Customer Ratings & Reviews

The SteelSeries Alias USB microphone is a great general-purpose mic despite being designed for gaming(streaming in particular) and podcasting. Frankly, the only element of this mic that makes it “gaming oriented” is the RGB light at the bottom. This light can be adjusted with the SteelSeries software. However, for the purpose of the review, I did not use the free Sonar software as I wanted to review the mic itself unadulterated. Moreover, I could not get the SteelSeries GG software (which Sonar is a part of) to even launch after I download it(I am on Windows 11). From Googling, I have found out that this apparently a common problem with the software. This is a big issue as the software is the only way to adjust the RGB light. The mic is very user-friendly to use. It is very much a plug and play mic. You have a knob in the front for adjusting the volume for headphones monitoring, and a knob on the back for adjusting the gain (how loud your recording is). A cool design with the Alias is that you can see the levels where you’re talking to it. It helps with adjusting the gain to find that sweet spot of not being too loud or quiet. If you want to mute, you merely press a button in the front and the red X on the mic indicates you’re muted. I will say that I like how portable the mic is. Pairing the Alias with a laptop would be ideal due to its portability compared to other mics. I can sit a foot away from the mic and my voice is captured perfectly though to offset that, the gain needs to be set higher. Now that said if you’re serious about recording good audio, you want to be closer to the mic (six inches away) so more of your voice is captured and everything is captured without necessitating a higher gain. Regarding the sound quality of the mic, it is very good for a USB mic. I would hope it is considering its high price compared to many other USB mics. Compared to the Blue Yeti I use, it does sound better in terms of clarity and catching nuisances in your voice, but I’m not quite sure if the price difference is worth it. I do think an XLR mic such as the Audio Technica AT2035(a little bit cheaper) is better though using XLR mics require you to have an audio interface connected to your computer. Overall, the Alias mic is a step above other USB mics and can be used for various tasks as opposed to just streaming or podcasting. However if you want to go a bit more professional, I would opt for an XLR mic. Otherwise for casual and general purposes, I think a cheaper USB mic around the $100 range will suffice in terms of audio quality as oppose to the $180 price tag for this.

Summary: SteelSeries Alias is a very good USB microphone. It is a good fit for beginners and experienced streamers and everyone in between. The design and specs are solid and Sonar for Streamers software turns it into a powerhouse. Design: As shown in the pics, it is a pill shaped microphone with black plastic casing and charcoal fabric. There is a metal shock mount attached to a sturdy desktop stand. The base has anti-slip rubber lining which gives it enhanced stability. It results in vibrations reduction (e.g. loud typing) and better sound quality. There is also a boom arm adapter (boom arm needs to be purchased separately). There is cut out space in the back arm of the stand which allows to pass the cables through. The stand's tilt can also be adjusted. There are two dials, one on the front to adjust the headphone volume and one on the back for microphone gain. There is also a touch sensitive mute button in the front which sometimes doesn't work as well. Above the mute button there is a LED indicator that allows to track voice levels. It switches to red "X" when the microphone is muted. This is a good visual cue in my opinion. Performance: The sound quality is pretty good. My recordings sound full, detailed and clear. The "Sonar for Streamers" software takes the power of this mic to next level. It is a mixer software that lets the user control the audio for multiple sources (e.g. chat, game, media etc.). There is a 10-band EQ that includes presets for the beginners. There are gaming presets for some of the popular games. The software also allows to adjust part of your voice (e.g. bass boost for deep voice vs. clarity boost for ends). The ClearCast AI Noise cancellation is amazing and removes everything that is not your voice. It also has a noise gate and compression. Bottomline: A very good plug-and-play microphone, with all required controls on the mic and a good software to take its power to next level with features like presets, noise cancellation etc.

Amazing how technology has advanced over time and how it is now available to layperson for reasonable prices. Setup was a snap. Plug and play and the mic was recognized automatically on windows 10+. I downloaded the software and followed step by step all of the settings and I was in. The microphone itself looks really nice.. The make is solid. It comes with a non slip base and the adjustability is great and easy to do. Option to put on a boom is really great option too.. lighting is nice. The led indicator tells you how loud you are speaking in indicator lights. Different options to use headphones or speakers is easy to pick your own setup. Use for gaming is great. During game play from what I was told communication was clear. No cut outs or drops. Integrated streaming options with the software is great... Also ability to adjust sound is great... So going back to my original statement this microphone replaced almost an entire recording studio. Just mind blowing. Anyway. I would recommend this product for what it is advertised for.

Steel Series Alias is very well-built and exudes quality. It has exceeded my expectations in every way from hardware to software. The suspension system is great for reducing vibrations and the AI noise cancelling software works well to eliminate unwanted background noise like keyboard typing and other noises that may be unintentionally picked up by a mic. I really like the integrated lighting features that provide good indicators for just about every situation or setting. It makes ease of use much better to have such indicators that you can not miss. I love that it comes with a headphone jack on the back and a headphone gain knob on the front of it. The Microphone gain is around back and I have noticed that the mic picks up and performs well. I really like having a freestanding mic separate from my headphones so I do not have to use a mic boom on my headphones. It opens up a lot of flexibility for headphone choice and my headphones sound great operating through the Steel series Alias mic jack. They sound very full and clear and the Sonar Auxilary equalizer is outstanding for tuning my headphone sound and boosting the volume as high as I want it. The equalizer even tells you the decibels gained and the frequency at the slider points and that’s amazing to me. The attention to detail is excellent and there are so many options and capabilities in the software that the possibilities feel almost limitless. You can integrate other apps and software into the Steel Series and software and configure everything. It really is very well thought out and I am impressed by the effort and work that was put into it. So much so that I have become an instant Steel series Fan and have already started looking into their headphones. I have several other brands but by the experience I am having with this mic it makes me wonder how good their headphones are. So here is the deal if you are on the fence about checking out this Mic or some of their other products I would do it. It seems to me that their products are on another level compared to other gaming equipment I have used. It’s pretty hard to impress me with levels of detail and quality but the Steel Series has done it.

Microphones are varied and divers across all spectrums. The SteelSeries Alias USB microphone is formidable once in your hands. It has some weight to it before you even unbox it. Upon Unboxing you are greeted with a very well packaged microphone and wow it is beautiful to look at. It’s just very elegant and screams quality when you pick it up. Setting it up was super simple plug in a USB-C cord and your off to the races. I was able to position it perfectly to be not intrusive but also still able to hear my voice crystal clear. It didn’t pick up the background noises which was very welcoming. The quality screams in every aspect here, you can leave it on the stand or you can point it to your favorite boom arm. Once I was in the game it faded into the darkness and allowed uninterrupted voice comms in COD and my team appreciated not dealing with crackling or popping noises thanks to its precision microphone. Also the noise cancelling feature is sublime in all aspects. Some make it feel like a him k, this microphone is the real deal. Yes this will look amazing in any gamer setup and give you that edge of clear comms you want, but it’s equally impressive for work calls on teams and other apps. Coworkers couldn’t believe how clear I was sounding coming though their end. My personal opinion is this is the best that’s out there in terms of quality, functionality and delivering on its promises.

Now, this is a Great Microphone! I picked up SteelSeries Alias USB Microphone hoping it would just suffice and man, I was blown away by its sound quality and other professional features you would only find in a $500 plus microphone. First of all, I would love to list a number of features that really impressed me: 1. This microphone has a one-inch condenser capsule with a cardioid polar pattern and a frequency response of 50 Hz - 20,000 Hz. 2. Let its size do not sway you to the other side, it has a 3x bigger capsule than other mics for accurate voice capture. 3. USB-C Connection 4. Affordable price I also like that the SteelSeries Alias USB Microphone is a unidirectional, digital, condenser microphone and when you pair it with the software its audio suite software called Sonar, a number of amazing options are available to you as a user to customize it. I would highly advise you opt in to Beta to be the first to receive the latest software updates to open up more possibilities. The LED lights are cool and I think I will get the Boom arm to complete the whole set up. You will love the clarity and the crispness of this microphone, your audio streams will sound professionally done. If you are a streamer, this is a must have microphone!

Simply amazing,one of the best mic's i have ever touched. I have been streaming youtube video's for what seems like forever and normally relied on the MIC that was connected to the headset i was using at the time. Never really put any thought into getting a better mic. Thats tell i have been really watching a lot of videos on youtube and one thing i noticed myself was the videos i normally did not watch completely through was the ones i could not really hear very well. So unboxing one thing i noticed rite off was how well it was boxed up. Easy to get out and rite on top was a booklet with the no brainer instructions that laid out exactly in what order and what program you needed to install with the link you needed to go to. The software could not make it any easier to install and set up the mic. I tells you from #1 to # 7 what to do and i was up and using my mic in about 15 min at most. Sound quality is unmatched. For the ones that like more control of your mic they are there or the ones like me who like to set and forget they are there also. There are some settings exactly for streamers like streamer mode to give you the best quality sound you can get with the click of a button. There is also a mute volume control rite on the mic and it includes a part if you want to hook the mic to a boom. All in all you cant go wrong with this mic.

The Steel series Alias mic is fantastic! I've been using it for about 2 weeks now while gaming, and also while streaming. It does not disappoint in the least. Audio clarity is clear and balanced, yet easily modified and mixed with the "Sonar for Streamers" app. Which you can easily adjust mix levels and offers AI noise cancellation. Tested this with a mechanical keyboard, and it did pretty great at muting the sound while talking. I also love the ability to assign apps to specific sound levels/channels. I DJ'd in another life, and it's so intuitive like you have multiple inputs going into a traditional mixer, controlling their separate levels, except virtually. Truly magnificent and well designed. The mic itself shines in both quality and function. They tout it as having a much larger capsule/condenser, which ultimately leads to better vocals and range reproduction. Then, add in that they have the LED levels built into the Alias mic so you can see if you're potentially clipping or overloading, as well as it clearly showing if you're muted. Overall, this is a phenomenal mic that I would recommend to any serious novice, as well as intermediary streamers, or really just anyone wanting an awesome mic with a plethora of options and features.

I’m usually not a big fan of USB microphones. But this guy has some unique features that separate it from the competition and should be seriously considered. Starting off, it comes with a stand, with a shock mount, that works so-so. Bumps and taps on my desk are picked up rather easily. This is easily rectified with the Steelseries Sonar software and their “Clearcast AI Noise Cancellation” which works brilliantly at removing/blocking nearly all background and unwanted noises. The stand only moves up or down. I found that the tightening screw was a bit weak as it comes loose easily and when tightening barely moves at all. This could be improved. It does come with a metal fitting to allow it be placed on any boom arm. The microphone itself is awesome. It has a sleek attractive design that looks professional. On the bottom you have an LED light that you can adjust in the Sonar software. I find it gives good ambiance but can be disabled if that isn’t your jam. On the front you have three important features. From the button up, you have a volume knob that has around 340 degrees of rotation. Unfortunately, this only works if you have a headset plugged directly into the microphone. As it doesn’t adjust Windows sound. Additionally, it CANNOT be changed to be something different in the software. Which would have been epic. Next up is the capacitive touch mute/unmute button which when activated will show a red X below the capsule. It does not make any sound when activating/disactivating. Third is what I think is the best part of this microphone and what sets it apart from the competition, the real-time voice monitor. Which tells you how loud you are so you can adjust if needed. You have 5 LED’s, 3 green (all three mean just right), 1 yellow (loud), and 1 red (peaking). You can adjust the gain on the back of the device (again 340ish degrees of rotation). On the back, from the bottom to the top, you have your 3.5 mm aux port, which is in a good place as you can easily reach it and route it out the back. Then comes your USB-C port which again can be routed out the back so you don’t see it. Last, above that you have your gain knob. Overall, you can tell that a lot of time was spent making this an attractive but functional design that really paid off. Perhaps, most importantly we have the actual sound. They report it comes with a larger capsule than normal, which is very sensitive at stock settings without Sonar software, and definitely picks up everything, which is to be expected for a condenser microphone. I found it to be great for my voice. I personally used the “Alias – Desk Stand” preset. Which turns on the EQ, Clearcast AI Noise Cancellation, and Compressor. I also added a noise gate. There is a “Noise Reduction” setting that can be activated without the AI Noise Cancellation for “Background” and “Impact”. Simply by activating that preset I got excellent performance out of it. Even without it at stock settings without any software it was good. It just picked up more background and desk noise than I would want (clicking of mouse, and keyboard typing). Again, that was fully solved with the preset. Where my voice had good bass along with good presence where I had the podcast/streamer sound while still being very clear. It didn’t click up my clicks on my loud optical gaming mouse or me typing on my clicky keyboard. That I’d happily use for recording, streaming, podcasting, or anything else. All my friends said I sounded great. Last, we have the Sonar software, which is the star of the show. Easy to navigate and is for the most part very intuitive. A ton of great features that level up the experience. Such as tuning your headphone/headset (EQ, Spatial Audio, Volume Boost, Smart Volume). Microphone sound (EQ, ClearCast AI Noise Cancellation, Noise Reduction, Compressor, Noise Gate). The Mixer has 5 Virtual Audio Sources (Game, Chat, Media, Aux, and Mic) along with a Master Control. Where you can adjust volume to you and your stream/recording. Along with independently adjust those sounds and see which apps are currently utilizing them (which you can drag and drop into which one you want, say Game to Chat). You can easily switch devices (say you have multiple microphones or headphones attached) to whatever you want. For example I tend to have a wired studio grade headset, along with a wireless headset. This makes it easy to switch without needing to go into windows sound or give up the features used here. I rarely talk about software. As I avoid it whenever I can. But this guy is almost a must have. Which is shocking coming out of my mouth.

SteelSeries has made quite a name for itself in the gaming market with their prosumer quality gaming gear that looks a bit more industrial than the plastic and RGB prevalent on their competitor products. They blend in quite a bit of styling and premium materials you wouldn’t expect to see like metal, cloth fiber, and adjustable knobs and buttons. There’s a lot of interesting features on the Alias that really need the Sonar app to be enabled, such as AI noise cancelling which makes a big difference if you have speakers or you’re a loud typer. The Alias is also suspended in the desktop mount with heavy duty trellis shock mount system that reduces table vibration noises. Lastly, you can control the Gain quickly with the dial on the back of the Alias, as well as via software in Sonar. The Alias itself is very attractive with some RGB LED action for the 5-levels of input, and there’s a fast indented capacitive touch Mute button that shows a big red X on the Mic for when you’re muted so you know when you are actually muted. Very handy for both gaming sessions or if you want to use it for work calls. Sonar is a great program that I’ve already become accustomed to with my SteelSeries headsets, and it allows you to mix and blend multiple apps and sources quickly and easily from within the app so you’re not messing with Windows settings and per-app settings. Overall it works extremely well and it will save you quite a bit of frustration. There’s also a 3.5mm input monitor jack for headphones, I do wish I could plug it in somehow to my SteelSeries headphone mixer but it looks like there’s an XLR kit with the Pro model. As for sound quality, it has a huge mic capsule which definitely sounds better than your typical boom mic on your gaming headsets, and while it isn’t quite Pro grade, it is going to sound fantastic for gamers, streamers, discord users and even most content creators. Other than downloading Sonar for full functionality, it is plug and play and works great out of the box, but if you want advanced features and integration as mentioned with multiple apps, AI noise cancelling, or control of RGB brightness levels, you’ll need to download and install Sonar.

The SteelSeries Alias USB Microphone delivers excellent audio quality, especially when paired with the Sonar application. Its sleek design looks great on any desk, and for a USB mic, the performance is truly impressive. Whether for gaming, streaming, or calls, it consistently provides clear and professional sound.

Honestly hands down one of the clearest mics I’ve ever used! It doesn’t peek or cut out and has the easiest software to use and change the settings on. Totally worth the money I’d recommend it to anyone

Mic works flawless. I have had it for over 6 months now. Love that it has a mute button on the front and volume knob. Software helps fine tune the acoustics. Able to plus in my headphones also to it, which is a bonus. RGB is also a nice addition.

I've tried a few USB microphones and this one by far is the one I love to have on my desk to not only show off but use on the daily. It looks pretty different from other microphones in the market. It has a cool look and the RGB spot light on the base gives it an amazing touch. Control knob for headphones is easily accessible and the quick mute touch sensitive button is on the front. Rear mic gain knob on the back is also well positioned. If you want to buy a arm extension you can go that route as well. Now for overall sound quality, I must say it works as expected. They advertise a bigger capsule for better sound, 3x that of the competition. It can pickup your voice clearly even when you tone your voice down. I love that they have Sonar that you can download for free audio mixing. Sonar is easy to use with quick abilities to mix audio from different applications and use AI to track noise cancellation. This makes me want to get some Steel Series headphones to go along with this mic. Oh also, for those looking for a more "pro" level microphone Steel Series does offer a pro version that would be worth looking into.

Very easy to use. I use Adobe product's, and it easily synced with adobe Audition, and i was able to plug and play. The sound quality was great for the price.

Experience superior clarity with this microphone for seamless communication. Its robust construction ensures long-lasting performance, even with frequent use. Enjoy effortless setup and operation, simplifying your workflow. Crystal-clear audio captures every nuance of your voice, perfect for broadcasting. Elevate your streaming experience with professional-grade sound.

Very easy set up, great quality microphone, and the steal series app/service is great! I’ve always had a steal series’s headset but never downloaded the app for those. Now that I have both I was able to adjust sounds for certain games. For example, I enjoyed making the bass on certain games higher to have more umph for gun fire!

Mic setup is incredibly simple, takes a total of about 5 minutes. The steel series sonar software takes this mic from awesome to incredible. Sound quality is superb.

Really easy to use and rather than razer needing you to download multiple apps just to update and color cordinate things steel series has an all in one app let it be updates settings and color customization they've got it all down plus their app is worth it. I recommend. <3

Great quality for the price. Good customization. Friend and I use it to record acoustic guitar and actually works better than I thought it would.