Vengeance 1500 Microphone problem?

[Bix]

As far as it is known, no, Corvalain. Corsair isn't doing anything and they're playing deaf (well maybe that's why they don't hear the white noise .... )

[SChico]

Originally Posted by Bix

As far as it is known, no, Corvalain. Corsair isn't doing anything and they're playing deaf (well maybe that's why they don't hear the white noise .... )

Nice one Bix!

I dust off my V1500 once in a while when I listen to a movie on my PC and currently game with a 5.1 Analog headset from another manufacturer (that I can’t name since it would probably be against forum rules).

This whole situation is a farce and we are clearly not taken seriously by Corsair.

I never thought this thread would still be unresolved 6 months after creating it.

[KEISx]

I just bought this headset and I'm not having any microphone troubles like you fellas are.

I've listened to it in audacity and it sounds pretty nice. Maybe a small amount of white noise in the background, but nothing to complain about.

[Trollbote.exe]

Originally Posted by KEISx

I just bought this headset and I'm not having any microphone troubles like you fellas are.

I've listened to it in audacity and it sounds pretty nice. Maybe a small amount of white noise in the background, but nothing to complain about.

That's not the problem. if you read the thread you would see that the headset emits a whining sound when in applications using the mic, the quality of your voice from the mic is not the problem.

[Sidiousin]

Registered for the forums just to reply to this thread.

Received Vengeance 1500 headset just today and can confirm that I am also hearing white noise with Teamspeak active and running in the background. Closing the application will stop white noise from transmitting.

I've got other questions regarding Dolby Prologic IIx activation (I can only get it enabled in 5.1, not 7.1) but this "interference" would be my main complaint.

I've disabled other sound adapters inside Windows device manager (Realtek HD Audio on the motherboard, and nVidia HD Audio devices that i assume slipped in during an nVidia driver update). Neither action resolved the issue. No options within Teamspeak appear to affect the noise, but I am unable to replicate it during an active Skype session. Running W7 Pro, 64bit on an Asus P8P67 Pro motherboard, if its any help.

[RAM GUY]

Sidiousin: When you say you have team speak active, do you mean you have the application set to auto turn on the microphone talk when you speak?

During Skype and if you use the mic loop back within in windows do you hear the noise?

[Sidiousin]

Originally Posted by RAM GUY

Sidiousin: When you say you have team speak active, do you mean you have the application set to auto turn on the microphone talk when you speak?

During Skype and if you use the mic loop back within in windows do you hear the noise?

The sound appears to start only after teamspeak connects to a server - it will continue even if i disconnect from that server; Closing teamspeak subsequently stops the whine. My TS client is currently configured to use a push-to-talk button and the sound is present regardless of my mic transmit state.

I do not hear the sound from within Skype using mic loop back.

[RAM GUY]

Hello all, we just wanted to post a summary to put some people's concerns to rest as well as provide some information to address other issues. Re: replacing all HS1A and HS1 headsets with Vengeance 1300/1500's. This was done because the HS1 series is obsolete and has not been in production for some time. We no longer have any stock of these headsets and are replacing them with what is available currently.
The Vengeance Headsets are considered an upgrade to the previous HS1 line and we believe them to be better headsets and providing them as a replacement for people who may have had issues or defects with the HS1's that have been solved with the Vengeance line. It really is a genuine way we are supporting our loyal fans by fixing their issues with a replacement that is newer and better than the existing line rather than say for example sending out refurbished headsets.

Secondly, we here at Tech Support do what we can to help people address their concerns, up to and including the white noise that is being described in this thread. Unfortunately, it is very difficult sometimes to address these issues, especially since the perception of sound varies between people. We do not simply throw a RMA or suggest a RMA route to ignore the issue. We recommend RMA's because in most cases, there isn't much we can do with some issues from a technical perspective. Beyond recommending a reinstall of drivers, trying a headset on a different machine, and/or plugging it into a different USB port, our hands are tired with some of the issues presented to us. By recommending a RMA, we are doing our best to replace what is a suspect defective product, and provide you with a new one in hopes that it solves the problem that isn't able to be corrected from our end.
We do not have "deaf ears." We take every concern seriously and we are always addressing issues as they come up with our Product Development team. However, some issues take a lot of time to research and resolve. In this case, there has been many cases where the white noise some of you have described with your headsets do not show up in our testing. From one of the posts, we even tested a headset here before sending it out and while we did not hear anything, it was unfortunate the customer did. From what we have gathered from both forum posts, TSX, and phone calls, we believe many of the issues may be related to hardware configurations as well as the software being used as some people only reported issues when either using X application or when using Y feature. While this is not to say the problem does not exist, we have sold tens of thousands of these headsets and it is not an item that has many returns through RMA. We have recieved many good feedback considering customer satisfaction when provided with this upgrade.

However, for those of you still having issues, we will continue to see if we can resolve the issue to the best of our ability, and I encourage all of you who have issues to individually open a TSX case so we can address them all on a case by case basis. While I, nor the company, can promise to resolve your issue completely, we will always do what we can to ensure we live up to the expectations of the Corsair Brand.

[Sidiousin]

Thanks for your reply.

Could you provide a little more information regarding the TSX process? Both links referring to Tech Support Express in your signature are kicking 404 errors.

Should i reference this thread when opening a support request?

What can we expect with regards to further troubleshooting? Corsair's RMA process has the customer paying for shipment to CA and some turnaround time for a return ship. I'd rather avoid incurring costs for a chance at fixing the issue, when i could return / replace much quicker (and cheaper).

Lastly, are you able to comment on whether or not we could expect new drivers for this particular hardware in the near future?

[SChico]

Hello Ram Guy.

Thank you for the update.

While I do believe that Corsair sold tens of thousands of V1500, you must understand that for every person who posts in this forum, there are many more that live with the problem believing it’s normal or they simply returned the headset to the reseller and/or bought one from one of your competitors.

So in the end, the problem could be bigger than you might realise.

Now, on to the problem itself…

First of all, I did a mistake in my first post. I incorrectly identified the problem as white noise. This is not the case. Well some white noise is present if we listen carefully, but it’s not that big of a deal. And, from what I found during my research on this problem, it’s normal for amplified headsets like the V1500.

So from now on, let’s refer to it as the High-Pitched-Whine-When-The-Microphone-Is Active problem.

Personally, I'm not sold on the software/hardware conflict hypothesis. I might be wrong, but hear me out.

I’ve done extensive testing. Windows XP, Windows 2K and 7 (Fresh and tried and true installs), Lenovo PC (4 different models), Dell PC, Asus laptop, 3 Custom built PCs. In the end, the high pitched whine is there as soon as the microphone is active.

It’s barely noticeable if the Corsair driver is not installed, but clearly present when the driver IS installed. Even on a fresh install of Windows 7.

Now, onto why the Corsair employee who tested my second replacement headset did not hear it.

Is it better than average hearing on my part?
Maybe, but my wife can clearly hear it and so my co-workers. So, it's not just me.

Was there a lot of noise when he tested it?
I usually game in my home office where it’s quiet. Not at work where the phones are ringing and dozens of peoples are working/talking. Maybe he simply missed it.

But, one trend I start to see is that many people who are posting in this thread are living outside of the US. Myself included (Canada).

Could the components of the V1500 be benchmarked or calibrated for US standard power grids?

Could the V1500, being an amplified headset, pick up something from non-US power grids and amplify it somehow via the Corsair Driver or the headset itself?

Personally, at this point, this is out of my league and it’s up to Corsair’s Product Dev Team.

The only other suggestion I can think of is for a Corsair employee (with excellent hearing) to test a V1500 in a sound proof booth and repeat the steps I’ve mentioned in a previous post to replicate the problem.

If he’s not hearing the high pitched whine when the mic is activated, then I’m out of ideas.

Maybe a BBQ at my place so i can do a live demo?

Regards,

[RAM GUY]

Sidiousin: You can use request a RMA to the left and reference this thread. If shipping is an issue, then I can see if customer service can assist with that.

Schico: Have you ever checked the latency for the USB connection to see if it was abnormally high?

[Deraios]

This is getting better every day...

I'm really sorry for raging in my previous comments but...What in gods name is wrong here.

We all know that shipping our 1500s isn't gonna solve the problem.

We all know that it probably isn't a driver related problem since many people here tested the 1500 with different drivers and even OSs.

So there's a locigal conclusion here, but Corsair seems to ignore this...

You know, this is just a guess but a lot of people probably won't buy a 1500 because they found and read this thread.

[RAM GUY]

Deraios
I am sorry but I have already addressed this in my previous Post...

Sidiousin
Sorry for the broken links it has now been fixed, or use the link on the left to request an RMA or contact us.

[SChico]

RAM GUY

As a matter of fact I did. You suggested it in another thread and I decided to give it a try. I’ve used DPC Latency Checker and the latency is always in the green. Around 125 to150 µs if my memory is correct.

On one system, there was an occasional spike around 375 - 450 µs, but nothing more than 2 occurrences in 5 minutes

[TheAlchemist]

I bought a set of the Vengeance 1500's from Amazon, and they arrived today. I have the exact same problem.

When I am doing nothing, just idling on the desktop, I hear a very faint hiss, like you would get if the volume is turned up too high.

When I go into anything that activate the microphone, I get a louder, constant kind of whine. I have so far tested it on Audacity, Skype (happens when I go into Options - Audio Settings), and even when I go to 'Recording Devices' in windows. Muting the mic, changing the mic volume in Windows or in the Corsair software, changing the mic loopback levels, nothing makes any difference.

Considering how many people have this problem, I am going to immediately return them to Amazon. I won't bother RMAing them to Corsair, because clearly nobody has had any luck on a RMA.

For those of you who gave up, could you please send me a PM and let me know headset you went with as an alternative?