SteelSeries has expanded its range of gaming peripherals to include streaming microphones for gamers.
The new Alias range consisting of the Alias Pro and Alias is explicitly designed for gamers, or specifically, gamers who have to be on-screen talent and produce at the same time.
At the heart of this concept is Sonar, a “studio-grade” production suite compatible with popular broadcasting software like OBS and Streamlabs. It’s designed such that users can have all the necessary applications in one convenient package, such as a 10-band Parametric EQ, audio routing, precision tuning, mixing, and ClearCast AI noise cancellation to recreate a studio-like silent space. The suite also includes professional tools such as a compressor and limiter to minimise the need for additional software and plugins. The software is also designed to use the CPU rather than GPU to avoid frame drops.
The Alias microphones utilise a large, custom 1” condenser capsule with a tuned pickup pattern that is designed to minimise background noise, which is similar to microphones used in broadcast and recording studios. Both come with a custom shock mount (to negate noise from table vibrations) included, so you don’t have to hunt for one on your own.
Alias Pro
The Alias Pro is the “broadcast quality” model and rightfully uses an XLR system; i.e. you need 48V phantom power from your audio interface. It’s bundled with the XLR Stream Mixer, which functions as the audio interface and has two USB-C ports that can support dual PC streaming.
The mixer is designed for maximum functionality with ease of use; it features two dials and two buttons, which can be assigned to specific audio channels and monitor levels, while the gain dial uses a simple green-to-red illumination to signal to you that your microphone is peaking. You can dial it down till the colour turns back to green without having to stare at the notches on the control panel. And because this a gaming product, RGB lighting comes par for the course.
Routing is also done via software simply by dragging and dropping. Users can route and mix up to five audio channels.
Alias
If you want something basic and more straightforward, the Alias eschews the XLR connector and features a plug-and-play convenience thanks to a USB connector. Like the Alias Pro, the Alias can output in high resolution, 24-bit/48kHz audio.
A 5-stage LED indicator helps users monitor their microphone levels and changes to a red X when the microphone is muted, which helps users avoid embarrassing #micfails.
Although the Alias does not have a control deck like its Pro sibling, you can plug in a Nova series headset via the 3.5mm jack and control input gain, headphone volume and mute.
Availability
The Alias Pro is priced at SGD499, and the Alias at SGD299. The Alias Pro is available now, while the Alias will go on sale in early November 2023. You can buy them at SteelSeries’ official stores at Shopee Singapore and Lazada Singapore. You can also check out the Sonar app for free here.
