A microphone arm is the rare bit of streaming gear that almost never wears out, yet it is often the first thing people pay full price for. The Elgato Wave Mic Arm LP sits low and parallel to your desk instead of looming over your face, keeping it out of your webcam frame and out of your eyeline. It is a precision-machined piece of aluminium with internal cabling and a clever rotation point, and a used one does exactly what a new one does. This guide shows you how to buy one second-hand in Australia with confidence.
The numbers that change the conversation
Top used elgato wave mic arm lps on eBay right now
Here are current low-profile Wave arm listings from Australian and international sellers, sorted so the best value rises to the top.
Listings update automatically and open in a new tab.
Why second-hand is not “second best”
Think about what can actually degrade on a mic arm. The answer is almost nothing. There is no battery to swell, no screen to dim, no firmware to fall out of support, no thermal paste to dry out. The Wave Mic Arm LP is a mechanical object: an extruded aluminium frame, a set of spring-loaded joints, and a cable channel running through the inside so nothing dangles into your shot. A unit that is two years old behaves identically to one in the box, provided the springs still hold tension and the clamp threads are clean.
The “LP” matters here. This is the low-profile variant, designed to stay flat and parallel to the desk so the mic floats in front of your mouth from below or the side, rather than dropping down from above. That geometry is exactly what content creators want for a clean camera frame, and it is built into the casting. A used one keeps that design entirely. You are buying the engineering, not the newness.
An aluminium boom arm is one of the few pieces of studio kit where “used” and “as new” are genuinely the same product. The metal does not care how many streams it has held up.
The savings are real
Mic arms hold their resale value because they last, which cuts both ways: a second-hand one is rarely free, but it is reliably cheaper than retail. Across used and refurbished electronics generally, buyers save somewhere between 20% and 60% versus new, and an arm sits comfortably in that band because there is no hidden wear to discount for. People sell these for ordinary reasons. They upgrade to a full-height boom for a heavier mic, they switch desk setups, or they simply move the studio into a cupboard. None of those reasons touch the condition of the arm. You are catching a near-perfect product on the rebound from someone else’s gear churn, and the money you keep is real money that stays in your pocket.
New vs used, side by side
| Brand new | Used / refurbished | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Full retail | Typically 20-60% less |
| Build & geometry | Aluminium, low-profile | Identical, unchanged by use |
| Internal cable routing | Clean, hidden | Same channel; check it is intact |
| Accessories | All adapters & cable guides | Confirm the clamp & adapters are included |
| Warranty | Full manufacturer | Seller / platform; ACL still applies from a business |
| Environmental cost | New manufacturing footprint | Reuses metal already made |
The five-minute checklist before you pay
- Spring tension holds. Ask the seller (or test in person) whether the arm stays put at the angle you set it, with no slow droop. This is the single most important thing on any boom arm.
- The clamp and any mounting adapters are in the box. The desk clamp does the real work; without it you cannot mount the arm at all. Confirm the included hardware in photos or in writing.
- Internal cable channel is intact. The LP routes your mic cable inside the arm. Check the channel covers and guides are present and not broken off.
- Thread for the mic mount is clean. Most studio mics use a 5/8 inch thread, often with a 3/8 inch adapter. Make sure the threads are not stripped or cross-threaded.
- Movement is smooth and quiet. A good arm glides; a damaged one squeaks, grinds, or sticks. Squeaks are recorded by your mic, so this matters acoustically, not just cosmetically.
- It is the LP, not the full-height Wave arm. They look related in thumbnails. Confirm you are buying the low-profile model you actually want.
You have more protection than you think
Buying second-hand in Australia does not mean buying without recourse. When you purchase from a business, including a registered seller on a marketplace, the Australian Consumer Law gives you automatic guarantees that the item is as described and fit for its stated purpose. Those guarantees apply to used goods too, scaled to what is reasonable for the age and price. On top of that, marketplaces like eBay run buyer-protection programs that cover items arriving broken or not matching the listing. Pay through traceable methods, keep your messages and receipts, and you are well covered if an arm turns up with a dead spring or a missing clamp.
Ready to find yours?
Browse current pricing and availability across trusted retailers and marketplaces below.
Red flags to walk away from
- No photo of the desk clamp. If the listing never shows the mounting hardware, assume it is missing and ask before bidding.
- “Won’t stay up” or visible sag in a video. Worn or weakened springs are the one fault that is genuinely annoying to live with.
- Cracked aluminium near the joints or clamp. Stress fractures around the pivot points mean the arm may fail under a mic’s weight.
- Bent arm sections. A boom that has been over-extended or dropped can lose its smooth motion permanently.
- Vague “untested” listings with no spring or movement detail. For a mechanical product, “untested” usually means the seller already knows something is off.
- Price suspiciously close to new. If you are not saving meaningfully, just buy new and keep the full warranty.
Frequently asked questions
Will a used Wave Mic Arm LP fit my microphone? Almost certainly. It uses the standard 5/8 inch mic thread with a 3/8 inch adapter, which covers the vast majority of streaming and broadcast mics. Just confirm the adapter is included if your mic needs the smaller thread.
How much weight can it hold? The LP is designed for typical USB and XLR streaming microphones. Very heavy large-diaphragm mics can challenge any low-profile arm, so match the arm to your specific mic’s weight and test that it holds the angle without drooping.
Does it only work with a particular brand of mic? No. Despite the matching branding, the arm is mic-agnostic thanks to the standard thread. You can mount most third-party microphones on it without trouble.
What about the cable management? The LP routes the mic cable internally to keep your desk and camera frame tidy. On a used unit, confirm the channel covers are present, then thread your own cable through during setup.
The bottom line
The Elgato Wave Mic Arm LP is exactly the kind of product the second-hand market was made for: a durable, mechanical, slow-to-obsolete piece of metal that performs identically whether it is fresh or pre-loved. Check the spring tension, confirm the clamp and adapters are included, make sure the joints move cleanly, and verify it is the low-profile model. Do that, and you walk away with a clean-framed, professional mic setup for a fraction of retail, while keeping one more well-built thing out of the e-waste stream. That is a smart buy by any measure.
This article may contain affiliate links; see our Affiliate Disclosure.