Zenoth
Diamond Member
I'll try to describe this the best I can. First of all, my sound system is a very modest Edifier M3400 model. A review of it can be read there (if anyone needs information about it that is, which might help me fix the issue I'm describing, if it can be fixed at all).
There's basically two ways by which I use my microphone for gaming purposes.
1) Using the microphone while the sound system is turned On.
2) Using the microphone while the sound system is turned Off, but using the headphone set plugged into the headphone output port on the volume control knob.
When during the day I let my sound system turned On I off course listen to anything from the speakers of that sound system, and when playing games I happen to use my microphone. Everything works fine. When the sound system is turned On there's also nothing plugged into the volume control knob's headphone output port, it's just the volume knob being illuminated, active and... just you know... On (with the Subwoofer On as well). With that said, when it gets late I turn the sound system Off (the Off button onto the Subwoofer itself, as well as turning the volume control knob Off) to avoid having issues with my neighbors because they'd hear how much I fail at TF2 sometimes and would make their walls shake with the screeching voice of the Spy dying...
So, to still being able to hear what's going on I just plug my headphone into the headphone output port of the sound system's volume knob. Now that's just to allow me to hear stuff of course. But sometimes I also want to just briefly speak. Now that's when the actual issue occurs, regarding (I think) the microphone. When my sound system itself is turned Off then the microphone I am using is itself plugged into my Sound Card itself. The Sound Card in question is a Sound Bblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic model (similar to XtremeGamer as well, I think). A review of it can be found there. So, the microphone is plugged into the Digital In/Out port of the sound card. So far so good? Should be (actually I wonder if it is but I think it is).
So what IS the problem?
Well when I speak in my microphone under the conditions #2 (sound system turned Off) then for some reason(s) there's a constant non-stop "hiss/hum" type of sound in the background, to start with, but not only that, my actual voice's volume is tenfold higher as well as creating sudden volume bursts whenever I use any syllables (mostly but not only). I found out about it since other players told me "Jesus Christ turn your mic volume down!" or "Something's wrong with your mic dude it's crackling, it's too loud!". I was surprised... until I tested it myself in a sound-recording software (or also just testing in Steam). I tested it and they were right, something is wrong. But why is it wrong only when the sound system is turned Off? Because when it's turned On I have tested it and there's absolutely no issues whatsoever. There's no background "noise" at all, completely clear. There's no echo effects, nothing, it's just crystal clear and the volume is alright, no sudden sound volume "bursts".
Additionally, when testing it myself while I recorded I noticed that if I dare even just gently bumping the microphone itself then it is as if me physically touching it (almost anywhere, not just the actual microphone but also even it's base and "cord") amplified sounds. In other words it is as if EVERYTHING is being amplified to a point where even just touching (not speaking!) the microphone "waved" its way into the microphone and created non-bearable sound bursts. I find even that difficult to explain with the proper words.
Why?
Everything is plugged where it should be, correct? I think it is. The settings in Windows are fine (the volume, etc) since when the sound system is turned On everything works fine. I don't get it. Can anyone please help me "fix" this problem? I wonder if I have to adjust Windows Sound options or not, or if I have to physically plug things differently whenever I want to use a microphone while I turn my sound system Off (and while a headphone is plugged in as well). It's weird, please help if possible.
Thanks.
There's basically two ways by which I use my microphone for gaming purposes.
1) Using the microphone while the sound system is turned On.
2) Using the microphone while the sound system is turned Off, but using the headphone set plugged into the headphone output port on the volume control knob.
When during the day I let my sound system turned On I off course listen to anything from the speakers of that sound system, and when playing games I happen to use my microphone. Everything works fine. When the sound system is turned On there's also nothing plugged into the volume control knob's headphone output port, it's just the volume knob being illuminated, active and... just you know... On (with the Subwoofer On as well). With that said, when it gets late I turn the sound system Off (the Off button onto the Subwoofer itself, as well as turning the volume control knob Off) to avoid having issues with my neighbors because they'd hear how much I fail at TF2 sometimes and would make their walls shake with the screeching voice of the Spy dying...
So, to still being able to hear what's going on I just plug my headphone into the headphone output port of the sound system's volume knob. Now that's just to allow me to hear stuff of course. But sometimes I also want to just briefly speak. Now that's when the actual issue occurs, regarding (I think) the microphone. When my sound system itself is turned Off then the microphone I am using is itself plugged into my Sound Card itself. The Sound Card in question is a Sound Bblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic model (similar to XtremeGamer as well, I think). A review of it can be found there. So, the microphone is plugged into the Digital In/Out port of the sound card. So far so good? Should be (actually I wonder if it is but I think it is).
So what IS the problem?
Well when I speak in my microphone under the conditions #2 (sound system turned Off) then for some reason(s) there's a constant non-stop "hiss/hum" type of sound in the background, to start with, but not only that, my actual voice's volume is tenfold higher as well as creating sudden volume bursts whenever I use any syllables (mostly but not only). I found out about it since other players told me "Jesus Christ turn your mic volume down!" or "Something's wrong with your mic dude it's crackling, it's too loud!". I was surprised... until I tested it myself in a sound-recording software (or also just testing in Steam). I tested it and they were right, something is wrong. But why is it wrong only when the sound system is turned Off? Because when it's turned On I have tested it and there's absolutely no issues whatsoever. There's no background "noise" at all, completely clear. There's no echo effects, nothing, it's just crystal clear and the volume is alright, no sudden sound volume "bursts".
Additionally, when testing it myself while I recorded I noticed that if I dare even just gently bumping the microphone itself then it is as if me physically touching it (almost anywhere, not just the actual microphone but also even it's base and "cord") amplified sounds. In other words it is as if EVERYTHING is being amplified to a point where even just touching (not speaking!) the microphone "waved" its way into the microphone and created non-bearable sound bursts. I find even that difficult to explain with the proper words.
Why?
Everything is plugged where it should be, correct? I think it is. The settings in Windows are fine (the volume, etc) since when the sound system is turned On everything works fine. I don't get it. Can anyone please help me "fix" this problem? I wonder if I have to adjust Windows Sound options or not, or if I have to physically plug things differently whenever I want to use a microphone while I turn my sound system Off (and while a headphone is plugged in as well). It's weird, please help if possible.
Thanks.
