When developing their first two audio products, the Wave:1 and Wave:3 condenser microphones, Elgato took a smart approach. They collaborated with a company that specializes in professional microphone technology and live and studio recording, Vienna-based LEWITT, while adding their own expertise in streaming gear into the mix. The result is quite impressive. The Elgato Wave:3 is an excellent USB microphone accompanied by a great piece of software, which transforms it into a complete streaming solution. By buying the Wave:3, you're not only getting a great-sounding microphone, but also the ability to finely tune your streaming audio sources in an intuitive and very functional way. I cannot stress the significance of the Wave Link software enough. While there are many other excellent condenser microphones on the market, even less costly ones, they don't come with a digital mixer, which means they don't offer a comparable level of stream customizability.

There are other things to like here as well. The Clipguard technology is excellent. As mentioned in the microphone performance section of this review, the microphone automatically switches to a second audio channel that runs inside the microphone at a reduced volume when it detects clipping. With the microphone gain set to a normal level, it's pretty much impossible to make it start clipping, which means content creators have one less thing to worry about.

The Elgato Wave:3 has no serious drawbacks. I'd love to see a higher quality multipurpose dial and a different implementation of the mute button, as the capacitive one is too easy to activate accidentally, but that's about it. If you're looking for a great streaming microphone but aren't ready to go down the hardcore route, which would consist of an XLR microphone and a separate hardware mixer, the Elgato Wave:3 is a great choice.