Headphones/Mic connector question

[miraj]

Is it better to use a Mic with a USB connector or a stereo type jack?

 I prefer to use the USB type , and need to purchase a headset, which one is the best?

 Thanks

[Denholm]

Most likely the direct connection from the Sound Card. It would probably provide better quality voice sampling since it's direct and not USB based which supports a wide variety of features and has to decode them before sending them. Then again I'm not the big USB geek so I can't say for sure. Yet in my opinion I'd say the sound card slot is better.

[Tigger29]

Yes.. theoretically you WOULD get better quality from the sound card jack... but I personally use a USB headset.

1>  Connections at front of tower.. easy to plug in and unplug (I only use headphones for AH.. for the most part anyway)

2>  Powered up by USB jack.  Some sound cards may not have a powered jack, which means the headphones would need an external power supply.  Whether it be a cord or batteries... well either way it'd be more of a pain.

3>  ON-BOARD sound.  I do not use an external sound card, nor do I really wish to buy one for one game.  I know some of you guys out there are bigger gamers than me, but personally I don't see much use in purchasing a SB Live or whatever, when my on board serves all of my non-AH purposes.  Hooking a headset to on board sound may defeat the purpose, as many do not support 5.1 surround, and quality may not be that great.

Yes many people may argue that USB uses up "valuable" bandwidth and processor cycles, etc.. and that's probably true to a point... but I never noticed any difference when I first started using this headset.. and that was on an XP2200 system.. now I'm on a core-duo E6300 and it definitely doesn't seem to load down the processor any...

I will admit.. I get very slight interference sometimes at very low volume levels... but it's hardly noticeable, and for sure is not an issue during normal AH sounds.

I can tell you this.. whatever you get, make sure it's surround!  Yes they make surround headphones.. I can vouch that they completely changed my AH experience.. more so than my LCD... more so than my joystick... even more so than my faster computer!

Good luck!

[miraj]

I already have 5.1 digi surround , does using a headset block that?

 Will I still hear everything when not talking?

 Ideally , I want a single ear headset , to plug in iether USB or stereo jacks. Something that will not interfere with the game sounds.

[The Fugitive]

I have a sound blast 5.1 surround sound on my set up. I got a stereo splitter jack to plug in on my "front" speakers. One side of the splitter goes to the front speakers, and the other side goes to my headset.

Sounds great in the headset, and when I want to use the speakers, I just hang the headset on the hook I have and turn the speaker amps on. Works great for me.

[Tigger29]

Believe me, you do NOT want a single ear headset.  The capabilities of surround in the headset incredibly adds to your perception of direction and distance from within the game.

However, it sounds almost as if you want a single ear headset to hear voices only?  I'm not quite sure that's possible.  From what I understand Windows can only use one sound device at a time, so if you plug in headphones, it's going to turn off your speakers, unless you SPLIT it past the computer, in which you're going to hear the same exact thing from the speakers AND the headset... which REALLY defeats the purpose.

Good luck.

[miraj]

Ok , please forgive my ignorance here.

 I can certainly hear great sound on the digi surround, and I hear others talking through the surround system.

 Can I use just a mic , and get the same effect/use ??

 That way , I can just use the mic for talking , and retain all the full effects of my surround sound.

[The Fugitive]

sure, just don't plug a head set in. A mic on the desk, or hanging off your ear is still just a mic.

[oldtard]

i maybe wrong here (so forgive me if i am) but if you use your speakers to play the game with, when you talk into your mike everyone will hear a hellofalot of background noise when ever you talk

[Tigger29]

Possibly... especially if you use a cheap microphone.  Most of the better quality ones have the ability to phase out the background sounds, and only pick up what is spoken directly into it.  Unfortunately I cannot recommend a specific one, as my experience with an external mic like that is limited.

Can anyone else here offer some advice?

[airspro]

i maybe wrong here (so forgive me if i am) but if you use your speakers to play the game with, when you talk into your mike everyone will hear a hellofalot of background noise when ever you talk

Nope

I use a Plantronics headset and "don't" have the headphones pluged in . Just hang them around your neck and point the mike upto your mough . Works fine .

[oldtard]

Nope

I use a Plantronics headset and "don't" have the headphones pluged in . Just hang them around your neck and point the mike upto your mough . Works fine .


__________________
spro is my current AH handle

yes thats because you are using headphones i thought he was talking about using his speakers and then talking into a mic

[The Fugitive]

Originally posted by oldtard
.............and "don't" have the headphones pluged in .

yes thats because you are using headphones i thought he was talking about using his speakers and then talking into a mic

He says he doesn't have his headset plugged in so that would mean he's using speakers.

I've never had anyone complain about any background noise on my set up either. With 11 speakers, I can make a LOT of background noise  

[airspro]

Yep I use just speakers to hear the game with . I DON"T use headphones to hear the game , I just use them around my neck as they came with the mic