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Xbox 360 Any way to make my mic work 'better'?

Discussion in 'Gaming' started by Hex, 18 Apr 2011.

  1. Hex

    Hex Paul?! Super Moderator

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    As the title, no-one can ever hear me in PartyChat on xbl. I went & got myself the Steelseries 5XBs and I am loving LiveMix, the sound is great through the headphones. However, no-one can ever hear anything I say. I have to practically eat the mic, hold my hand around it and shout into it before they can hear me. They've said I don't break up or sound garbled, I'm just really, really quiet.

    I tried recording a voice message to test it and it sounds fine even with the mic a couple of inches away (works fine in RB too), so I wondered if it was to do with my connection as I've heard bad connections in games can affect how the voices sound. Hence the really bad static I hear in AC:B a lot I guess.

    So my question is this, is there a way to improve this without buying a new headset. I love this one, I just want people to hear me. Are there ports used for voice chat I could forward? Something like that. Any advice appreciated :thumb:

    Oh and I just remembered, I have a brand new wired controller, so I don't think there's a problem on that end of things. Second thing to add, yes I have NAT Open and the standard xbl ports forwarded.
     
    Last edited: 18 Apr 2011
  2. TheLegendJoe

    TheLegendJoe Syntax error

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    I know it sounds silly, have you checked the mic receive settings? Could just be set to low- It sounds like its the xbox's fault, with it being quiet 'n' all- Otherwise, they just wouldn't be able to hear you at if it was the ports surely?
     
  3. Strudul

    Strudul ~

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    We stopped using the in-game chat and started using skype instead. It is so much better.
     
  4. Hex

    Hex Paul?! Super Moderator

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    I saw someone else say something about this when I googled, but I have been through everything on my 360 and can only find one Voice Volume and that says it's for everyone else's voice, not mine. (It's set to the highest anyway). I only think it could be network related because when I record a voice message it works fine. I'm crystal clear and loud enough with the mic about 2" from my face. In partychat though, I have to put the mic practically in my mouth and cup both hands around it AND shout for anyone to hear anything I say.

    Where do I find this option?

    That's not really an option, these are xbl friends, it'd be way too much of a pain to get everyone to use skype and have a PC/laptop next to them while we play. Also I am the only one who's really quiet. Everyone else is fine.
     
    Last edited: 18 Apr 2011
  5. Strudul

    Strudul ~

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    yeh, we were on xbl, but we always had our computers on at the same time anyway so it wasn't any inconvenience

    the only reason we started was cos one guys xbox broke but we still wanted to talk to him
     
  6. Hex

    Hex Paul?! Super Moderator

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    Cheers anyway, but I don't think I really want to make 40 odd people (we don't all use partychat together at the same time, but it's about 40 of us overall) use skype and get laptops just so they can hear me! I'm not a diva :p

    I should add I don't have Kinect and so far the only mic options I've found while googling are under the Kinect mic settings. Which I don't have. All I have are Voice Volume 'adjusts how loud other people sound' which is at 10/10 and Game Volume which is at 5. I don't even have a mute option, but I have that on the LiveMix, so not an issue. There isn't any volume thing for the mic on the LiveMixer either, only volume for the headphones.
     
  7. Hex

    Hex Paul?! Super Moderator

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    Well, this makes no sense at all. I tried it out with a friend in partychat the other night and it worked fine. No problems at all. Then last night it started making an annoying clicking noise and kept not working. I had to keep unplugging my controller to get it to pick up again. Had a play around today and now both headsets cut out on my new wired controller, but work fine on my (sadly broken) wireless controller.

    So it looks like the port on my brand new controller is dead :( Currently got my old wireless controller held together with gaffa tape (the battery compartment falls open all the time) and I'll see about sending my new one back. This sucks quite a lot... Also annoying is that I spent so much time trying to push the LiveMixer in until I heard a click (seriously I don't know anyone who's ever got it to make a click when it's in place, it's a lie!) that I've cracked the casing :blah:
     
  8. Pete J

    Pete J Employed scum

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    I know that Hex has said this isn't an option, but it really is SO much better than any other communication package. It's like night and day in terms of clarity.
     
  9. Hex

    Hex Paul?! Super Moderator

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    Yeah, I know it would be, my house phone is a Skype phone. Just it would be a pain in this instance. Especially when we play team games and switch between in-game chat & party-chat a lot. Anyway, looks like it's sorted now. I have no clue why it was quiet, but now it isn't with the old controller so the new one will hopefully go to be replaced.

    Anyone know if I can do this via the MS site? Just in case Scan say it's been too long. I tried registering the device on the support site, but the serial number is 3 digits too long. Well Scan won't, they just gave me a number for MS. I have managed to just send a support request though. I hope they replace it. That's 2 controllers I've had brand new with problems. I didn't even know the one that came with my 360 was so broken until I bought a new controller!
     
    Last edited: 23 Apr 2011

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