Elgato Wave Panels | Is it Worth $100?

Elgato Wave Panel: https://bit.ly/2Q1eSSh

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Elgato wants to be the company that sells you everything you could possibly need for your at home streaming setup. Capture cards, microphones, lights, and now acoustic paneling of all things. You know, the stuff you attach to your wall to improve the sound quality of your room.

These are the Elgato Wave panels, not to be mixed up with the Wave, which confusingly is also the name of their brand of microphones. For $100 USD you get the starter pack of 6 wave panels, a not insignificant amount of money to be spending, especially when you can buy generic acoustic foam much cheaper. Elgato sent us a pack to try out so in this video we’re gonna breakdown what you’re getting for that added price, how the setup works, and if these actually make enough of a difference in acoustics to be worth buying.

Video Transcript

What is acoustic paneling

Your first question might be why would you want this anyways? Well the layout of your space plays a huge role in the quality of your sound. Audio can reverberate off walls and hard surfaces. This affects the sound coming out of your speakers as well as audio recordings. Filling your space with soft objects like carpets, couches, and curtains helps absorb sound. Acoustic paneling is used to help cover up the hard spaces you can’t fill with furniture; your walls and ceilings. A well treated room can result in dramatically improved acoustics.

What comes in the box?

What you get in the box is six hexagonal panels foam panels, 19 inches in width running from point to point. The panels are actually made from two different materials; A low-density foam on the front for damping the high range frequencies, and high-density fiber behind it for trapping the mids and lows. The size of the panels are quite nice and while I am no expert when it comes to the world of... foam, they are of a nicer quality than the cheaper, less dense foam I’ve worked with previously in studios.

But what makes this a more premium product is the mounting frame, which is the most appealing part for me. Acoustic foam can be a right pain to set up. Wall friendly solutions like command strips don’t really stick to foam. Things like staple guns and glue work great in custom studios but in your personal home, you don’t really want to do that. There are solutions you can come up with that can protect your walls but it requires extra effort and additional resources on your part.

Elgato’s solution in a plastic frame, which you mount to the wall and then place the foam on. It allows for a simple install and a clean presentation, giving you everything you need to set them up.

How is the setup?

And to Elgato’s credit, the setup process was a lot smoother and faster then I figured it would be. The only construction required is to snap the frame pieces into place and then you’re ready to go. The next step being to plan out where to put your panels.

This is where Elgato falls short. You want to place the panels strategically to get the best results but Elgato provides no resources or tips in the instructions or their website. The instructions just say to try different combinations of designs.

...ok? But like, is that really gonna give me the best acoustics?

So you’re gonna need to do some extra research on your own and figure out what works best for the setup you have. Speaking of, I live in a small one bedroom apartment and my computer is setup in the living room. It is by no means the optimal space for this kinda thing but I’m just working with what I have which is probably the reality for most people.

For my situation I decided to set all the panels right behind my monitor and speakers which should help dampen my voice.

For installation you have two options. Sticky adhesive for smooth walls, and screws for rougher walls, with the recommendation of using both for extra stability. My walls are rough, but because I’m not interested in putting holes in them if I can help it, I used the adhesive and it worked fine. Just remember to wipe down your wall with a mix of water and isopropyl alcohol first.

Once your first frame is set up, it's as simple as using the sides to line the rest up and then joining them all with the connector piece. Then you place the foam panels on and you’re pretty much done. A painless setup and easy to take down and move somewhere else if needed. The sticky adhesive that comes with is exactly like the command strips you can find practically anywhere, if you need replacements.

Does it make a difference?

But now comes the big question. Do they actually make a difference? Or more specifically is the six you get in the starter pack enough to make a difference?

At first I didn’t feel like there was much of a difference but comparing them side by side it becomes clear how much of a change the panels can make. My audio is softer and less sharp which sounds nicer on the ears. I was originally skeptical of how much improvements the wave panels would make but I have to say I’m pretty happy with the results. The question now is is it enough to justice the step price tag.

Conclusion

You would undoubtedly save money buying the cheaper stuff in bulk but the quality of that foam isn’t gonna be on par with the wave panels. There’s also a matter of setup. I can not express how much of a pain setting up that cheap foam can be and the potential damage that can be done to your walls. The easy installation of the wave panels is a huge plus for me. And while they are pricey, once you start comparing them to real professional grade stuff which goes in the several hundred dollar range, it's starting to look a lot more affordable.

You’re also playing for the presentation and the appearance of professionalism. The sleek hexagonal design doesn’t look ugly on your wall and appears well on camera on a set. I won’t deny that after I first set them up, I did feel more professional doing my voice over.

I’m kinda surprised, I was ready to right these off as an unnecessarily expensive version of the cheap sound paneling you can buy in bulk but good quality foam and easy installation actually makes the Elgato Wave Panels an easy recommendation from me, especially if your goal is to improve your simple at home setup.