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UnZkiPriimE
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Jan 3, 2022
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Hello, I am sorry to hijack your post like this but you seem to be very knowledgeable regarding headphones and especially the PC38x (I have seen you reply to a couple of posts).
So if you look up PC38x crosstalk issues you'll see a lot of people talk about Discord hearing their in-game audio, maybe even that discord picks up their audio despite being muted or that the mic puts out a static noise audible to others, unfortunately I am experiencing all of these issues, this is something that I have seen in no review so far, yet here I am, with all these problems.
I have been doing extensive testing and research on this matter and I don't think it's the open-ear headphone sound leaking into the microphone, this is an internal issue regarding analog wires, my old USB HyperX headset never had any issues like that. I think the signals get somehow mixed up, maybe because my motherboard is old, maybe because of my GPU causing interference, hell it could even be the PSU... or my PC38x in particular is just a faulty product which I still do not want to believe, however I tried using it on my laptop's headphone jacks and ran into the exact same issue so it's not impossible.
Now comes the interesting part though, after trying different jacks, using noise gates and filters the issues persisted, so I tried a USB analog to digital sound-card, and it fixed all of my problems! However it made my mic unbearably quiet (I assume because it doesn't deliver enough power for the mic, I heard I need 5V for headset mics).
Next I tried updating my realtek audio driver which didn't do anything in itself, however the Microphone Effect option: "AEC removes acoustic echo coupled into the microphones from the loudspeaker output thru air." fixed all my problems again (I occasionally still hear a static noise in my left earcup but it's bearable) however my mic quality took a hit. All in all this Microphone Effect is the best solution so far but I don't understand why I am confronted with so many issues at all when this headset is so highly praised by many users on Drop and YouTube.
Now, why am I here? Basically, have you ever seen this issue get resolved or helped someone with it? Any ideas based on everything I have listed? Do I need a DAC like the Sound Blaster G6 or maybe the GSX 300 (I know the software is ass but I feel like I just need an alternative to my motherboard audio), are my cables somehow at fault? (I tried both, the PC one and the one for Controllers, both have the same issues), I have also heard about Ground Loop isolators and ferrite chockers but I feel like it's very unlikely that they will help in any way.
If you actually read this far, I once again apologize for posting this under a totally unrelated post but, Drop does not have a PM option. At this point I am very frustrated with my purchase, all I wanted is to step up my game as I found out about the audiophile community...
Evshrug
2700
grell audio
Jan 3, 2022
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Yes, I have seen this before, and I’ve solved it for a bunch of people!
Sometimes I also wished for a PM feature, but at the same time I think I would get flooded with them 😅 Either way, I got an email notification, and since I’m working with grell audio and Sennheiser now, I check Drop pretty much every day anyway.
Short answer: this almost always happens because of driver/software issues. It used to happen on my Windows PC, but never on my Mac. It would be a bug with the operating system itself; I would try looking for an option to reset sound settings to defaults, but sometimes bugs are hard to track down. When you use a USB DAC or gaming soundcard, that has its own drivers and circumvents the issue. If you happen to have any other headset (like an old pair of EarPods for example), or if your smartphone came with a dongle, you could test that to see if it was a software or hardware issue. Even easier, you could try the split gaming cable with the separate plugs for microphone and headphone, which came with the PC38X.
Second most likely cause; loose connection. There’s a pretty good isolation (the black stripes) between the “rings” on a headphone plug, but sometimes if it’s not all the way plugged into the computer port (sometimes the tolerance is tight enough that it needs to “pop” into place), OR the headphone socket. If you haven’t yet, try unplugging and firmly plugging in the headphone Jack at the computer and the headphone socket.
I’ve beat up a pair of PC37X since 2015, using it almost every day for years when gaming with friends (I even took it bare in a backpack to hotels sometimes), and while it did develop an issue with the volume dial causing channel imbalance (little wiggle fixes that), and it still doesn’t cause game sound to be picked up by the microphone even at full volume.
When it comes to the GSX300, technically that’s a product made by EPOS Audio) after the joint venture between Sennheiser and the Demant group ended. Basically, what is now EPOS Audio used to be Sennheiser’s gaming/comms department. I will say I personally see strengths and weaknesses in both the Creative Labs BlasterX series and GSX series; I use a GSX 1000 with my PC and Mac, and a Creative G5 with my PS4/PS5.
The thing I like about the GSX1000 is that it doesn’t need special software installed on a computer (though you do need to properly select the headphone Jack as the windows “default speakers” and the second “device” as the “default communications device,” if you get it you’ll understand what I mean in 5 seconds). I also like that the GSX1000 let’s me tell my game to use “default speakers” for game audio (making my life easy), and Discord to use “default communications” with separate volume controls/balance, because the computer sees them as two separate devices. I don’t know that much about the GSX300… but I assume it’s a less expensive model with the headphone surround / spatial audio feature removed.
The G5 seems to be more reliably recognized by the PlayStations, and it has pretty nice mic pickup quality, so I like to use it there when I’m streaming or in party chat. The G5 is plenty powerful for the PC38X (or even the HD 58X Jubilee), but I’ve read in reviews that the newer G6 model has a more powerful amp. The G6 also has an optical input (and output??) and Dolby Digital Live decoding, so if you have an Xbox or a TV with optical, the G6 is pretty much your best option (geez, why does Microsoft have to be so difficult with USB Microphone support??).
When fed a 7.1/5.1 surround signal over usb, the GSX1000 has one of the best sensation of sound coming from in front for my ears, but Creative’s processing has very little reverb and sounds the least processed to my ears. “To my ears” is very significant, because the shape of your ears and head affect how each of us perceives direction, and if one doesn’t feel natural to you, it could be good to try another one. Spatial audio/ headphone surround is a whole topic of its own, but I mention it because stereo feels unnatural and like a handicap for me, a representation of hearing the world in one dimension.
Hope this helps!
UnZkiPriimE
0
Jan 5, 2022
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Alright, so I think it's a hardware issue, I plugged my PC38x into my phone and there was no static noise and the mic sounds amazing and very clean.
I also noticed that my old HyperX came with a cheap surround sound card, so I detached it, plugged the HyperX into my PC's headphone jack, and have the exact same issue as stated originally.
Even when no headset is plugged in, as long as the Sennheiser splitter cable for example is in both headphone jacks of the PC, Discord picks up audio out of thin air apparently (despite having deleted all audio drivers I could)...
I know this isn't your problem, but I am just writing it out for documentation in case anybody else has this pseudo crosstalk issue, anyway I probably will get the GSX 300 despite all of its software issues out of money reasons (technically I only care for the hardware anyway), purchasing the PC38x outside of America was already quite the investment after all.
Evshrug
2700
grell audio
Jan 5, 2022
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Not that I know for sure it’s the cause here, but the front panel audio jacks on a computer case are notorious for having all sorts of audio issues.
(Edited)
UnZkiPriimE
0
Jan 6, 2022
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In my case all audio jacks were causing problems, can confirm a DAC fixes the issues, maybe it's placebo but I feel like the audio even sounds better now!
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