Experiencing the sound of the battlefield to the fullest

[hayt 10]

Hey guys, I've been enjoying tactical shooter games for years now but I've always used a headset for all my mic needs. However since I bought myself a nice new speaker system I've been less keen on using my headset (because it doesn't sound nearly as good)

But that means if I want to use my mic I need to put on my headset (which hijacks the sound so I only get sound through the headphones) so I come to you, oh BIS community with a question.

What sort of non-headset mics exist that wont:

A. Pick up my sound coming from my speakers and drown out my own voice/annoy the hell out of everyone on my team

B. Replace my speaker system for output

I've heard throat mics are an option, but I've also heard they are pretty rubbish, although if you have personal experience with them do share! I've never got a straight answer/review for the ones that work on PCs, only the ones for paintballing/airsoft etc.

I've also heard clip-on mics are an option but I don't want one I need to lean into to make work (or have to turn up so it ends up picking up my speaker noise)

Please share and thanks in advance!

[-)rStrangelove 0]

Logitech mics have noise reduction, but i'm not sure they really work.

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/webcam-communications/microphones/devices/221

[JojoTheSlayer 35]

A throat mic (video) would solve your external sound issue, but I am not sure if they exists for PCs directly.

They used these, still are, in loud environments like tanks or aircrafts etc.

Edit:

I have only used military ones for squad patrol and similar and I have had no issue with them. Old tech.

I would bet commercial stuff now are pretty decent. You just have to fasten them good. I would check some of the more "action" oriented ones for paintball or similar since the PC ones I just looked up didnt seem that well in regards to stay put at your neck area.

Edited March 25, 2011 by JojoTheSlayer

[vohk 10]

I used a set of throat-mics with walkie-talkies for paintball a few years back. Pretty good sound out of them actually, not quite studio quality but perfectly understandable. Expensive compared to a regular mic. I don't remember what connector they used, but all you'd really need is one with a standard headphone/speaker 3.5mm jack. Or something like a cellphone style one that you could stick a converter on. Shouldn't be too hard to find. I would definitely avoid any standard style mic. I don't think they make any that can ignore explosions in the background.

ex: http://www.clearercom.com/throat-mic-headsets.html

Have to say, that's really not a bad idea. Now just to move somewhere where I could crank up the sound at night..

[twisted1in7 10]

Hey guys, I've been enjoying tactical shooter games for years now but I've always used a headset for all my mic needs. However since I bought myself a nice new speaker system I've been less keen on using my headset (because it doesn't sound nearly as good)

But that means if I want to use my mic I need to put on my headset (which hijacks the sound so I only get sound through the headphones) so I come to you, oh BIS community with a question.

What sort of non-headset mics exist that wont:

A. Pick up my sound coming from my speakers and drown out my own voice/annoy the hell out of everyone on my team

B. Replace my speaker system for output

I've heard throat mics are an option, but I've also heard they are pretty rubbish, although if you have personal experience with them do share! I've never got a straight answer/review for the ones that work on PCs, only the ones for paintballing/airsoft etc.

I've also heard clip-on mics are an option but I don't want one I need to lean into to make work (or have to turn up so it ends up picking up my speaker noise)

Please share and thanks in advance!

I really like this mic from Zalman (ZM-MIC1). I also like their 5.1 headphone that you can buy as a kit with this mic. I've used both and they work great. I clip the microphone onto my shirt collar and people can hear me very clearly. By the way, I use push to talk.

I think you are going to run into trouble if the speakers are blasting away in the background no matter what mic you choose. Noise reduction reduces background noise to a great extent, but gunfire and bombs exploding would likely be louder than your forground noise (i.e. your voice) resulting in very little benefit. Helicopter headsets probably have some of the best noise reduction around, but even then you still hear the engine and rotors in the background (think TV news chopper and how the reporter sounds).

http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Microphone-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone/dp/B00029MTMQ

[ChiefBoatsRet 10]

I ordered a throat mic here:http://headsetgadgets.com/products_nt3.html after doing a lot of homework and reading reviews. The nt3 is the one i ordered after reading many good reviews from paintball sites, but will be using it for PC gaming.I am waiting for it to arrive and will post here after i have used it in game.

[twisted1in7 10]

I ordered a throat mic here:http://headsetgadgets.com/products_nt3.html after doing a lot of homework and reading reviews. The nt3 is the one i ordered after reading many good reviews from paintball sites, but will be using it for PC gaming.I am waiting for it to arrive and will post here after i have used it in game.

That looks like a badass mic for gaming. Thanks for sharing!

[Snots 0]

I ordered a throat mic here:http://headsetgadgets.com/products_nt3.html after doing a lot of homework and reading reviews. The nt3 is the one i ordered after reading many good reviews from paintball sites, but will be using it for PC gaming.I am waiting for it to arrive and will post here after i have used it in game.

Yeah good research and looking forward to your post also.

"Ideal for use with: PC, Skype and Messenger, Game Consoles, Mobile Phones."

[ChiefBoatsRet 10]

I have a great surround sound system for my computer and figured I was wasting it by not using it while playing ArmA online. If this works as good as the reviews I have read for voice quality while blocking background noise then I will be a happy camper. The PC version doesn't come with the PTT button, you plug in the mic as usual and use the ptt key setup in Teamspeak. It also has the plug for the earpiece but I dont think I'll be using that as I will be using my speakers. It will be great not to wear those cans on my head for those looooong missions, hoping they work as advertised.

[luap 10]

Subliminal commercial

Well thought out mind you.

[hayt 10]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, really helpful!

For now I'm just wearing my headset around my neck with sound coming from my speakers and after testing it out both in game and over 3rd party VOIP all they could hear was my voice. I even tried blasting some obnoxiously loud thrash metal in the background and still heard nada, so that's brilliant for now.

Very curious about that NT3 stuff though, gonna keep an eye out for when you post about it. Actually, PM me if you can!

[-)rStrangelove 0]

Any news? We all want to know what's going on. dont you dare using PMs :D

[ChiefBoatsRet 10]

It should be here this week. BTW this is not an ad or paid endorsement for a product, sublimimal or otherwise. I will post the results after testing ingame at Tactical Gamer.com. (that was an ad)

Edited March 31, 2011 by ChiefBoatsRet

[ChiefBoatsRet 10]

Received the throat mic today,tried it out with mixed results. My neck is big with some fat so that could be the problem. Maybe it would work better for skinny no fat necked gamers but for me it was a bust. Back to the Razor Carcharias headset.

[Rough Knight 9]

Lol Chief...well at least you are honest : P

[dmarkwick 261]

Hey guys, I've been enjoying tactical shooter games for years now but I've always used a headset for all my mic needs. However since I bought myself a nice new speaker system I've been less keen on using my headset (because it doesn't sound nearly as good)

But that means if I want to use my mic I need to put on my headset (which hijacks the sound so I only get sound through the headphones) so I come to you, oh BIS community with a question.

What sort of non-headset mics exist that wont:

A. Pick up my sound coming from my speakers and drown out my own voice/annoy the hell out of everyone on my team

B. Replace my speaker system for output

I've heard throat mics are an option, but I've also heard they are pretty rubbish, although if you have personal experience with them do share! I've never got a straight answer/review for the ones that work on PCs, only the ones for paintballing/airsoft etc.

I've also heard clip-on mics are an option but I don't want one I need to lean into to make work (or have to turn up so it ends up picking up my speaker noise)

Please share and thanks in advance!

I'm not sure of the technical details, but I had a friend who had game sound piped through his sound card, but voice comms piped through his onboard sound, thus giving him two sound card options one for speakers one for headset.

This option is only good though if you use a separate VOIP app like Teamspeak, and not the ingame VOIP.

[Pease 10]

Received the throat mic today,tried it out with mixed results. My neck is big with some fat so that could be the problem. Maybe it would work better for skinny no fat necked gamers but for me it was a bust. Back to the Razor Carcharias headset.

Well shit, that rules me out...

[yogdogz 11]

Agree, the vanilla sound is sooo weird.. and looked like free-low quality sound from the internet :mad: at least now I have JSRS (the sound mod I favorited so far)