How many microphones at once?
One voice needs one XLR input. Two people need two inputs with separate gain, or each voice rises and falls together.
Audio interfaces for streaming
An audio interface is how an XLR microphone reaches the computer: its preamp raises the microphone’s signal, it supplies phantom power when a condenser needs it, and it sends the result over USB. It also gives you a headphone output that hears the microphone with no computer delay.
5 current models and 1 discontinued by its maker · From each maker’s own pages
Does your microphone need a lot of gain, or 48 V?
A quiet dynamic microphone such as the Shure SM7B needs a preamp with plenty of clean gain; a condenser needs 48 V phantom power. Check both figures on the microphone’s profile against the interface’s before you buy; the setup builder compares them for you.
Every model, current and discontinued
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One XLR microphone into your computer, with Wave Link mixing
Elgato Wave XLR MK.2
Its single microphone preamp suits one XLR speaker. Choose an interface with two independent mic inputs when two people need separate gain controls.
Connections & full profile →Two XLR voices and two headphone mixes in a compact interface
Elgato Wave XLR Pro
Plug your streaming computer into the main USB socket. Keep the second USB socket for the other device, and set up what each one hears separately.
Connections & full profile →Two independent microphone inputs for a two-person recording
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 4th Gen
Loopback alone does not remove a guest’s voice from their return. Build a separate mix-minus route before using remote guests, or choose a mixer with that routing available.
Connections & full profile →One microphone input with loopback for a single-voice stream
Focusrite Scarlett Solo 4th Gen
One microphone at a time. Its 57 dB of gain is short of the more than 60 dB Shure asks for the SM7B, so that microphone would need an inline booster here.
Connections & full profile →View at Focusrite ↗A two-preamp interface with loopback mixes and voice processing built in
PreSonus Revelator io24 · discontinued by its maker
Its 60 dB of gain falls just short of the more than 60 dB Shure asks for the SM7B, so that microphone would need an inline booster. The stream mix and effects are set in PreSonus’s software.
Connections & full profile →View at PreSonus ↗A very low-cost interface with one XLR input, 48 V and a direct-monitor switch
Behringer U-PHORIA UM2
One microphone input, 48 kHz at most, over USB 1.1. Behringer states no gain figure and no loopback, so a low-output microphone such as the SM7B is not confirmed to have enough gain here.
Connections & full profile →View at Behringer ↗Older models, for owners
- Elgato Wave XLR (first generation): Already own the original Wave XLR? It still works.
Check your own
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