SteelSeries enters the gaming microphone market with Alias

theverge.com:

By Tom Warren, a senior editor covering Microsoft, PC gaming, console, and tech. He founded WinRumors, a site dedicated to Microsoft news, before joining The Verge in 2012.

I’ve been a big fan of SteelSeries’ gaming headsets over the years, but I’ve always paired them with a dedicated XLR microphone for improved quality when I game with friends on Discord, hop on Zoom calls for work, or occasionally stream on Twitch. Now, SteelSeries is filling the gap in its gaming lineup of accessories today with the new Alias and Alias Pro microphones, designed with gamers and streamers in mind.

Both of SteelSeries’ new microphones are a first for the company, with a pill-shaped design that nests into a sturdy stand or attaches to a boom arm. Both use a custom one-inch condenser capsule that’s bigger than what we typically see on gamer-focused microphones, combined with a cardioid pattern.

The $179.99 Alias connects over USB and offers gain control at the front, alongside a mute button and an assortment of LEDs that can provide level monitoring. There’s RGB lighting, too, because every gamer needs customizable colors on their microphone.

The $329.99 Alias Pro is a significant step up, removing the onboard controls in favor of a dedicated XLR Stream Mixer — a control station that sits on your desk. It takes the XLR microphone connection from the Alias Pro and adds a pre-amp, +48V phantom power, and two USB-C ports. One is enough for a single PC setup, but the second can be used by steamers with a dual PC setup to connect to both a streaming PC and gaming PC.

The XLR Stream Mixer also offers a convenient mic mute button, gain control, and a customizable dial that you can pair to your headset volume. There’s even an additional mute