As someone who has spent most of my life tangled up in XLR cables, let me be the first to tell you that setting up audio equipment is a labor-intensive process. If you don't want to go through the hassle of a pro audio setup, but still want to capture quality sound for streaming, podcasting, etc., this kit from SteelSeries is for you.

Currently on sale for Prime Day for just over $237 for Amazon Prime members ($250 for non-members), the SteelSeries Alias Pro kit has almost everything you need. And it's less expensive than you might think.

I reviewed the Alias Pro kit earlier this year and was very impressed with the entire package. Unlike the regular SteelSeries Alias, the pill-shaped mic ditches the built-in amp for an XLR port and connects to a very compact Stream Mixer that doubles as a preamp and streaming controller.

On the front of this little unit are two RGB-lit soft-touch buttons for mutes, input switching, etc., a dedicated gain dial, and a very large configurable dial that can be used for any purpose. All of this can be adjusted as you wish with SteelSeries' Sonar audio suite, and this integration makes it as simple as it gets.

Once the microphone is plugged in and the Stream Mixer is connected, Sonar works its little miracle, auto-detecting the input and output devices and easily distributing them to the various faders. What was previously complex, such as compressors and noise reduction, is now combined into a single slider.

The neat trick, however, is that they are all set up very well to begin with, meaning that you only have to select the amount you need. I want to reduce background noise” AI-enhanced (moaning) ClearCast noise reduction is raised with a single slider.

Compression ...... Let's turn it up a bit and listen to the results.

But there is one thing missing from this kit. The excellent capsule combined with a powerful preamp really shines when you put it close to your mouth.

SteelSeries sells their product for $99, which, frankly, is a bit overpriced for what it is. Thankfully, the socket on the back of the microphone and the included adapter fit most arms, so something like this $37-plus model of InnoGear (also priced for Prime members, otherwise $50) should do the same job for much less.

And then what? That settles it: the Alias Pro kit makes it easy to achieve excellent vocal audio streaming with just a few clicks, earning it a spot in our best microphones for streaming in our best microphones guide. At this price, it's more affordable than ever.