Mic headset WITHOUT headphones?

S

Surly73

[H]ard|Gawd
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Dec 19, 2007
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I'm looking for some pointers here. I'm not sure if I should put it here, General Hardware or Gaming...

The post is prompted by the recent purchase of L4D and the increasing need for a mic in online gaming. Generally my wife and I only play single-player games because of the multitude of interruptions around here, but...

I don't really want headphones, especially not closed air ones. I have a 5.1 audio setup and simply don't need them. If I were to ever game with headphones, I'd want to use my Shure IEMs anyways.

I might be OK with a one ear, open air headphone which I could choose to use, or not use, for IM, VoIP and the like I suppose. I removable speaker element would be the ultimate in flexibility here.

Both my wife and I wear glasses, so it has to work with that.

My uneducated preference is for USB. My PC sits in a cabinet, neat and tidy. I don't want to screw with jacking in a mic if I can help it. Ditto for if I'm using it for telephony when working from home with a laptop etc.. I'd much rather jack it in to the desktop USB hub for key/mouse and have it appear on the list of audio devices. If there are major compatibility problems with this or something, I'm open to being educated. A mini-jack mic only wouldn't be the end of the world I suppose.

I'm in Canada, something that can be ordered from here is preferred, or at least from someone who will ship here.

Thanks.
 
Get an $8 zalman mic, i'll see if I can find a link for you. It does plug into a mic in 3.5mm plug, but its the best value (just because its cheap, doesn't mean it doesn't work well.)
 
Carlin said:
Get an $8 zalman mic, i'll see if I can find a link for you. It does plug into a mic in 3.5mm plug, but its the best value (just because its cheap, doesn't mean it doesn't work well.)
Click to expand...

Googling this myself I only see the one that clips on to a headphone cord (which won't work when not using headphones). Certainly a cheap option to keep in mind for that situation.
 
supapuffy said:
hi,

perhaps something like this Cyber Acoustics AC-840? just beware it may be annoying with the feedback that u get when u use speakers and a mic while gaming..
Click to expand...

That may be reasonable, have you used these yourself or just the result of a search?

Most games I've seen have buttons you need to push to open the mic, do these games actually transmit your own speech to your local speakers while you're talking without at least using echo cancellation? If so, I'm surprised. That's kind of cheesy. I'd expect it not to play your own audio on the speakers. Of course using headphones and not hearing yourself would be weird too. It wouldn't be a difficult option to code into the game (hear yourself? Y/N)... hmph.

Something like this http://www.plantronics.com/north_america/en_US/products/cat29880043/cat29880048/tristar-h81 might be awesome (excluding price) especially if the earbud can be flipped out the way and not used at all.

Maybe I should just get a tactical throat mic :D Again, nifty except for the price.

Spending tons on this just doesn't make sense - I have to keep it under control.
 
hi,

i've not used that mic myself, it was just from searching tiger direct..

the feedback that i've experienced comes from the in game sound (plus my voice) while the mic is opened/enabled.. this was in team fortress 2.. so it may be different in other games
 
The Zalman mic IS a clip-on, but that does not mean you HAVE to clip it on. It is sensitive enough that I can leave it on my desk and be heard clearly without leaning into the mic at all.
 
I was looking for exactly something like this but was unsuccessful. I ended up getting a Logitech USB PS3 headset that has the ear piece on it but what I do is just rest it around my neck and have the mic set near my mouth.
 
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