Voice audio quality -- seems too good

[oboe]

I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but the new sound system has vox that is just too high quality.  It doesn't sound like radio transmission, or even telephone - it sounds more like a high end audio system voice feed.   Do you think it would be possible add a filter to clip the frequency response and add a bit of noise to make it sound more like a WWII radio transmission?    Or maybe just digitize the voice at a lower quality setting, thus reducing bandwidth requirements and perhaps getting more realistic sound at the same time?

Might be even more immersive if this were customized in game - ie, high quality voice when sitting in O'club or tower talking to other players on room channel, but lower quality when talking via aircraft's radio...

Has anybody else noticed this or am I just being hyper-fussy?

[ImADot]

Lots of people have noticed this, and commented on it, and wished for more period-specific radio quality. I think the general consensus was that it's better for gameplay if you can hear and understand each other. Besides, more people would probably just use Ventrillo or Teamspeak than do now.

[GNucks]

Well there's some people out there whose equipment is so crappy you can barely understand them anyway. I don't think you're being hyper-fussy, I can't really decide who I feel about the voice quality in gameplay vs immersion.

[Blagard]

I just have to laugh at the idea of reducing sound quality. For one, I have a severe/profound hearing loss and must admit I did actually manage to pick up what a few people said on Vox recently. Normally quality is terrible and the variation in quality from player to player is enormous.
I did use to fly 14 years ago but gave up when I thought asking East Midlands Air Traffic Control to "say again" was once too often!

It's bad enough having to compromise on the visual aspect without deliberately degrading an area from good to not so good.  We might just as well start adding back engine failures air turbulance and everything else that is unreal in the game. The point is, it is a game and needs to accessible to all.

Can I suggest the OP coat their speaker/headset jack in some suitable corrosive compound to degrade the sound until they are satisfied 

[Delirium]

I agree with Oboe on this one... I can understand that some want the clearer curent vox in place as well.

Why not do both? Install a checkbox under sound/voice preferences that says 'Historical Voice', best of both worlds.

[Karnak]

I have to go with Blagard on this.  We're not all late teens/early twenties guys here like the guys who were flying these things and for some hearing is already a problem.

Realistically, we should strip the ability to use VOX out of three out of four T-34s and most early war Japanese aircraft.  I wonder if the I-16 had a radio?

[oboe]

I just have to laugh at the idea of reducing sound quality. For one, I have a severe/profound hearing loss and must admit I did actually manage to pick up what a few people said on Vox recently. Normally quality is terrible and the variation in quality from player to player is enormous.
I did use to fly 14 years ago but gave up when I thought asking East Midlands Air Traffic Control to "say again" was once too often!

It's bad enough having to compromise on the visual aspect without deliberately degrading an area from good to not so good.  We might just as well start adding back engine failures air turbulance and everything else that is unreal in the game. The point is, it is a game and needs to accessible to all.

Can I suggest the OP coat their speaker/headset jack in some suitable corrosive compound to degrade the sound until they are satisfied 

  Blagard.  I only want degraded voice audio though, not engine sounds, explosions, etc.   Love some of the stuff coming from the soundpack guys.

Sorry abt your hearing loss, btw.  I knew it sounded like an odd request!

[Slash27]

I really like the new VOX being so nice and clear. I deal with crappy radio comms in RL in stressful situations at times and I rather enjoy not having that carry over in to fun time.

An option of having some "filter" to give a certain feel to the comms without truly degrading the VOX would be neat especially in events and such.

[oboe]

I really like the new VOX being so nice and clear. I deal with crappy radio comms in RL in stressful situations at times and I rather enjoy not having that carry over in to fun time.

An option of having some "filter" to give a certain feel to the comms without truly degrading the VOX would be neat especially in events and such.

Acually, Slash27 put his finger more directly on what I'm asking for- not so much poor quality audio as audio that 'sounds' like radio voice.   I'm not asking for less intelligible transmissions.

[Blagard]

An option of having some "filter" to give a certain feel to the comms without truly degrading the VOX would be neat especially in events and such.

I think this is a very positive idea. Especially if it is a user enabled option.

I am aware that on one PC I had I was able to select the sound quality of the Mic. In particuar I recall it because it started with and echo chamber effect that I had to turn off. I'm sure there must be a way to handle Vox in a similar way without impacting on the other sound effects.

[oboe]

I just did a search on how to achieve the radio transmission effect, and it sounds simple enough - basically you filter out the bass frequencies (below 1000 Hz) and add a slight amount of white noise.   

I never noted so many mic problems as I did after the change to high quality audio for voice.  The higher quality seemed to expose problems with peoples mics and settings.  I know I was hearing a background 'hum' in more than a few people's transmissions.

[GNucks]

I just did a search on how to achieve the radio transmission effect, and it sounds simple enough - basically you filter out the bass frequencies (below 1000 Hz) and add a slight amount of white noise.   

I never noted so many mic problems as I did after the change to high quality audio for voice.  The higher quality seemed to expose problems with peoples mics and settings.  I know I was hearing a background 'hum' in more than a few people's transmissions.

If it's really that simple it sounds like a great option, imo. I remember trying create a radio effect once but found it really difficult to get it "just right", but I didn't really know what I was doing either. 

[icepac]

since sound quality is related to sampling rate and bit depth, a decrease in one or the other can decrease both quality and free up some bandwidth for the game.

A filter does none of this.

[Blagard]

I just did a search on how to achieve the radio transmission effect, and it sounds simple enough - basically you filter out the bass frequencies (below 1000 Hz) and add a slight amount of white noise. 

  Well that would make it entirely silent to me  I'm deaf over 1kHz

[Bruv119]

repeat plz!