The idea of AverMedia is undoubtedly successful: combining a six-track mixer with a five-inch touch screen that allows you to graphically control the live broadcast and interact with the audience. Practically the union, on perfect paper, of two tools now essential for streaming that aim at a substantial leap in quality, perceived both by those in front of the camera and by all spectators.
In our AverMedia Live Streamer AX310 review we will focus on the hardware, then moving on to take a look at the included software, never as important in this case to make the most of the object. The price of this peripheral? 350 € approx.
Hardware features
The one proposed by AverMedia is an object that wants to free up as much space as possible on our desk, without however forcing us to find compromises. AverMedia Live Streamer AX310 it looks pretty good but some strange choices immediately jump to the eyes, especially in the management of spaces: the screen is too small and the buttons too few and too large. Even the inputs present did not fully convince us: using an optical input for consoles, when it was abandoned by practically all the new generation gaming machines, is a really difficult choice to understand.
But let's move in order and focus on the back, where there is room for one USB port for connection to the PC, an input for 3,5 mm jack, the XLR input for the microphone and one for the optical cable; also present two outputs always in 3,5 mm format to connect headphones and any speakers. Also on the back is the power button.
On the front instead we have it five-inch screen, four buttons whose function is fully customizable via software and six small and reactive knobs for the volumes of the microphone, the jack input, the optical one defined here as "console", the connected PC, the active game and the last one dedicated to chat. At first glance, in short, nothing really seems to be missing: the object attracts and tempts you to try.
For those who want to do it a little warning: although the mixer is compatible with MacOS, to date the manufacturer emphasizes the absence of compatibility with Macbooks based on SoC M1.
AverMedia Live Streamer AX310 datasheet
Amazon AverMedia Live Streamer AX310 Offer - 6-Track Audio Mixer with IPS Touch Screen for Interaction and Action for OBS Studio, St ...
€350,27
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- Interface: USB 2.0, type B (driver required)
- MIC in: XLR (bilanciato) / 6,3 mm (Single-End) x 1
- Line input: TRS da 3,5 mm, stereo x 1
- Console In: Optical In (Toslink) x 1
- Computer inputs: digital tracks x 3
- Headphone output: TRS da 3,5 mm, stereo
- Line out: TRS da 3,5 mm, stereo
- Output Mix: 2 independent outputs: Creator mix and Audience mix
- Sampling rate: fino a 96 kHz, 24 bit
- Microphone Effects: Noise Gate, Reverb, Compressor, Equalizer
- Frequency response: from 10Hz to 20kHz
- Dynamic range: 114 dB
- Display panel: 5 "IPS screen with CTP touch panel
- Widget: interactive and customizable grid
- Rotational encoders: 6
- Lighting: RGB
- Function buttons: 4
- Power Switch: Yup
- Energy consumption:
- Dimensions (L x W x H):
Without stand: 21,7 x 14,5 x 6,1 cm
With stand: 21,7 x 14,5 x 9,4 cm - Weight:
Without stand: 0,702 kg
With stand: 0,847 kg
Design
AverMedia Live Streamer AX 310 is a small, light object, equipped with a magnetic base that allows surprising maneuverability thanks to a good aesthetics: you can catch it on the fly, hold it in your hand, and then put it back in its accommodation even with your eyes closed. The screen is very bright, but it has some too many problems with reflections, while the reactivity of its touch functions leaves something to be desired in some cases: there is always that fraction of a second delay in the response that makes everything less compelling and comfortable than what it should be, especially considering that it is an object released in 2021.
The choice of design with inputs and outputs on the rear positioned inside a conspicuous recess that makes cable management potentially inconvenient, especially if you have connectors with particular shapes.
The build quality is pretty good, compact and stable, while the four buttons don't seem to respond well enough to pressure, and sometimes get stuck for a few moments before bouncing back into their original position. The AverMedia AX310 is also equipped with fascinating lights that surround the body, and of which it is possible to change the color freely through the enclosed software.
Software
Having established that the object should be perfected from a physical point of view, it is necessary to reiterate that beyond the smudges we are faced with a conceptually winning tool. We therefore shift our attention to another fundamental aspect of AverMedia Live Streamer AX310, namely the software which will allow us to use it, and which in this case must always be active in the background on the PC with consequent waste of resources.
Not bad, but even in this case we found ourselves with well-conceived tools, but at the same time clearly still to be finished. L'program interface it is simple, intuitive, it is based on the drag & drop of widgets as we are all used to doing for some time: just take the function that interests us from the left column and drag it to the right side to make it appear in a few moments on the screen of the AX 310 unit.
Then there are a long series of customizations that help to configure the AX310 according to the needs of each one, and the fundamental integration of various services and programs, such as the inevitable OBS and its special version Streamlabs, RECentral and so on. There are also widgets that allow you to check the number of users connected to the live stream on Twitch and YouTube directly from the AX 310 monitor, and read their comments even if this function struggles a bit to keep up with the speed of the chat and is often updated from a rather annoying bright flash.
On the other hand, the possibility of interacting directly from the peripheral with a second PC is very convenient, if this is not the same one from which the streaming is made. Here too, however, we find ourselves in a situation with great potential, but many of which are in the making. However, it seems that the schedule, if this is respected, will be rather tight: after the summer update already released, the autumn one will soon arrive which will introduce a widget store, new documentation, the possibility of using audio samples and other minor functions, while in winter, a complete redesign of the user experience awaits us, which will allow us, among other things, to change the size of the widgets on the screen (now limitedly pre-established).
Experience of use
The week of experimenting with the Avermedia Live Streamer AX310 was enjoyable but not entirely satisfying. As mentioned, the management of the spaces has left us a bit confused: we would have certainly preferred a larger touch screen, or at least more keys smaller than the four present. The six volume knobs are surrounded by luminous LEDs that indicate the level set, but by turning them it will only be possible to jump by five points and for a more precise control you are forced to use the application on a PC; which is quite inconvenient.
In the end we would have liked to use it more, but the bottleneck represented by the software that must always be running, clearly still in work in progress, prevented us from falling in love with the idea, which naturally remains a winning one: having everything at hand. , literally since the AX310 can be held almost like a tablet, it is clearly comfortable, but the evident limits in the customization of its functions do not allow a complete success.
Even the small screen satisfied us halfway, with many ideas that might have seemed interesting, such as being able to read the chat directly from the deck, which turned out to be almost useless in everyday use. Its modest size does not allow a clear, instant reading, as it should be during a live, and we have often preferred a classic iPad to support it. Here we say that this AX310 in the end proved to be much more useful as a mixer, although even here there are some limitations to be solved as soon as possible.
The use of the AX310 forced us to switch to an XLR microphone, the only type of connection supported, which for the uninitiated are generally better microphones than the USB ones but which need power and also advanced management of the gain to acquire vocals correctly. However, they require a fine equalization, since you have to work on the compressor and gate to prevent background noise from entering or the audio is dirty. All features that the AX310 manages. Avermedia together with this multifunction deck offers its more than discreet Live Streamer MIC 330 (we talk about it in more detail in our guide to the best microphones on the market for video and streaming), but the AX310 can also handle more powerful and expensive microphones.
Comment
Price 350 € Buy it hereResources4Gaming.com
7.3
AverMedia Live AX310 is a winning project that still needs a few months and several software updates to be truly mature. The steps forward compared to the first firmware with which it debuted are however already tangible, with a faster screen response and better overall stability. We hope they also do something about the resources used since seeing so much memory stolen by a software whose use is mandatory, actually leaves us annoyed. Software aside, the new AverMedia invention does its job with precision and versatility and could turn the life of many budding streamers and content creators.
PRO
- Good idea
- Compact and lightweight design
- Software to improve
- Some anachronistic and unconvincing choices
