a microphone for serious hobbyists

One of many newest premium peripherals from SteelSeries, the Alias Professional microphone is without doubt one of the greatest microphones I’ve ever used.

As of late, each nerd and their canine has a podcast, Twitch stream or YouTube channel. There’s nearly no barrier to creating content material, which suggests there may be a lot nice area of interest content material accessible. Nevertheless it additionally signifies that the road between creator, hobbyist and fan has been blurred, and it’s not apparent who wants skilled tools and who doesn’t.

Certain, your YouTube sequence on snare sticking methods of the early blues masters would possibly solely have 10 viewers now, however it could additionally find yourself being a foundational textual content for future research. Or possibly your podcast of fart jokes is simply listened to by your mum and a stranger from Belgium, however they nonetheless deserve to listen to your voice absolutely. Or, possibly, you might have successful podcast with tens of millions of listeners, and admire a minimalist set-up.

The SteelSeries Alias Professional Microphone is designed for content material creators who wish to step up their sport. As with most premium SteelSeries peripherals, just like the Enviornment 7 or Arctis Nova Professional, it prices a fairly penny. Nevertheless it additionally does greater than what most out-of-the-box microphones can do earlier than you begin wading into specialist audio territory. I’ve been utilizing mine for somewhat greater than per week, and already it’s one of the best non-performance microphone I’ve ever had.

SteelSeries Alias Professional assessment

First impressions

My first impression of the SteelSeries Alias Professional Microphone was “Wow, that’s costly”. My second was “Ooh, that was tremendous straightforward to arrange”. Afterwards, I assumed “That is the primary microphone I’ve used on this workplace that nobody has complained about on the opposite finish of a presentation”.

The microphone comes out of the field already connected to the stand, suspended with cords that scale back noise out of your desk. You then plug it into the mixer, together with the facility cable and the USB-C cable to plug it into your pc. The mixer has a small acquire dial, a very huge quantity dial, after which comically massive ‘mute mic’ and ‘mute speaker’ buttons. On the again, there’s the port for the mic, two USB-C ports (so you should utilize it on two computer systems), energy enter, and a line out, together with an influence button. On the aspect, there’s a headphone jack.

It’s clear and easy. Maybe a contact too easy for the pro-est {of professional} customers, however greater than sufficient for professionals who wish to report podcasts or be heard clearly on stream.

SteelSeries Alias Professional specs

Trying on the specs, you possibly can see that the condenser capsule is proudly “3x bigger” than unspecified different microphones, which is nice. Greater isn’t at all times higher, however right here it does make a measurable distinction to what number of frequencies are picked up. The microphone is omnidirectional, too, which is nice when you simply need your voice to be picked up, and never your loved ones chatting within the different room.

The inclusion of a suspension stand is admittedly neat as a result of it makes such a distinction if you don’t need your microphone to broadcast the truth that you simply by accident touched your desk. Provided that any time I do I podcast, I’m enjoying with some random object chosen from my ‘random objects’ skull-bowl, this is essential for me.

Relying on how a lot you propose on utilizing the microphone, I’d additionally suggest wanting into getting the suspension increase arm (US$99.99), however your mileage might range.

Efficiency

The SteelSeries Alias Professional microphone performs ridiculously nicely. It simply sounds good and is very easy to make use of.

Podcasts and displays

Whereas I don’t have a podcast myself, I do visitor on a number of, and I sometimes do displays and panels from residence over Zoom/Groups/no matter. My previous microphone was a Yeti Blue mic that was simply on the stand it got here with. Each time I’d report a podcast on it throughout the lockdowns, the producer would ask me to modify to my cellphone so they might simply name me for higher audio. There was one thing concerning the acoustics of my residence workplace and the rigidity of the included Yeti stand (which I by no means received round to upgrading) that simply didn’t play good. It typically sounded, within the phrases of a very pissed off ABC producer, horrible.

After I arrange the SteelSeries Alias Professional for a presentation I gave final week to some hundred company varieties, I used to be braced for the tech individual to ask me to strive a number of completely different volumes or configurations, or typically complain concerning the tiny half-glass/ half-plaster cabinet I take advantage of as an workplace. As a substitute, they instructed me I sounded nice and moved on to getting the opposite presenter to regulate a number of issues. I’ve by no means been instructed my microphone or acoustics sounded nice. I’ve tried so many microphones.

Doing a direct comparability between my Blue Yeti, Mac Studio Show microphone and the Alias Professional microphone, the opposite two (which beforehand sounded principally kinda nice) look like rubbish compared. I can’t consider folks put up with me sounding like that. Whoops. Guess I can’t return now.

The specs learn nicely, and the specs to numerous mics learn nicely, however good specs on paper don’t at all times translate to a product that works nicely. Right here, although, the specs look good and the microphone conveys my voice even higher. I couldn’t be happier with this microphone.

Utilizing the interface

As talked about within the specs part, the issues that separate the Alias Professional from the bottom Alias are the XLR out and the little interface field. Professional mics generally include interfaces (or count on you to purchase one individually), and so they’re normally fairly sophisticated. There’s an assumption that when you’re somebody who wants a professional setup, you even have all the professional data required to go along with it.

The SteelSeries Alias Professional is for individuals who want a very good interface, however don’t wish to be bodily faffing about with something (you possibly can nonetheless faff about within the software program, however the majority of customers in all probability gained’t want to do this). As a substitute, the field is straightforward, with a microphone acquire quantity knob, a pc quantity knob, a microphone mute and a pc audio mute. The buttons are massive, so you possibly can blindly jab at them whereas focusing in your sport or podcast notes, and the 2 knobs have distinct shapes, so you possibly can regulate them with out wanting.

It’s a small and engaging gadget, that may (after all) mild up with completely different RGB colors as a result of it’s a gaming gadget. However the acquire knob has a lightweight ring round it which will get brighter the louder you flip it up, and turns purple when you get too loud. Easy, and to the purpose.

It’s principally the type of interface you want if you’re professional sufficient to wish good high quality audio with choices, however not so professional as to have a sound individual or different want for a full board. All of the options you’ll really want and use are right here, with out taking on an excessive amount of desk area. It’s genius, really.

SteelSeries Sonar

One of many largest advantages of any SteelSeries accent on PC is with the ability to use Sonar. I did numerous this assessment on a Mac Studio, the place the Alias Professional carried out extraordinarily nicely. However with the ability to use Sonar on my gaming PC was additional pleasant, as a result of there’s simply a lot extra customisation and fine-tuning you are able to do within the Sonar software program. I actually, actually hope SteelSeries brings Sonar to Mac quickly, however that could be a complete different article.

Following the lead of the bodily interface, Sonar takes numerous issues that ought to be sophisticated (like creating customised sound profiles that don’t convey the sound of keyboards clacking, or melding a number of audio sources into one stream) and makes it easy.

The usage of ClearCast AI (in beta) to take away these keyboard clacks, fan sounds, or different background noise is extraordinarily useful in Zoom conferences after I’m attempting to fake that I’m concentrating and never writing one thing else. It’s not good, and it does generally sound somewhat unnatural, however I suppose that’s the ‘beta’ half.

Nevertheless, I do get a bit irritated with the way in which Sonar renames inputs and outputs (and provides digital ones), which may make it a nightmare to modify units from the Home windows menus. However, when you’re prepared to commit absolutely to Sonar, really marry it technologically and depend on it absolutely, to the exclusion of all Home windows audio menus (a lot to the confusion and dismay of Discord), it’s nice.

Who’s the SteelSeries Alias Professional for?

The SteelSeries Alias Professional is for individuals who want extra management over and extra flexibility from their microphone than the common Alias (which plugs in utilizing USB-C and doesn’t have a bodily mixer) would enable. It’s for individuals who do numerous podcasts, streaming, or video narration. It’s the microphone you get if you want a microphone that’s good and fancy, however not too sophisticated.

It is extremely costly, there isn’t a means round that. Most customers could be simply as pleased with the common Alias microphone, which is cheaper (I haven’t examined it particularly, however the microphone half is meant to be principally the identical). However those that want what the Alias Professional has to supply might be extraordinarily happy, particularly if additionally they use different SteelSeries peripherals.

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