Elgato Wave Neo microphone review

The Elgato Wave Neo is the newest mic out of the streaming kit company, following a legacy of very good microphones like the much beloved Wave 3 and Wave DX. While the Wave brand has a strong rep of quality mics, the Neo lineup is aiming to deliver more affordable and simple solutions. 

In that vein, the Wave Neo costs $90 USD, making it the cheapest Wave mic to date, but it does make some sacrifices to get to that point.

With the Neo lineup we are greeted by the thoughtful recycled cardboard box that contains only what you need. In this package you get a braided USB Type-C  (device side) to Type-A cable, a mic stand complete with some cable management, and the Wave 3 itself. The mic is rocking a pop filter natively. 

It really is everything you need to get started and have solid spoken audio recording right out of the box.

The included stand is quite good, but admittedly a little weird. It has a solid circular base with an 8 cm diameter and standard ¼ screw connector accessible underneath. The first half of the pole screws in simply, and has a cable grip at the back to keep things inline. The second half is attached to the mic via another smaller screw connector, offset to the side. It slides straight into the first pole using a solid inner metal piece for strength and a tabbed connector. If it sounds confusing, it can actually only go together one way, so it's not so bad.

The stand brings it to a height that's perfect for talking into, but it doesn't lock in a way that stops it from being lifted out. You may learn this the hard way if, like me, you pick up your mic and have that solid base fall right on your foot. At least  there are a tonne of ways to mount this mic, whether or not you use the included kit. 

The Wave Neo mic can be pivoted backwards and forwards on various angles and will hold that position nicely. On the back you have an aux port for monitoring your audio and the recessed USB Type-C port which the braided cable is designed to fit into. You could use any Type-C cable if you prefer, though. The front is where the condenser mic is designed to be spoken into and it sports one of the largest and brightest capacitive touch mute LED I have ever seen—but we'll get to that in a bit.

Generally, and especially for the price, voice recording is quite good. If your environment is quiet enough you should be able to plug this mic in and straight away have really decent voice recording capabilities. The sound isn't quite as crisp and punchy as something like the Wave 3 but it's warm and clear, which is what many will likely be after for streams, gaming sessions, or meetings. 

It even works straight away plugged in to other devices like my phone, which is a nice surprise. With no controls other than mute on the mic itself, if you need anything dialled in or want to make changes you're out of luck without introducing some software, however.

The Neo works with the Wave link software, which is excellent. Because my room has a lot of low computer fan noise and these are reasonably sensitive mics, it can be a huge problem. Instead, I was able to go in here and just turn the gain down enough so it wouldn't pick that up. Of course you've also got plugins like Elgato's own noise removal, if you need more help there, and as a plus it will let you keep the gain up for louder recordings. This all works well with Elgato's Stream Deck too, which can help mitigate some of the lack of controls on the Neo itself.

So back to that blinding LED mute sensor. It's so big and bright that when Elgato's Wave Link Software gave me the option to turn down the brightness I was relieved. Yetthis ended up biting me in the aux. 

When dim, the button is a bit less noticeable, so I didn't realise I had been accidentally muting myself while recording until I thought I was done. I still didn't know how I was muting myself, so I did some tests on the sensor. Turns out, it's a fair bit larger than the LED panel so it's easy to touch and unknowingly set off even when you think you shouldn't be near it. 

In a later recording I kept my hands away from the mic and still got muted out of nowhere and I just couldn't figure out what I was doing. After a bit more testing I realised that braided cables with power running can set it off if they rub over it, including its own. Even after doing my best to remove hazards, I have had this device mute when I'm not really even sure of the cause. The sheer size of the mute sensor feels like an oversight but that it's so easy to set off is a bit devastating on this device. 

It's also the main reason I wouldn't really recommend this mic to streamers or content creators. Finding out you've accidentally muted yourself mid stream and no one noticed or just didn't bother to tell you is the worst. This mic treats me like I'm a 12 year old boy in an Xbox Live lobby at least once a day. Plus it just lacks some of the crispness and definition as well as the on-device controls of its older brother, the Wave 3.

The Wave 3 that goes on sale fairly regularly for around $120 USD, by the way.

The $90 Neo is much better positioned for meetings or calls thanks to its easy setup. You're also more likely to realise quickly that you're on mute during a meeting. 

Elgato's Wave Neo is a really solid sounding mic for the price that will bring a touch of warmth to your content, but in terms of recording quality it's not kicking out our top budget or even top mid range mic choices any time soon. If the convenience of the Neo has you sold, I'd just make sure to leave that mute LED nice and blinding.