Wireless Headsets for PC Gaming?

Professor Snugglesworth

So I've been having a bit of a headache with my mic, a standard USB stationary mic that either delivers too much static or too little volume, according to the peeps I play L4D with.

So I'm interested in using a wireless headset, similar to the Xbox 360 brand. I am actually able to connect this headset to my PC using the wireless receiver for the 360 controller, but I can't find any way to isolate the audio from fellow players chatting: in other words, it acts like a mono headphone that plays everything coming out of my PC.

So if it exists, I'd like a wireless headset that only receives audio from other players, and lets me communicate without any issues. As usual, I'm looking for affordability (read: cheap) but reliability as well.

Barrakketh

Professor Snugglesworth wrote: »

So if it exists, I'd like a wireless headset that only receives audio from other players, and lets me communicate without any issues. As usual, I'm looking for affordability (read: cheap) but reliability as well.

I believe you would only be able to do that if the game in question supported multiple audio devices (one for general sound, one for voice chat). Without that there is no practical and elegant way to separate voices from the rest of the game's audio.

Professor Snugglesworth

Well that just leads to my follow-up question: Does L4D/L4D2 and TF2 support it?

Barrakketh

Professor Snugglesworth wrote: »

Well that just leads to my follow-up question: Does L4D/L4D2 and TF2 support it?

I haven't found a way to do it in TF2 (you can't choose input or output devices through the options). I just use a normal headset when playing, though using a headset also has the advantage of making it significantly easier to hear spies.

Spoom182

I've been able to play only game sounds through my speakers and in-game / ventrilo voices through my headset by just screwing around in the "Sounds and Audio Devices" section of the control panel. I think that you change the "Default Device" for voice recording and playback to whatever your headset is called. Have you tried that? You've probably already poked around in there, but I can't count the times I've overlooked something as plain as that.

By the way, the games that I'm speaking of specifically are mostly Valve games, and I'm sure L4D has the same system for voice chat.

Professor Snugglesworth

Well, I took a look and fiddled with things a bit. Right now I can transmit my voice through the headset, and people seem to hear it just fine.

The problem is I don't receive their voices through the headset, but through my speakers instead. I can't figure out how to make the headset receive voice communication. Google isn't helping much either.

BioHaz594

One method would be to use a external voip app (like Ventrilo or Axon) and tell it to use the audio device hooked to your headphones for input/output. Then set the game to output on whatever device is connected to your speakers.
This would only work if everyone was cool with using an external voip app... AFAIK you can't tell the game to split the voip audio and the normal ingame audio output using two different sound devices on the PC.