Name: Blue Yeti X
Brand: Blue
SKU: 48172352-b512-498a-b6aa-5f1b3d9c8465
Rating: 9.1 (3757 reviews)

vs

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$119.99

The Elgato Wave 3 is a USB microphone that is designed for content creators, podcasters, and live streamers who need a high-quality microphone that pr... more

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Experts recommend Elgato Wave 3 more than Blue Yeti X

As of 3 Jan 2025, experts prefer Elgato Wave 3 over Blue Yeti X, but both Microphones have solid expert endorsements.

As per this month's meta ranking, Elgato Wave 3 received 3 recommendations: from IGN (2 Jan 2025), SoundGuys (22 Feb 2024) and CNN Underscored (1 Jan 2025). By contrast, Blue Yeti X received only 2 recommendations from IGN (2 Jan 2025) and SoundGuys (22 Feb 2024).

Rank	Change	Price	Microphone	IGN	PCMag	MusicTech	Music Radar	PianoDreamers	PC Gamer	SoundGuys	CNN Underscored	Tom's Guide	Wirecutter
3	-	$120	Elgato Wave 3 The Elgato Wave 3 is a versatile and reliable USB microphone designed for content creators, podcasters, and live streamers, featuring a cardioid polar pattern, two connectivity options, advanced features, and compatibility with both PC and Mac.	8	-	-	-	-	-	1	3	-	-
5	-1	Check price	Blue Yeti X	1	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-

Curious to see this month's entire Microphones ranking? It's here

About our ranking methodology

Endorsement summary:

On 2 Jan 2025

IGN ranked Blue Yeti X as #1 and Elgato Wave 3 as #8

Rank	Microphone	Comment
#1 out of 10	Blue Yeti X	Best Microphone for Streaming
...	...	...
#8 out of 10	Elgato Wave 3	Best Plug-In-Play Microphone for Streaming
...	...	...

Source: www.ign.com

On 22 Feb 2024 SoundGuys ranked Elgato Wave 3 as #1 and Blue Yeti X as #2

Rank Microphone Comment

#1 out of 5 Elgato Wave 3
The Best

#2 out of 5 Blue Yeti X
Best for streaming / Editor's Choice

... ... ...

Source: www.soundguys.com
On 1 Jan 2025 CNN Underscored ranked Elgato Wave 3 as #3

Rank Microphone Comment

... ... ...

#3 out of 3 Elgato Wave 3
Best microphone for streaming

Source: edition.cnn.com

After counting and adding up the 92 expert endorsements of the January rankings, Elgato Wave 3 outranks Blue Yeti X. This is not to say that Blue Yeti X is a bad option. Like Elgato Wave 3, it is recommended by experts, but less.

MetaRanking Common points from expert reviews summarized.

As can be seen below, Elgato Wave 3 outranks Blue Yeti X by 2 positions. This indicates that, as of 3 Jan 2025, Elgato Wave 3 is more critically acclaimed than Blue Yeti X.

Rank	Change	Price	Microphone	IGN	PCMag	MusicTech	Music Radar	PianoDreamers	PC Gamer	SoundGuys	CNN Underscored	Tom's Guide	Wirecutter
1	-	$100	Blue Yeti The Blue Yeti microphone is a versatile and durable device with four directional patterns, a built-in headphone jack, and compatibility with a wide range of devices and software, making it a popular choice among content creators, podcasters, and gamers.	-	-	11	-	-	-	-	1	1	-
2	-	$99	Shure SM57 The Shure SM57 microphone is highly regarded for its exceptional sound quality, durability, versatility, and compatibility, making it a popular choice among musicians, producers, and recording engineers for capturing instruments and vocals in various live and studio settings.	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	-	-
3	-	$120	Elgato Wave 3 The Elgato Wave 3 is a versatile and reliable USB microphone designed for content creators, podcasters, and live streamers, featuring a cardioid polar pattern, two connectivity options, advanced features, and compatibility with both PC and Mac.	8	-	-	-	-	-	1	3	-	-
4	+12	$279	Shure MV7 Plus	5	7	-	-	-	6	-	-	3	-
5	-1	Check price	Blue Yeti X	1	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	-
6	-1	$149	Shure MV6	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	4	-
7	-1	$297	SteelSeries Alias Pro	3	4	-	-	-	7	-	-	-	-
8	-1	$399	Shure SM7B The Shure SM7B is a highly regarded dynamic microphone that delivers exceptional sound quality, particularly for recording vocals, with its wide frequency response range, flat frequency response, presence boost, and effective noise isolation.	-	-	10	12	8	-	-	-	-	-
9	-1	$35	Razer Seiren Mini The Razer Seiren Mini microphone is praised for its sound quality, directionality, and compatibility, making it a highly recommended choice for clear and focused audio recording in various applications.	-	-	-	-	-	2	5	-	-	-
10	-1	$186	Sennheiser Profile Streaming Set The Sennheiser Profile Streaming Set is a USB microphone with a cardioid polar pattern, frequency response range of 20Hz to 20kHz, and several useful features, making it a great choice for streamers, podcasters, and content creators.	-	3	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-
14	-	$119	HyperX QuadCast S The HyperX QuadCast S is a versatile and reliable USB microphone suitable for podcasting, streaming, gaming, and vocal recording, with four polar patterns, built-in pop filter and noise reduction technology, and two connectivity options.	6	-	-	-	-	5	-	-	-	-
15	-	$279	Shure MV7 The Shure MV7 microphone is a versatile and adaptable option for podcasters, streamers, and content creators, offering excellent sound quality, noise-cancelling capabilities, and connectivity options.	-	-	4	8	-	-	-	-	-	-
16	+1	Check price	Rode NT1 The Rode NT1 is a high-quality studio condenser microphone with a wide frequency response range, low self-noise, cardioid polar pattern, dual connectivity options, and durable construction, making it a versatile and reliable choice for recording vocals and acoustic guitars.	-	6	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-
17	+1	$449	Electro-Voice RE20 The Electro-Voice RE20 is a dynamic broadcast microphone with exceptional sound quality, advanced noise reduction features, and a wide frequency range, making it a versatile and reliable choice for professional audio recording and broadcasting applications.	-	-	8	13	-	-	-	-	-	-
18	+1	$3595	Neumann U87 Ai The Neumann U87 Ai is a top-of-the-line condenser microphone that delivers warm, crystal-clear, and detailed sound quality, making it ideal for recording vocals, acoustic guitar, and spot microphones for individual instruments in a sound-treated recording space.	-	-	13	-	11	-	-	-	-	-
Show all rows

Expert Reviews There are people on the Internet whose job is to review products. Below are their opinions.

Expert reviews [16]

90

Total expert reviews: 16

with a score: 13
without a score: 3

Highest score by TechRadar	100
Average score based on 16 reviews	90
Lowest score by Tom's Guide	80

Score distribution:

80-100
60-80
40-60
20-40
0-20

Expert reviews [24]

85

Total expert reviews: 24

with a score: 12
without a score: 12

Highest score by TechRadar	100
Average score based on 24 reviews	85
Lowest score by PCMag	70

Score distribution:

80-100
60-80
40-60
20-40
0-20

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