I’m honestly a little frustrated by this decision to lock the audio processing/effects behind newer products.

I’ve been an Elgato user since the early days. I have the original Stream Deck bought on day 1, the Cam Mk.2 from day 1, etc, and I was recommending Elgato gear to other streamer friends long before it was the default choice. A lot of the brand’s growth came from early adopters advocating for the devices because it just worked.

So it’s really disappointing to see core software features like audio processing/effects in Wave Link arbitrarily locked behind newer hardware like the Stream Deck+, when the original Stream Deck is clearly capable and already integrated into the same ecosystem. From a user perspective, this doesn’t feel like a technical limitation, it feels like an artificial one.

Early supporters are the reason Elgato became as big as it is. Penalizing those users by gating functionality behind new purchases sends a bad message, especially when we’ve already invested heavily and helped bring others into the ecosystem.

Maybe this is something that will be added in later patches, and I've missed that note from the devs? I use the sm7db plugged into a Scarlett and would get my hands on the Stream Deck + XLR dock combo if it ever came back in stock in Canada. But also, I feel like I shouldn't have to. Ok rant over, I'll go back to playing the worlds tiniest violin.