- In this video,
we're going to compare the El Gato wave three USB microphone
against the El Gato wave XLR audio interface.
Both of these devices are from the same company.
Both of these devices will help you get better quality audio
into your computer for recording, video conferencing,
or live streaming,
but they go about it in very different ways.
So in this video,
we're going to walk through my thought process
on who each product is for and why I do,
or don't recommend either one of these products
to various people,
whether or not they're wanting to do a lot of recording
video conferencing or live streaming.
Now, for the purposes of this video,
we are recording a feed from both devices.
So if you look at the icon up in the top corner,
you'll see which is the active device
to help you realize what you're listening to.
So you can make another informed decision
based on that itself as well.
Now, obviously when you are shopping
for either one of these devices,
price is a top consideration.
Unfortunately, the price does change over time.
So what we've done is we put some links down in the
description below
where you can find current updated pricing
and specs,
from a variety of online retailers to make sure
that you are always looking at
and looking for the best price possible.
If you're looking at buying either one of these devices,
or if you're looking at anything else
that you see in this video.
Now, in terms of specs for both devices,
they're very, very comparable.
If you ask me which one will give you a better quality
in terms of comparing things that are objective,
that we can actually prove and measure,
they are nearly identical.
They both have a 24 Bit Bitrate in terms of sample rate.
They can both be 48 kilohertz or 96 kilohertz.
They both have USB-C connectivity.
They both have an eighth inch
or 3.5 millimeter headphone jack,
and they can both power a set
of 250 EWM headphones out of
the headphone jack.
So they are very, very comparable.
In terms of other things,
the software that you use
to control both of these devices,
that's what helps set this apart from other competitors in
this area
is the same for both,
use the same software suite in this video
Right now we're recording both of these microphones through
the same piece of software.
It's all managed that way,
but I do just want to hype that software again,
if you're looking at something like the El Gato wave three,
compared to any other USB microphone,
it really is the software that sets this apart.
El Gato does such a good job of allowing you
to mix all your input sources from various software
into your headphones
and sending a separate mix to your live stream or video
conference or recording software,
whatever you're doing there.
Now, if we're comparing usability and functionality
and how you physically interact with both of these devices,
they are both identical.
You can see here on the El Gato wave three,
that you can click this button to go through the various
menu between your microphone,
your headphone volume and your crossover,
which is your mix between zero latency microphone
and the audio that's coming from the computer.
You get the same exact system on the El Gato wave XLR
single click to cycle through that menu.
And you turn the dial
to get exactly the level that you're looking for.
The only difference on the El Gato waive XLR
is that you can turn on and off Phantom power
by doing a long press
on the big button there
in order to toggle that menu.
But other than that, they both work exactly the same.
They're just as easy to use.
Now, what is the big difference?
The glaring difference
and the elephant in the room,
the reason that we have all
of these microphones on this
side of the table is the big difference between both of
these devices
with the El Gato wave three,
you get what you get,
you get a pretty good microphone and it connects to your
software that you need.
With the El Gato wave XLR,
you can connect it to an Audio-Technica AT2020,
like we're doing right now,
or you can connect it to a road Nt1,
like we have it connected to right now,
the road pod mic is also another very popular microphone
that you can connect to this device.
This device will also power
the Shure sm7B without the
need of a cloud lifter or any other type of inline preamp.
And now you're listening to my favorite,
the EV RE20 dynamic microphone.
That's the type of thing that you can do
with the El Gato wave XLR.
So if you are looking for an upgrade path,
if you are looking to experiment with different sounds,
if you're the type of person that knows
that you'll never be content,
and you'll always be wanting
to trade things on marketplace
or Craigslist and be trying different sounds and be trying
to achieve different goals
throughout your, you know,
home recording or studio kind of career or project that
you're working on,
then the El Gato wave XLR might be a better fit for you.
So let's quickly go through a couple of different use cases,
and I'll explain my thought as to whether or not I'd
recommend one of these devices over another.
Now, if you're into music and recording,
I would recommend the El Gato wave XLR over
the El Gato wave three.
Now the El Gato wave XLR is not
the best audio interface for recording music,
because it doesn't have quarter-inch line
level inputs or quarter-inch instrument level inputs,
but it would allow you to experiment
with a whole bunch of different microphones.
So you could still record instruments sources
with condenser microphones
or dynamic microphones of any type.
And that might be all you need for your home studio
recording.
But I would say if you are going for music,
I would recommend getting a different type
of audio interface
with a more full feature set of inputs.
But if you're looking at doing video conferencing,
I would recommend the El Gato wave three.
For video conferencing
you're just looking for simplicity.
You don't want to be worried about
connections coming loose or
cable or anything like that.
You're just looking for one very simple,
good looking professional looking solution.
And I think the El Gato wave three,
knocks that out of the park.
If you are looking for live streaming,
live streaming can be a lot more temperamental.
There's a lot more room for experimentation.
There's a lot more long form content.
And you might find that the sound
of one microphone or
another with your particular voice
becomes grading over time
and you might want to experiment with different things.
So if you're really going into this thinking
that you're going
to be doing a lot of live streaming,
I would get the El Gato wave XLR
because it would allow you
to experiment with more microphones over time
compared to the El Gato wave three,
where you're going to be locked into a particular sound.
And as you get more experienced,
you might notice that maybe you want a different tone or
different sound or
a different quality from your microphone,
where with video conferencing,
if you're doing a bunch of 30 minute meetings,
it's not that big of a deal,
but if you're doing a lot of one hour live streams,
that is a bigger deal.
So it's something that you may want to consider.
To sum it up,
overall, both of these devices have the same software,
the same quality,
and it really comes down to whether
or not you're the type
of person that will want to do a lot of experimenting
with a lot of different microphones.
Or if you're someone that wants a simple setup
that you don't have to be rethinking all the time.
And it's all in one,
it's a good looking, good sounding solution.
If you have any questions about either one of these devices,
please leave a comment down in the comments section below.
Again, if you are looking for pricing
or specs for either one of these,
we have links down in the description below.
And if you want to see more videos
like this in the future,
please like, and subscribe.
Thank you for watching.
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