple different audiences here.
It’s a great plug and play microphone for content creation, but it’s also a virtual
mixer for audio routing and balancing for streaming.
As separate parts, they’re not that special.
Elgato releasing this mic on its own as a USB mic with no software really wouldn’t
have stood out.
Would’ve been boring.
Elgato releasing the Wave Link software as a virtual cables option would’ve been neat,
but not anywhere near as robust or polished as a dedicated, paid app would need to be.
If you’re looking for the best vocal microphone you can get for your money and don’t care
about all the other stuff, I might suggest investing elsewhere.
If you’re looking for great virtual cable software and that alone, look at Voicemeter.
But if the pairing of these two concepts are what you’ve been waiting for, this is it,
chief.
I am surprised at how polished and fleshed out the software has gotten for Elgato, though
- I imagine selling the microphones with it help to cover development costs.
I do hope this is Elgato turning over a new leaf, however, as I’ve long complained about
their software and wished they would invest more in it.
Affiliate product links to the Wave:1 and Wave:3 will be in the description below.
I can’t believe I’m recommending a USB condenser mic in 2020, but they done did good.
This is how you enter a new product market and do it right.
No more Yeti clones, please.
I’m EposVox, your stream professor.
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If you’re looking for something else to watch, click to watch this video on the cheapest
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