Help: Spec Me A Headset please^^

Crosly

Crosly

Crosly

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Joined
11 Aug 2010
Posts
178
Hello
I'm looking for a gaming headset for me PC only for chatting purposes such as using Teamspeak or Skype.

Main features I'm looking for in a headset is it has to be a Mono headset and has the capability of only hearing voices from the headset. Game/music must come from the PC speakers.
So voices from headsets, game/music from speakers.

I currently have a cheap headset linked up via 2x 3.5mm jacks into a USB sound card to get what I want but I am told that people can hear static coming from me on their end.
So figured I'd look about and there is soo much choice but very limited Mono style headsets.

I was looking at this at an example:
Turtle Beach Chat Communicator Headset for Xbox One

It says Xbox One but it also says compatible for PC.
I would nab it but my concern is getting voice only from it as it only has 1 3.5mm jack.

Do I need 2x 3.5mm Jacks for what I want to work?
or
Look for a headset that is has USB?

Would a PCI Sound Card make this easier for any type of headset whether 3.5mm jack or USB?

Open to opinions and suggestions. Budget is upto £50, maybe more.
If there is also anything I haven't covered just let me know.

Thanks
 
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What sound comes out of what device won't be down to the headset / speakers, but whether the thing creating the sound and / or the operating system of your PC can separate the sound to go to different devices.

I think Teamspeak allows you to select the windows based output device. But I also know that it can get confused and so often my mates spend half an evening faffing around trying to work out why they can't be heard clearly, why there is other feedback, or whatever.

Even in my own setup, where I run a (no longer available Medusa Speedlink) 5.1 headset with microphone off a soundcard, I find that balancing teamspeak output with the game is a challenge as inevitably some speak loudly, others don't. If you are wearing a headset just for Teamspeak and using speakers for the game, surely the headset will muffle the game's clarity?

Oh and mono, means only one channel. Thus there will be only one jack connector. If you want stereo sound then for a headset there will still usually only be one jack, but it has an additional ring on the connector pin so that left and right sounds separate. You normally only start to have a pair of jacks when you are looking at additional setups such as front and rear sound as well as the left / right stereo.
 
I used to have comms via my headset and game sounds via the speakers. It was due to the fact I had a decent pci-e sound card. But now I just run it all via the headset as I found I couldn't play very well at LAN's with suddenly all the noise on the headset so I did away with my 7.1 setup. Other people who've tried that setup tend to find people complain about hearing the noise from the speakers. I didn't have that issue mostly due to blind luck...
 
Forgot to mention I am on Windows 10 and using my MBs Sound.

I do have what I want right now but as I said, some people say they can hear static when I talk. The speakers don't set off the Voice Activation Detection in TeamSpeak and if they did I'd use the Push to Talk function.

Maybe going for a pci-e sound card might be the better option, safest and a nice investment?
 
Whats your budget? Old games didn't like onboard so that was my main reason for the extra card. But times have moved on. It can be anywhere from £20 to £220 for a pci-e card.

Headsets again can start from £10 to £250. And its also about comfort as well as quality. Its one of those things you have to try on for size.
 
PooKer said:
Whats your budget? Old games didn't like onboard so that was my main reason for the extra card. But times have moved on. It can be anywhere from £20 to £220 for a pci-e card.

Headsets again can start from £10 to £250. And its also about comfort as well as quality. Its one of those things you have to try on for size.
Click to expand...


Hmm I'm not too sure as I have not looked up pci-e sound cards upto now. I will when I am home from work.
At a guess maybe £30.

As for headset it would be £50 but want to keep it as low as possible as I'm not on the PC as much at the moment. It's just when I am, I get people saying things.
As for comfort, I do really prefer to only have 1 ear piece rather than the traditional 2.
Similar to this:
Turtle Beach Chat Communicator Headset for Xbox One
 
Sennheiser PC21 maybe something to look at. The only complaint I have with Sennheiser is they're rather fragile.
 
From the OcUK stuff, if you do want just a basic headset for speech then look at :

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/sennheiser-pc-7-usb-voip-headset-sp-078-sn.html

or

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/sennheiser-pc-3-chat-voip-headset-sp-077-sn.html

The first one should do. I wouldn't worry about a specific sound card, in fact the USB would be more than adequate just for speech. Most of the hissing or other noise will be due to poor connections somewhere. Sometimes it can be interference from other stuff in your PC or nearby. Changing headset is the first solution before you spend money on other PC bits.

Oh and may I suggest you don't link to other sales based websites ;)
 
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