Elgato Wave:3 USB Microphone (White)

Elgato Wave:3 USB Microphone (White)

The Elgato Wave:3 in White is a USB condenser microphone and digital mixing solution for streaming, podcasting, gaming and home office use. This White finish variant carries the same core specification as the standard Wave:3, pairing a cardioid condenser capsule with 24-bit conversion, proprietary Clipguard anti-distortion technology and the Wave Link mixing application. It connects to a computer with a single USB-C cable, provides zero-latency headphone monitoring from the microphone itself, and arrives with a desktop stand and a boom arm adapter, so it can be used on a desk or mounted on a boom.

Key features

• White finish variant of the Wave:3 USB microphone
• 17 mm electret condenser capsule with cardioid polar pattern
• 24-bit resolution with 48 kHz and 96 kHz sample rates
• Clipguard anti-distortion technology for clean audio on loud peaks
• Capacitive mute sensor and a multifunction control dial on the front
• High-power headphone output for zero-latency monitoring
• Wave Link software for mixing up to nine audio sources in two mixes
• Steel grille and multilayered noise shield for plosive control

Capsule and audio performance

The capsule is a 17 mm electret design tuned for speech, with a cardioid pattern that picks up sound from the front while reducing sound arriving from the sides and rear. That makes it suited to a single voice in a typical room, where keyboard noise and room reflections need to be kept down. Frequency response is 70 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Sensitivity is specified at -25 dBFS at minimum gain and 15 dBFS at maximum gain. Maximum sound pressure level is 120 dB, rising to 140 dB with Clipguard engaged, and dynamic range is 95 dB, or 115 dB with Clipguard engaged. Conversion runs at 24-bit with sample rates of 48 kHz and 96 kHz.

Clipguard and on-microphone controls

Clipguard addresses clipping, which is the distorted sound produced when a shout or laugh overloads the input. When levels peak, the technology routes the signal through a second path running at a lower volume, so the recorded or streamed audio stays clean without constant gain adjustment. The front of the microphone carries a capacitive sensor that mutes the microphone feed silently with a tap, avoiding the mechanical click of a physical switch. The multifunction dial adjusts input gain, headphone volume and the crossfade between microphone and computer audio, so the most common adjustments can be made without opening software.

Wave Link mixing software

Wave Link turns the Wave:3 into the centre of a computer audio setup. It can control the microphone and up to eight additional audio sources, giving nine input channels in total for sources such as game audio, voice chat, music, alerts and samples. Two independent mixes can be created, one for the user to monitor and one for the audience to hear, which allows, for example, music to be removed from the stream mix while remaining audible in the monitor mix. Channels can be equipped with third-party VST effects such as equalisation, compression and reverb, and an enhanced low-cut filter is included. Wave Link also integrates with Stream Deck for hardware control of mute, levels and routing.

Build, connections and requirements

The microphone body measures 153 x 66 x 40 mm. The microphone with its U-mount weighs 280 g, and the desktop base weighs 305 g. The connection is USB-C, and the box includes a 250 cm USB-A to USB-C cable, the desktop stand, a boom arm adapter and a quick start guide. System requirements are Windows 10 64-bit or macOS 10.15 or newer, a USB 2.0 port and 4 GB of RAM. The White finish suits light-coloured desk setups while retaining the full Wave:3 feature set.