We’ve been massive followers of the Elgato Stream Deck ever since its first incarnation. It’s a neatly executed machine for controlling all types of facets of your gaming, streaming, or work PC setup, and as we speak it simply obtained much more succesful, or a minimum of the Stream Deck + model did. That’s because of the announcement of two new equipment, the Stream Deck + XLR Dock and USB Hub.
As these imaginative names subtly suggest, these two Elgato equipment respectively present an XLR enter for a microphone (together with a headphone output) and a number of additional USB ports. They only slot into the again of the perfect stream deck you should purchase proper now, and immediately present it with masses extra connection options.
There may be one instantly apparent draw back to the 2 new items, although, which is you can solely plug in a single or the opposite. You may both have a number of USB plugs, or the audio connections, however not each – can anybody else see an XLR Hub showing within the not-too-distant future?
Trying extra intently on the XLR Dock, it primarily supplies a lot of the options discovered on Elgato’s Wave XLR interface. That standalone unit supplies an XLR enter, headphone output, USB-C connection to your PC, after which there’s an enormous dial on the entrance, together with some LEDs, that you should utilize to manage headphone quantity, microphone quantity, and the way a lot of the microphone you hear by means of your headphones.
The XLR Dock lacks the large dial on the entrance, however this function can as an alternative be replicated through numerous programmable buttons and dials that the Stream Deck + gives.
As for the USB Hub, this add-on supplies two USB-A ports and 4 USB-C sockets. Nonetheless, as is so typically the case with USB-C ports lately, the setup right here is barely extra difficult than it first seems.
Two of the USB-C sockets are simply commonplace USB 3.0 5Gbps ports that may present 7.5W of energy (the identical because the bigger USB-A ports), however the different two have particular functions. One is the info uplink that you just’ll hook up with your PC, whereas the opposite is a devoted energy port that can be utilized to attach as much as a 100W USB-C energy provide for a laptop computer. It undoubtedly looks like Elgato may have organized the ports a little bit higher so you possibly can simply inform which port is which from the entrance.
A neat little further with the USB Hub is that it additionally supplies SD and microSD slots for simply plugging in your telephone/digital camera/Steam Deck storage playing cards.
The XLR Dock and USB Hub are in the stores now, with each objects already accessible on Corsair’s web site. The XLR Dock value is a hefty $119.99 however that is cheaper than the $159.99 Wave XLR. In the meantime, the USB Hub prices $59.99, making it a extra inexpensive improve.
For extra desk and audio upgrades, take a look at our greatest gaming microphone and greatest gaming mouse pad guides.
