Voicemeeter Banana is a good virtual GoXLR alternative if you’re unable to get your hands on a hardware mixer. It’s a free-to-use PC program that simulates a mixer. The Tascam Creator US-42B is a great mixer option for both beginner and experienced streamers. Its robust audio production features make it great for podcasters, musicians, and other content creators.

The Levusu L5 is a great mixer for professional live broadcasts. It can simultaneously support up to two people, five devices, and five platforms. Setting it up is as easy as connecting your laptop or PC to the USB port and plugging in your XLR mic.

Spotlight

With the Wave XLR, you won’t have to watch levels while you’re live, nor salvage distorted audio in post-production. The Clipguard technology reroutes audio via a second signal path that runs at a lower volume when input levels increase. As a result, it produces clean audio output and it doesn’t matter how loud you scream. Choose Your Style

The Mini can’t customize your reverb, samples, and other effects like the Pro, but it can apply a noise gate, compressor, and equalizer.It provides a lot of functionality to easily control your audio setup and reduces all audio processing to a minimum while making your voice sound crisp and clear. This was with around 40% gain from the preamp. And also, we noticed that it didn’t have any issues powering the microphones we’ve tried with it. Elgato Wave XLR Review Summary

When performing a firmware update, it is critical that the update is not interrupted. While updating, please ensure the following: Both the original and the Mini feature the MIDAS preamps, which is basically a middle-man that controls volume between your mic, interface, and streaming PC. In addition to the XLR input and USB-C connection, the rear also features a 3.5mm headphone connection, allowing you to plug directly into the Wave XLR and monitor your audio output with zero-latency. The USB connection will also route your computer audio through the Wave XLR, allowing you to monitor your entire mix, which you can easily balance using the large knob on the front of the device. The knob turns infinitely, using the surrounding LEDs to communicate the levels of each of the three main settings it controls: mic input gain, output volume to the headphones, and to dial in the crossfade mix between your mic and your PC audio. The knob simply pushes in to switch between the settings. You can also toggle the 48V phantom power on and off depending on if your particular XLR mic needs it or not. While the mic we used was a condenser mic, Elgato also says that Wave XLR can breathe life into dynamic microphones via “75 dB of ultra low-noise gain.” The device comes with software that can be used to assign audio files to the sound pads. It is compatible with both headset mics and 4-pole earphones with mics designed for smartphones. To be clear, I am very familiar with audio interfaces, having worked at a popular music gear retailer for over a decade and having my own vocal booth setup in my office that runs a high-quality condenser microphone through a nice Focusrite interface. I wanted similar good-sounding XLR mic quality at my desk as well, but didn’t want to have to have a whole second complex audio setup to use my second XLR mic at my desk. The Wave XLR met those needs, and effectively turned my Movo VSM-7 XLR mic into a USB mic.The Mix5 is a 5-channel mixer that includes one mic preamplifier outfitted with a 2-band equalizer. The original GoXLR is without a doubt a favorite among streamers, content creators, and podcasters. Phantom power provides enough juice to drive condenser mics and produce crystal-clear recordings. The K3+ has nine dials for adjusting reverb effects and six preset sound effects. The Live Streamer Nexus also has companion software for digital outputs that can be used to independently control your sound.

The L5 is compatible with PC, PS4, iOS, and Android. The console is portable and includes a 2,000 mAh rechargeable battery that can last for up to 10 hours (without phantom power), allowing streamers to broadcast from anywhere.

Free Software Alternative: Voicemeeter Banana

The Elgato Wave Link software is the utility suite made for configuring Elgato products like the Wave XLR. It debuted last year when the company release the Wave:3 USB microphone. Input channels allow blending audio sources in real-time, whether it’s game audio, voice chat, alerts, music, alerts, music and more. Multifunctional Control Dial This will switch between mic gain, headphone volume, and the monitoring mix. This lets you decide on the balance between how much of the mic you can hear. And, that also goes for how much you hear every other sound that’s sent to the headphones. The Mini is compatible with GoXLR software, which can be used to independently route the mic, chat, music, game, system, console, and line-in. The product has an equivalent input noise of -130dBV @ 60dB gain. Speaking of its gain, it ranges from 0 to 75dB while phantom power is at 48 VDC 7mA.