Elgato - Wave:3

Elgato Wave 3, and then run the audio through Adobe Podcast AI to clean it up. I get tonnes of comments on the quality so clearly people like it.

Still getting into streaming myself but I love my Elgato Wave 3 mic. Sounds fantastic and it comes with a digital sound mixer (Wave Link) that works really well. Don’t have a great camera so no suggestion for you there

I haven't updated my gear in a couple years, but I replaced my Blue Yeti I started with for an Elgato Wave 3, which has served me well. It should be in the price range you are looking for as well. There are attachments for a vibration mount and pop filter as well.

Most decent mics are around the $100 mark, which is already half your budget. These would be things like the Lewitt LCT 240, Audio Technica AT2020, heck even an SM58 would be fine. If you can find them on sale, that will help with the rest of your budget. Alternatively, a USB mic like the Wave:3 would get you mic + interface in one go and it's a decent enough mic (it's also made by Lewitt). You just have no upgrade path and if the drivers go wrong or something, you're out both a mic and an interface. With a condenser mic, just about any interface would be good enough in terms of quality. Again, most decent ones start at around $100. What you get by paying more is not just better quality but also more features and driver support. My favorite pick for streamers is the Audient iD 14 mk II. It has really good quality, but it also has the ability to route your audio to 3 separate outputs that you can mix separately for yourself vs OBS. You could also do this using Wave Link with the Wave:3 or Wave XLR, but you'll get additional latency and the quality on the Wave XLR is lacking by comparison to most other audio interfaces. Unfortunately, good audio gear is not cheap and these recommendations are pretty much the low end price wise. I'm not saying you have to go nuts, $200 will get you a decent mic and interface, especially if you wait for sales or shop used, but it'll be hard to get mic and interface and arm and cables etc, so you may need to shop around and buy things piecemeal.

Elgato Wave 3 is a great USB condenser mic because you can tweak it with the (free) app. In short, it’s easy to setup and use, and you can make it sound like a « pro » dynamic mic with soundboard, etc. I recommend using an arm instead of desk mount to avoid unwanted background noise. Elgato mic arms are also great. Elgato is like Apple for streamers. Not cheap, but great gear for all your needs. For post production, https://auphonic.com is awesome. Easy to use and you get great results.

I know there's a lot of XLR purists but I always had troubles with an xlr mic/lifter/interface/mixer set up. I would get weird hums or technical gremlins. It was overkill for what I needed. I switched to USB hyperx quadcast and my life was so much easier. I got a elgato USB mic on eBay for $50 and it also sounds great with no hassle.

I know there's a lot of XLR purists but I always had troubles with an xlr mic/lifter/interface/mixer set up. I would get weird hums or technical gremlins. It was overkill for what I needed. I switched to USB hyperx quadcast and my life was so much easier. I got a elgato USB mic on eBay for $50 and it also sounds great with no hassle.

choose any USB or XLR **condenser** mic that’s in your budget. common ones are the HyperX Quadcast (S, 2, 2S, …), Elgato Wave:3, Logitech Blue Yeti, Logitech Blue Snowball, Audio Technica AT2020, … condenser mics are much more sensitive to background noise and just noise in general when compared to dynamic mics, such as the SHURE MV6. a dynamic mic is what singers use on live stage performances and what a lot of podcasts use because when you’re talking in a room with a lot of noise or across from someone else who is also speaking, you don’t want to pick up these external sounds. however the tradeoff with a dynamic mic is that the clarity can be lower compared to condenser mics, and a condenser mic that’s been adjusted for the acoustic environment can sound absolutely phenomenal. if you’re setup with multiple people on a couch, and the microphone is placed relatively centered so everyone’s voice can reach the mic, you’ll want it to be a condenser because that extra sensitivity will make all of your voices clearer even when the decibel level is low. some condenser mics like the Blue Snowball have multiple pickup patterns like *Cardioid* and *Omnidirectional*. Cardioid is the standard pickup pattern which picks up directly in front of the microphone. It sounds the best and offers the best clarity. Omnidirectional on the Blue Snowball activates multiple pickup zones around the microphone so that audio can be heard from multiple angles. This is typically used for live studio recordings or circumstances such as yours where multiple people need to be heard in a room. due to the sensitivity of condenser mics, if you don’t have an *acoustically tuned* room with proper isolation and foam padding, you may want to experiment with **noise gates, limiters, and compressors** to reduce the amount of unwanted background noise. if you use OBS, it has a built in tool for all of them.

Blue Yeti is probably the best option for exactly $100 in the U.S. especially now with the acquisition by Logitech. Blue Snowball is an older smaller unit for around $50 that still sounds quite good. If you can stretch to $150, the Elgato Wave:3 is considered one of the best USB condenser mics for streamers due to its great sound and well-made software that comes with it. Audio Technica AT2020 is an old but gold legend. still sounds great for around $100 in 2025 (21 years later), however it may not have the software support that the HyperX QuadCast, Logitech Blue mics, or Elgato do, and I believe it only has a Cardioid polar configuration. HyperX QuadCast (original model, not the 2 or S) is $80 and comes with a cool red light effect and a very intuitive tap-to-mute placement.

I haven’t seen anyone mention the wave 3 mic, but it’s pretty solid! Even has its own mixing software and VTCs that you can set up for it like a noise gate or a compressor among other things. Been using it for pretty much everything from gaming to zoom calls for years and would def recommend ya check it out