The Alias Professional is the primary standalone microphone from SteelSeries (together with the common Alias), and it’s a great one. It marries XLR high quality with USB comfort, and throws in a shock mount and helpful mixer deck as a part of the package deal, together with a built-in pre-amplifier and 48V of phantom energy.
Should you’re after a desktop mic for gaming and streaming, it’s a extremely robust contender, and among the many finest Mac USB microphones we have used.
SteelSeries Alias Professional: Worth and availability
The SteelSeries Alias Professional prices $329.99/£319.99 from the official SteelSeries web site, and is obtainable at a variety of third-party shops. It is a dear microphone, however justifies its value with excellent audio high quality, a fantastic construct, high-end options like its XLR interface add-on and nice software program (nicely, on the Home windows facet a minimum of…).
SteelSeries Alias Professional: What I like
Let’s take a look at audio high quality first. The Alias Professional is a condenser mic slightly than a dynamic microphone, and which means it’s extra delicate at choosing up sounds round you. There’s no want to sit down with it pressed towards your face, and it may possibly simply seize your audio about six inches away or extra.
With that association, my audio checks got here out superbly crisp and clear, with a pleasantly impartial sound. If you would like a hotter really feel, you’d usually search for a special mic or an acceptable filter within the SteelSeries Sonar app, which comes with a bunch of additional choices for tweaking your audio — however sadly it’s not out there for macOS (extra on that later).
The Alias Professional’s included shock mount is a pleasant contact that helps battle again towards bumps and scuffs in your recordings. The mic additionally comes with an XLR interface (dubbed the Stream Mixer) that permits you to regulate audio achieve and headphone quantity on the fly. There are two massive mute buttons — one for enter and one for output — that shine pink when activated so that you all the time know if you’re muted. The LED colour will be adjusted within the SteelSeries GG app.
The achieve dial has an LED ring that flashes inexperienced when audio is detected — helpful for understanding all the pieces’s working. The headphone quantity dial and the output mute button will be remapped in principle, however this characteristic is simply out there for Home windows. Nonetheless, the interface is a superb addition that you simply’d usually need to pay further for. It means you possibly can simply slap the massive buttons as an alternative of fiddling round on the mic itself looking for a tiny mute toggle.
Across the again of the interface are two USB-C slots. You should utilize these to attach two computer systems without delay to the Stream Mixer. That’s good in the event you use one machine to stream and one other to file gameplay.
$329.99/£319.99 would possibly look like quite a bit in comparison with customary desktop mics, however the Alias Professional is something however customary. The worth is definitely fairly cheap if you put it towards different XLR microphones. Don’t neglect that you simply additionally get the bundled XLR interface, which might simply set you again one other $150/£150. All in all, the Alias Professional is a compelling possibility in the event you’re accomplished with entry-level USB mics and need one thing that provides you extra management with out having to spend a very obscene amount of cash.
SteelSeries Alias Professional: What I don’t love
In Home windows, the SteelSeries GG app comes with an add-on known as Sonar. This accommodates audio presets tailor-made for a bunch of video games, and it additionally helps you to regulate your audio settings in fine-grained element, together with particular person sliders and routing choices. Sadly, it’s not out there on the Mac, that means you miss out on a fantastic suite of audio configuration instruments to essentially tune this mic as much as perfection.
With out Sonar, you’re additionally lacking out on its AI-assisted noise cancellation. Since it is a condenser microphone, its excessive sensitivity actually advantages from one thing that may reduce out background sounds. Right here, you’ll have to stay with a third-party app like Krisp.
Lastly, the second button and dial on the Stream Mixer can’t be remapped, once more resulting from a software program incompatibility with macOS.
SteelSeries Alias Professional: Competitors
The closest competitor at this worth might be the Blue Sona, an XLR mic costing $349.99/£299. Nevertheless, it’s a dynamic microphone and doesn’t include an XLR interface. There’s additionally the HyperX ProCast at $199.99/£259.99. Whereas it is a condenser XLR mic, it too lacks a bundled interface.
SteelSeries Alias Professional: Do you have to purchase it?
You can purchase this if…
- You need XLR high quality with out the effort and expense
- You’re after an easy-to-use {hardware} interface for mic audio
- You benefit from the sound provided by condenser microphones
You shouldn’t purchase this if…
- You want Mac-compatible software program controls
- You simply need an inexpensive, fundamental microphone
- You need to have the ability to isolate your voice towards background noise
SteelSeries Alias Professional: Verdict
The SteelSeries Alias Professional is an outstanding microphone that expertly bridges the hole between desktop class and professional efficiency, and its mixer deck is an impressed addition. It’s simply held again by the Sonar app’s incompatibility with macOS, which limits your audio adjustment choices.
Backside line: A superb microphone with a nifty XLR interface, however it actually suffers from the shortage of SteelSeries Sonar assist.
