Elgato Stream Deck Plus Review – Moving Beyond Livestreams

Unboxing the Elgato Stream Deck Plus

Kicking off our Elgato Stream Deck Plus review with the unboxing, the packaging is in your standard Elgato blue colorway with some product details around it. It’s not minimalist but it’s far from being overloaded with information and design elements. Inside the box, we found the following items:

• Documentations
• USB-A to USB-C cable
• The Elgato Stream Deck Plus itself

For our review unit, we also received the XLR Dock as well, which came in a simple cardboard box reminiscent of the Prompter. Inside that box, we found the following items:

• Documentations
• The Elgato XLR Dock itself

Specifications

Product	Elgato Stream Deck Plus
Keys	8 x customizable LCD keys
Dials	4 x 360° encoders with push function (Multifunction Dials)
Touch Strip	LCD touch panel Resolution: 800 x 100 108 x 14 mm / 4.2 x 0.5 in
Interface	USB 2.0 (Type-C)
Dimensions	140 x 138 x 110 mm
Weight	465 g
OS	Windows 10 (64-bit) or newer macOS 10.15 Catalina or newer

Product	XLR Dock for Elgato Stream Deck Plus
Frequency Response	20 Hz – 20 kHz
Dynamic Range	100 dB (120 dB with Clipguard)
Equivalent Input Noise (EIN)	-130 dBV at 60 dB gain
Gain Range	0 – 75 dB
Phantom Power	48 V DC, 7 mA
Max Input Level	10V @ 0dB (with Clipguard)
Max Output Level	77mW
Resolution	24-bit
Sample Rate	48kHz
Interface	USB 2.0 (Type-C)
Dimensions	137 x 115 x 76 mm
Weight	169g

Mic Test

One of the biggest challenges of getting an XLR audio interface is finding out that can support even the most demanding of microphones. The gold standard has always been the Shure SM7B as it’s a very gain-hungry microphone. While I don’t have that, I do have an equivalent in the form of the Samson Q9U, and I’ll also be using the RODE Procaster as well for comparison. Both microphones will be tested on the XLR Dock with the Wave Link software as well as my own RODEcaster II interface for comparison.

By my own logic, there is no way this XLR Dock for the Elgato Stream Deck Plus could match up to the beefier RODECaster II but I’m clearly proven wrong. It’s capable of driving the gain-hungry Samson Q9U cleanly without that static white noise from overamplifying sounds, which also means that the Procaster ran even easier. Audio quality is about even from what I can hear, so unless you specifically require a multi-mic interface, the XLR Dock is a perfectly fine solution, complete with Phantom Power if you ever need it.

If you’re looking for something to make video shoots even easier, check out our Elgato Prompter review by clicking right here.

The Good

There are a number of good reasons to consider getting the Elgato Stream Deck Plus. For starters, it may seem like less buttons than the Stream Deck XL but in truth, you get a whole lot more functionality out of this. While 8 buttons are clearly lesser than 32, you do get a touch strip below it as well as 4 programmable dials, with each dial also capable of functioning as a button since it’s possible to press it down. If you ever need more, simply swipe to the next page using the touch strip and it will be a new set of commands.

Speaking of commands, its productivity potential is practically limitless. Using the Stream Deck software and Elgato Marketplace, you can get a ton of different plugins designed for a wide variety of software for you to use on it. Sure, you have the standard livestreaming plugins like OBS and Streamlabs so it’s easier to execute actions on-the-fly while streaming but Elgato has put extra emphasis on productivity. My personal favorite is the Photoshop plugin as you can quickly execute multi-button shortcut actions with a single keypress while the dials can be used to easily finetune numerical values.

Moreover, you do have a ton of customization options available on the Elgato Marketplace. This includes dedicated screensavers, icons, sounds, and more. The best part about it? Most of them are actually available free of charge, including the plugins. Elgato is massively popular online, especially with the gaming community, so you tend to see stronger community support and development which often results to added functionalities courtesy of them as well. The support continues to grow, resulting in a powerful ecosystem.

For something that is so capable of so much, it’s amazing how easy it is to set it up. With just a single USB-C cable, you can connect it to your Mac or Windows PC, be it desktops or laptops, and it will work perfectly fine. It doesn’t need its own power source so the only issue I would foresee is a USB port on your laptop might have power draw on the extremely low side for it to power this peripheral. Otherwise, you’d be good to go.

Further adding to its ease of use and usability, the XLR Dock is a detachable add-on where all you to do is screw off the stand from the Elgato Stream Deck Plus and then attach it from there. You will then be connecting the USB cable on the dock itself, which is enough to power the whole thing. It’s insane that it can provide Phantom Power, drive even the most demanding dynamic microphones around like the Shure SM7B, and still not require a dedicated power source. This makes it the most logical step up from the GoXLR since the company’s unfortunate shut down since the RODEcasters are too expensive for most people.

The Bad

While I would normally say that Elgato Stream Deck Plus would have its share of drawbacks, there really isn’t much. In fact, the only thing I can point out is the price. It’s retailing for $199.99 / RM1,099, which isn’t the easiest price tag to swallow, especially when you factor in the XLR Dock for an additional $119.99 / RM629. With that being said, you can wait out for certain sales seasons where you can save up to about RM200 or so, and even at full price, I believe that it’s worth every cent for content creators and those looking to maximize their productivity potential.

Elgato Stream Deck Plus Verdict

The Elgato Stream Deck Plus is one of those gadgets that you might not think you need, but it’s hard to be away from when you no longer have it. It’s just that good, even on its own. You can further bolster its functionalities with the XLR Dock or the USB Hub Dock but if you don’t need the extra ports or something to drive your microphone, it’s perfectly fine. It’s no longer a tool just for gamers and livestreamers as just about anyone can make use of it if they use a PC for work.

At the end of our Elgato Stream Deck Plus review, I award this peripheral with our coveted Gold Pokdeward.

Big thanks to Corsair for sending us this peripheral for the purpose of this review.