Sound Card and Head Set

[[NH]4x]

I have a thread in the "self help"below, talking about replacing my DVD drive........and since I'll be going to pick up a new drive one day this week,I thought I'd "kill two birds with one stone".......Here's what I have going on in the "sound department " of my PC.

My old Plantronics ,model DSP 400 Headset is in need of retirement due to the fact that only one side is producing sound.This headset has seen many hours of gaming use and has served my needs well.......until one of the speakers quit working.I picked up a replacement set a few weeks back,when I bought Arma II ,a new mouse (due to short in cable,causeing it to work only when cable was in the "just right " postion),and children's "Santa Clause"( one 360 Elite,one Wii)........OUCH to pocket book. The new set is a Plantronics,model "Audio 655".It's a USB set.......kinda sorta like my old set......with mic.

I get them home,open them up........hmmmmm,no software......like old set had. "Thinks to self",Oh well,just plug em in to USB port like you do old ones and try em out. Nope.....nothing......they're not recognized anywhere by my PC............Time to read scant instructions that came with them........." Plug USB into "sound card" ".....yelp, that's all the instructions had to say. But guess WHAT........I dont have a sound card,I have "onboard sound".

Sooooo, My question is........if you were in my shoes,would you return this headset and get one that will work with "onboard sound"..........or, keep what I have,buy a sound card and install it?,and if you'd purchase a sound card.......which one? AND,how do I confirm that I can install one in my PC ......never been down this road before.

"Let the opinions begin"

[GreyHaired]

A soundcard with a USB port? That sounds new to me.

If your PC has several USB ports, try one of the others. I'll go look at the specs and get back if there's anything else to be aware of.

Not knowing if you have any other USB devices, the USB ports may be disabled in the BIOS.

Mouse cord: if you make a loop of the mouse cord, the mouse will move better than with a straight cord.

Edit: Plantronics website confirms it's plug and play so another option is to check the audio settings in Control Panel. See if there are other audio software options.

Finally, maybe the head set only works with a Ghost Recon CD and not Arma II

[Cpl Ledanek]

Mouse cord: if you make a loop of the mouse cord, the mouse will move better than with a straight cord.

Really?

maybe that will lessen my suckage.

[Buehgler_AS]

Hey 4X,

That is "odd" to say the least -- the noise about "USB sound card" is probably just poor documentation/translation, I would not worry about that.

Unfortunately I had no luck at all finding any documentation for the "Audio 655" on the Plantronices web site. One of the "higher end" .Audio devices (the 995) has a manual, but it is a wireless device that comes with a USB based charger (for the headset) and a USB wireless adapter for the audio.

In general these "USB audio devices" often do not come with or need any software, they actually have the device driver stored internal to the device and send it (over USB) to the OS when the OS first recognizes the device. Did you notice windows recognizing the device and saying it was working correctly?

Personally my suggestion (for gaming) is to stay away from the USB sound devices. In my experience, other than some high end devices, they tend not to have the performance that even your built in audio device will have. My favorite headsets are from Sennheiser -- good audio quality and comfortable. They may well be price competitive with the Plantronics devices. I am currently using a Sennheiser PC-151 that I have had for something like 5 years. I have a PC-161 that I use at work for VOIP and music, and my ears are not good enough to tell the difference between the 151 and the 161.

Good luck, and let me know when you are ready for the stack of ArmA 2 mod DVDs, UPS-net will be getting some very good throughput to get you all loaded up

[[NH]4x]

Rob and Buehgler,

After ya'lls answers,I rechecked scant "instructions" which consisted as I stated above "Plug into Sound Card"that's IT. The back of box reads "Didital sound,Cushioned Comfort,On Ear Controls, USB Plug and Play,Fast Mic Mute,and Crisp communication"."Designed for ease of use,with plug-and-PlayUSB connection and one touch,on ear controls,this headset delivers the quality audio and comfortable fit you want for all your PC audio needs-------music,internet call podcasts,DVDs,games and more"...........I'm tired of typing bet ya'll are tired of reading, too

I plugged headset into USB port that I've always used for my old Headset (Plantronics DSP 400),hell I tried all 4 USB ports on this machine.....nothing..fooled around in Control Panel>Sounds and Audio................it's not recognized.

I'm stumped....as to how to proceed.HEEEEELLLLLPPPPP

Edit: Just plugged them into USB port and got...........Found New Hardware Wizard window popped up..........dont remember that happin last time......maybe two too many beers.......anyway, " install the software automatically" OR "Install from a list or specific locations" are my two choices. And since it didnt come with any software,I dont have a clue as to how to advance.

Need help here,please.

2nd Edit: Never mind...........I have sound coming from headset ................Rockin to Alman Bros "Rockin Horse"....................."backs outta thread grinnin"

3RD and Last Edit: Jumped in Alpha Squad TS server and spoke with "Billy bob".......so Mic is workin also............One problem fixed,one more to go.

Buehgler ,I'll catchup with you when I get DVD drive replaced and Arma II up and runnin..........may need one of those USB storage thing-a-majigs for all the Arma mods/patches,after all.

Edited December 28, 2009 by [NH]4x

[GreyHaired]

This is the site with very little info.

http://www.plantronics.com/north_america/e...dsets/audio-655

I read a review where the user had to unplug and reconnect the headset once in a while. That's of course annoying when you're in a game.

I use Sennheiser headphones and separate Logitech desktop mic.

[[NH]4x]

Must've had one of those "senior moments" and not able comprehend what I posted above............yeah and I know it's late "over there" when you posted........been in them adult beverages ,too,ain't cha.

Rob, Head set is working perfect.......thanks for your and others' input........PM me [NH]s TS server IP numbers......I'll talk to ya'll next Sunday,if you're playing with eachother......um.........I meant, gaming...that sounds better...........folks imagination might go into overdrive , using the phrase "playing with eachother" around here

[CR6]

Glad to hear you solved your problem.

Just to echo what the other guys said:

- There is no such thing as a sound card with a USB port.

- USB headphones just plug into any USB port in the computer. However, I would always use the USB ports on the back of your computer (because they are hardwired to your motherboard). If you plug USB devices into the front ports of your computer and it doesn't work, it's often because of a problem with the 3rd party case wiring onto the motherboard. (I just "fixed" a guys computer because his photos wouldn't download from his card reader into his computer because he kept using his front ports - once I plugged into the back port it worked fine)

- I agree to stay away from USB headphones in the future unless absolutely necessary. Too many things can go wrong with the power, drivers etc. Most onboard sound mics/speakers work just fine with many games.