Corsair has just unveiled five new additions to its Elgato streaming gear range, all of which fall under the new Elgato Neo branding. The five products comprise the Wave Neo microphone, Facecam Neo webcam, Capture Neo capture card, Key Light Neo face light, and Stream Deck Neo streaming interface.
While all the new products have plenty of interesting features, the Wave Neo has particularly caught our attention, as it includes two features that so many other much more expensive streaming mics don’t include. Namely, you get a foam pop filter, as well as a stand that actually reaches reasonably close to your mouth. It may not ultimately be enough to put this latest Elgato device on our best gaming microphone list but it gives it a head start.
Sporting a very swish ‘lifestyle’ oriented design, the Wave Neo shares many similar specs to its pricier Wave siblings, using a single cardioid pickup pattern mic with a max 24-bit resolution and 96kHz sampling rate. It even has a wider 20-20,000Hz frequency response than the 70-20,2000Hz of the Wave:3. However, the Neo is less responsive, with a lower sensitivity rating of -23dB (min gain) and 7dB max gain compared to -25dB to 15dB.
As such, the Wave Neo won’t quite rival the Wave:3 for more demanding recording tasks, but it will still be more than ample for video calls, game chat, and as a starting point for recording. What’s more, if you do find the Neo’s stand still isn’t tall enough for you, at nearly 30cm high, you can remove it and mount the mic on a boom arm using any of 1/4-inch, 5/8-inch, or 3/8-inch threads.
The elegant mic includes a tap-to-mute button on the front, which also glows red when muted. There’s also a headphone jack on the rear and integrated cable clips on the stand. The mic uses a USB-C connection. The Elgato Neo price is $89.99 (£99.99) at MSRP.
The Elgato Key Light Neo also joins the new range. This is the smallest Key Light the company has yet made, and it moves away from the simple flat light panel with a screw mount design of the other options, by having a foldable integrated stand (though it can be removed). This lets you place the light on your desk or clip it to your monitor, just like on many webcams.
The color range of the light can be varied from 2,900-7,000K for a warmer or cooler light, while you can get between 300 and 400 lumens out of the light when it’s powered over USB, or 1,000 lumens using the included power supply. All while consuming just 15W. A big improvement over previous Key Lights, the Neo also has integrated controls for brightness, power, and color temperature. The Elgato Key Light Neo price is $79.99 (£89.99).
Next up is the Elgato Facecam Neo, which offers 1080p capture at 60Hz, and includes an integrated privacy slider to cover the lens. Otherwise, it’s a basic unit with no built-in microphones. though it does have autofocus, unlike some previous Facecams. The Elgato Facecam Neo price is $99.99 (£99.99).
Next, we come to the Stream Deck Neo, which is an interesting new variant of the company’s streaming interfaces. It doesn’t have many buttons, offering just eight fully programmable buttons for launching your apps and macros. However, it also includes an ‘Infobar’ that shows features such as the date and time, and you can change what it shows with a tap of the buttons on either side of it.
Finally, there’s the Elgato Capture Neo, which offers 1080p recording at 60Hz, with 4K pass through at 60Hz. The Elgato Capture Neo is available for a price of $140 (£119.99).
All the new devices work with Elgato’s software, allowing you to sync up and control all the gear via keyboard commands, or via devices like the Stream Deck Neo. A press of a button can be programmed to dim your key lights, disable your webcam, and set your Corsair lighting to a low gaming red, while another can fire up a bright and breezy desktop work mode for your peripherals.
All the new Elgato Neo products are available now both directly from Corsair and via other retailers. For more on our current choice streaming gear, check out our guide to the best webcams, as well as our list of the best gaming microphones, where we take you through all the best options for your needs.