Experts recommend Elgato Wave 3 more than Shure SM7B
As of 3 Jan 2025, experts prefer Elgato Wave 3 over Shure SM7B, 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). Shure SM7B was also endorsed 3 times: by MusicTech (6 Apr 2022), Music Radar (26 Jun 2024) and PianoDreamers (25 Jan 2023). However, experts generally ranked Shure SM7B lower than Elgato Wave 3 in their articles, which caused it to rank lower in ReviewFinder ranking.
| 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 | - | - |
| 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 | - | - | - | - | - |
Curious to see this month's entire Microphones ranking? It's here
Endorsement summary:
- On 2 Jan 2025 IGN ranked Elgato Wave 3 as #8
Rank Microphone Comment ... ... ... #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
Rank Microphone Comment #1 out of 5 Elgato Wave 3 The Best... ... ... 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 streamingSource: edition.cnn.com - On 6 Apr 2022 MusicTech ranked Shure SM7B as #10
Rank Microphone ... ... #10 out of 15 Shure SM7B ... ... Source: www.musictech.net - On 26 Jun 2024 Music Radar ranked Shure SM7B as #12
Rank Microphone Comment ... ... ... #12 out of 22 Shure SM7B The best for recording vocals in untreated rooms... ... ... Source: www.musicradar.com - On 25 Jan 2023 PianoDreamers ranked Shure SM7B as #8
Rank Microphone Comment ... ... ... #8 out of 11 Shure SM7B Best known as MJ's Vocal Mic... ... ... Source: www.pianodreamers.com
After counting and adding up the 92 expert endorsements of the January rankings, Elgato Wave 3 outranks Shure SM7B. This is not to say that Shure SM7B is a bad option. Like Elgato Wave 3, it is recommended by experts, but less.
As can be seen below, Elgato Wave 3 outranks Shure SM7B by 5 positions. This indicates that, as of 3 Jan 2025, Elgato Wave 3 is more critically acclaimed than Shure SM7B.
| 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 | - |
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Expert reviews [36]
Total expert reviews: 36
- with a score: 10
- without a score: 26
| Highest score by Music Radar | 460 |
| Average score based on 36 reviews | 141 |
| Lowest score by Music Critic | 86 |
Score distribution:
| 80-100 | |
| 60-80 | |
| 40-60 | |
| 20-40 | |
| 0-20 |
From Seller:
- Cardioid Condenser Capsule: capture speech with clarity and detail.
- Wave Link App: control Wave:3 and up to eight other audio sources, plus create two independent mixes.
- 24-bit/96kHz Analog-to-Digital Converter: professional broadcast audio quality.
- Read more
From Seller:
- ONE MICROPHONE FOR EVERYTHING - Studio Recording, Home Recording, Podcasting & Streaming. The SM7B Is Trusted By The Worlds Leading Vocalists, Podcasters & Streamers.
- STUDIO VOCAL RECORDING - The SM7B’s Dynamic Cartridge With Smooth, Flat, Wide-range Frequency Response Produces Exceptionally Clean & Natural Reproduction Of Both Music & Speech.
- Read more
Elgato Wave 3 USB Mic Review / Test (Compared to Snowball, Yeti, Quadcast, Seiren X, & more)
Review by Podcastage
Very popular! 193K views!
Play video review
Elgato Wave 3 Streaming Microphone Review: More Than a Mic
Review by BadSeed Tech
Popular! 59K views!
Play video review
Getting the Most From Your Shure SM7B Microphone
Review by Sweetwater
Very popular! 216K views!
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Shure SM7B Microphone Review: Worth it?
Review by Manchester Music
Very popular! 199K views!
Play video review