Elgato Wave:3

Works well out of the box. Needs some tweaks to sound good but can be done for free in the software. Used Nvidia RTX Voice to cut out back ground noise. RTX voice tends to mute the mic when getting loud which negates the clip guard tech in the mic. I was able to get a balance where both technologies are working but required tweaking.

It's a pretty good microphone. The software is the standout of this microphone.

With the sheer amount of USB mics on the market, it’s hard to stand out, but the Elgato Wave:3 makes it look effortless with its stylish retro design, high-quality build, and great sound performance. It only has one polar pattern, but for content creation, it’s one of the best I’ve tested.

If I were reviewing the quality of the microphone alone, this would get a higher rating, but the analog dials allow for on-the-fly mixing of the 3.5mm audio output. This microphone suffers from persistent white noise on the 3.5mm rear output. I think it's from poor grounding isolation at the hardware level. Elgato's website suggests buying a $10 isolator to fix the problem, which results in a muddying of lower frequencies on the audio out. Also, the indicator lights are bright and distracting. They really need to add a dimming function.

I picked this microphone up as an upgrade from my blue yeti. Everything this microphone has had to offer has been absolutely amazing. The microphone sounds great but my favorite thing so far has definitely been the Wave Link Software. The software lets you mix the volumes of multiple different programs like a goxlr. It's nice to be able to stream and have my stream enjoy music/gameplay and my voice and I get to listen to a podcast or anything I want to without my stream having to hear it.