How can I have sidetone with in ear headphones and a standalone mic?

[Jesse Golden]

I need a mic to talk to friends when I am playing games, but I hate using over the ear headsets; for me, they are uncomfortable, they give me a headache, and they hurt my ears after a while. My problem is that over the ear headsets are the only way I know of to have a sidetone, I cannot use a headset without a sidetone. I would much rather use my earbuds/in-ear headphones.

My question is what do I need to be able to use in-ear headphones and still have a sidetone so I can hear myself? I tried to figure it out myself but I know absolutely nothing about this sort of thing. I don't really want to spend a lot on this, whatever is cheapest will be good enough for me.

 

[capt_cope]

If you're using windows:

1. Right click on the sound icon in the task bar and select "Recording Devices"
2. Select your microphone and click "Properties".
3. Select the "Listen" tab
4. Click the "Listen to this device" checkbox
5. Profit?

 

[DoubleTap]

Keep in mind that some USB mics have latency - the latency might not be an issue for voip but it can be for music / singing.

Some of mid range or higher USB mics have a headphone jack built in that allows a direct monitor of the mic before it goes through the system.

I have a Samson Meteor that does this and a lot of the Blue mics do this as well.

Never needed to test it though.