USB Headset Mic Very Low

[kenng]

I recently got the Corsair Vengeance H2100 headset to replace my old broken headset. After charging it, I plugged in the USB dongle and listened to audio quality. I was very pleased as it sounded great, no problems there. I then recorded my voice with the mic and could barely hear myself.
The microphone volume is turned up to max in the sound settings and I have installed the drivers for the headset on the corsair website. Here is a list of "fixes" I've tried:

-Double checking volumes in the properties
-Changing the driver to windows USB audio device
-Plugging the USB dongle in other ports
-Changing the default format in the microphone properties
-Re-installing headset and Motherboard drivers

I just can't figure it and I'm exhausted from hunting through forums to no avail. Do you guys have any other suggestions?

(Note: All other headsets I've used also had very low mic volume. However, I was able to turn up the mic boost to +30. The USB microphone has no mic boost.)

 

[kenng]

I'm now also wondering if a faulty or budget motherboard can affect a usb microphone quality

 

[drifter109]

krnng hav you found a solution for this because i have the same problem...

 

[HughGRection1]

Try this:

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=123956

 

[drifter109]

Try this:

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=123956

this did not change thing unfortunately

 

[HughGRection1]

Try this:

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=123956

this did not change thing unfortunately

I apologize, I posted that in a bit of a hurry. You will need to alter the config file to turn up just the mic.

When you install it, make sure you select your headphones and/or your headphone mic as the device you want to apply this EQ to, then restart (you should get the option to choose a playback device and a recording device). After the restart navigate to C:\Program Files\EqualizerAPO\config\config.txt and open the txt file in notepad. I only wanted to turn up the mic so I deleted everything in that config file and only entered;

Device: Microphone
Preamp: +16db

Then save the file, the change should be almost immediate and you can hear the difference if you check the "Microphone Check" box on your installed Corsair EQ software. I would do this before you start messing with it so you can hear the before and after. You can just reopen the config file, change the number up or down, and resave the config file until it sounds right. The change applies as soon as you save, no need to restart, which is nice. I ended up settling on +16, much more than that and I started to get some background noise, hissing going on. But it took maybe 5 min to get it set to where I liked it. Just play around with the value of the Preamp number till ya like it.

You can also launch the configuration.exe in the main folder of the install, C:\Program Files\EqualizerAPO\, and play with the settings there. It just depends on how deep you want to go down the rabbit hole, or just how much you want to tweak. Do know that setting it up via the EXE might overwrite what you placed in the config.txt file. You'll want to double check after the fact to make sure the info for your mic is still included. I haven't messed with that part of it yet to say for sure. I'd wager you can adjust the mic settings through that interface as well. But the quick and easy way to turn up just the mic is to edit the txt file.

Here is the link to the forum post I found this in, you can see the link to the software and some info on it in the top most post. But, if you scroll down a bit you'll see a post on changing just the mic settings, as well as the volume for the headset in general. (I just realized this is the exact same link I shared before, hopefully my explanation helps)

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=123956

Hope this helps and that I didn't over complicate the explanation, it's pretty quick and simple really.

 

[rcasey101]

I wanted to back up HGRection's post about EqualizerAPO:: I found the answer to the problem of a quiet mic for Win 7 64. This problem plagued me as well because Windows will not allow you to boost the preamp on a USB connected headset. My audio is actually via SPDIF, but the microphone must go through USB. (I'm using a HUHD HW-399M). FINALLY found a brilliant piece of work out on Sourceforge called EqualizerEPO. Download and install this, selecting your headset microphone for the default EQ config. This open-source utility enhances the Windows Audio settings, which means you can alter the frequency response and pre-amp gain of your mic. I just pushed up the pre-amp and listened to the mic on my SPDIF output. Got up to around +10dB and now I can speak normally and hear myself clearly. The headphones are great otherwise so this fixes my problem on the PC.