When Elgato announced its Neo line in 2024, it felt like an interesting shift for the brand. For the first time, it wasn’t directly chasing content creators and a slice of the premium market; instead, it looked to be going after a broader, more everyday audience. The Elgato Wave Neo is the microphone in that range, so it almost feels strange to consider it against the best microphones for streaming and gaming.
It’s a compact USB-C condenser that’ll set you back $89.99/£89.99 and boasts the simplest route to good audio as its defining trait. It's a very different proposition from the rest of Elgato's mic lineup. Where the excellent Elgato Wave:3 MK.2 leans hard into creators wanting studio-grade vocals with onboard processing, and the Wave DX speaks to the XLR crowd, the Wave Neo is seemingly aimed squarely at those with money on their mind.
