Vengeance 1500 hissing noise

I have just received my Vengance 1500 today. Theres a constant hissing noise when the microphone is activated. (Example when using skype mumble or ventrilo)

 

If i push the mute button the background noise is just louder. I have read other threads where users have reported fixing the issue by removing corsair drivers and using the microsoft ones. I have tried that and the issue persist.

 

I also tried the headset on two different computers both running windows 7 64bit and the issue is the same on both machines.

 

Has anyone been able to resolve this issue ? I feel like i just bought a 99$ headache inducing machine.

After doing some more testing. I brought the headset at work and used it on an unbutu machine using alsa mixer and it works #1

 

It really looks to me like the issue is caused by the corsair drivers under windows. Anyway I could get help getting this to work on my windows 7 machines ?

 

Looks to me like this is a known issue looking at other threads from users who had a simillar issue.

 

Please help.

I also have this problem, the first thing i did was installing the latest drivers, not being able to fix it after messing around for a day i decided to uninstall the drivers again today.

 

The noise was still there, i did however notice another slider (line in) in the levels tab in speaker properties that wasn't there before.

 

After lowering that my headset is dead silent, so... i fixed it, but the lack of configuration compared to the original drivers leaves much to be desired, the audio quality is nowhere near as good as with the official drivers, it kinda distorts and lacks depth, in the end it's not really an alternative, but it looks to me like it should be an easy fix to patch that up, the unused line in channel that is, so i'm curious, why is this still an issue?

I have the same problem as well. When any program is open that utilizes the microphone, there is a constant high pitched buzz or hiss.

 

I own a small PC repair and custom build business so, I've had the opportunity to test out the device on dozens of different machines. The problem persisted on all machines. I have gone through three headsets and all three had the same sound anomaly when the microphone was active.

 

The Vengeance 1500 headset has excellent build quality, remarkable comfort, exceptional sound, and accurate 7.1 simulation. However, the microphone causing this high pitched buzzing / hiss / feedback is maddening and a sure cause for a refund.

 

I would very much like to use this product, unfortunately it seems as if though the Corsair tech department has chosen to ignore that this problem even exists.

 

Ram Guy had said in one of the several posts here on this forum;

"The thread was closed because it was not offereing any help only adding to a myth that was not true. There is not known issue but we do indeed listen and as noted in that thread on a few posts there are some things that should be done to isolate the issue..."

 

It is quite disconcerting to hear that a problem like this would be written off as a "myth". Moreover, having the company basically call it's customers liars is down right insulting.

 

Here are a few more links related to the this same problem;

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=102177 (thread from which Ram Guy was quoted)

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=111338

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=109089

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=102880

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/117666-13-corsair-vengenace-1500-static-whine-problem

http://www.everythingusb.com/corsair-vengeance-2000-wireless-gaming-headset-21530-2.html

 

Has this problem been acknowledged yet? Is there anything being done to fix this problem?

Hi Guys!

 

THE CHIT-CHAT:

I basically made this account just to reply to these posts, letting "the world" know there IS a possible workaround for the hissing on the Corsair vengeance 1500. This is from my personal experience and under any circumstance constitutes a "set-in-stone" steps; but what worked for me on my particular situation.

 

I bought the aforementioned headset at a retail store in ELP, TX, when I brought the headset home I didn't care much about the drivers or info so I plugged the USB connector right away. The headset worked right out of the box. I listened to music, then used ONLY as a VOIP device, so I never paid attention, till a few days ago.

 

After installing the official drivers (v1500driver_1-1_1.exe) a friend of mine noticed the hissing on my end. and after paying attention I realized there was hissing also on my own speakers when I had them on with no music or voice at all.

 

THE PROCEDURE: (win 7)

1. Go to sound settings (Once you got your headset connected, with the corsair drivers installed, go into START-> CONTROL PANEL-> DEVICES AND PRINTERS-> CORSAIR VENGEANCE 1500 Right click then select "sound settings")
   
2. On the playback tab, right click your corsair headset and select "Properties"
   
3. Select 24 bit, 96000 Hz Studio Quality (go to ADVANCED tab -> click the dropdown box, select the option at the very bottom)
   
4. (For the mic) go into RECORDING tab, right click on MICROPHONE belonging to the headset-> PROPERTIES -> ENHANCEMENTS -> Select LOW FREQUENCY PROTECTION -> click on SETTINGS -> select drop-down box that says CUTOFF -> select 140 HZ. You can change this value to better suit your needs if you want to.
   

 

This is called a workaround and NOT a proper fix since when the mic activates on any app such as Raidcall, Skype, etc. you can still hear some kind of noise, it is greatly reduced though. If you're not using the mic (disabled, or volume at 0) the hissing does disappear.

 

I have not tried a proper uninstall, and by that I mean not only uninstalling the corsair apps but completely removing any files that were leftover on the system; and I'm too lazy for that. But I believe that if I do that the problem would be "fixed" completely, as I do not remember having the issue before the corsair drivers were installed.

 

Hope this mini advice helps someone.

 

• EDIT: I just re-read every post, and yes, I find insulting (if true) the fact that Corsair employees are calling this a Myth. However, they might have a point, if they don't get SOLID PROOF, there is little chance they can go to their bosses and say "Hey, 2 guys said there is a problem with our headset, let's stop production!". So here are my 2 cents. The image I'm attaching is a spectrum that the mic produces when recording on Goldwave, I chose that recorder since I like it, but every recorder that you want to use will give out the hissing. So attached is the wave that the mic with no sounds produces.
  

 

• There is a PNG file, and a WAV file inside the zip, you can tell when the mute button is pressed on both.
  

It's not a myth, it seems like they simply can't hear it or are ignoring it. I've had the Corsair HS1 and after the mic broke unexpectedly on that they gave me the Vengeance 1500 instead(free of charge, nice of them, basically same thing though). Both headsets have the hissing sound when you instal the drivers, and anytime you have a program that uses your microphone opened the hissing is slightly worse. The surefire way to avoid this for myself was to uninstall the drivers and just use whatever windows automatically finds, this worked up until now. Now I get crackling sounds regularly without drivers installed.

 

So basically I have a choice of a constant hissing sound or occasional crackling sounds. Woohoo! And definitely not spending another 30 bucks to ship it back to them to undoubtedly get the same problem.

 

edit: p.s. desmadroso's fix did not work for me

Guys check to see if you have the Mic disabled on Playback device.

 

Right click speaker, bottom right by the clock. Click playback devices, click Corsair headset and enter Properties. Under Levels Tab, make sure the Microphone is disabled.

 

If this is the issue I thinking off try enabling that Microphone option and blow into the Mic Does it playback through the headset?

 

Disabling the Microphone from playback wont make the mic stop working it will still be ok on Skype etc.

If this ins't the same issue you guys having, ignore all the above :D

Hello, (and sorry for my english) I also have this famous problem and it is not a myth. Today, January 29, 2014, where are we? The only correct solution is to uninstall Corsair drivers ? I read so many topics I do not know what to think ... Does someone would be kind enough to summarize the situation on this issue?

 

Thank you so much

 

Vengeance 1500 V2

W7 x64

Got my Corsair Vengeance 1500 RMA through a few days ago and had a V2 instead of my V1, thought it was a good thing - could not be more wrong.

 

As with multiple other posters here (over multiple other threads) anything that engages the microphone turns on a high pitched whine, i tried using the Windows USB device drivers instead and thought the issue was solved but then when i talked to people in Ventrilo the longer i was keyed up the worse my mic sounded to other people so left with that option i went back to the Corsair drivers - at least then its only me hearing a sound.

 

Its been three days and i've tried every workaround posted here and a few of my own, i've tested on multiple machines and multiple USB's and the only way to get the sound to go away is to use drivers that make my outbound quality poor.

 

I'm in the process of hoping that i can get a set of V1's through the RMA process instead of these, if not - I'll be putting these back in a box and going to the pair of headphones i picked up for £30 to cover the ten days my 1500's were broken/RMA'd.

 

Its hard to believe that this issue has been going on for 2 years and nothing has been done i also cant understand how people testing these headsets at Corsair (when people re-RMA them) cant hear the noise, its present on any windows machine i've used, through all USB's and all you have to do is open a program that uses the mic or go to the recording tab for sound settings and its there

Guys check to see if you have the Mic disabled on Playback device.

 

Right click speaker, bottom right by the clock. Click playback devices, click Corsair headset and enter Properties. Under Levels Tab, make sure the Microphone is disabled.

 

If this is the issue I thinking off try enabling that Microphone option and blow into the Mic Does it playback through the headset?

 

Disabling the Microphone from playback wont make the mic stop working it will still be ok on Skype etc.

If this ins't the same issue you guys having, ignore all the above :D

 

This solved the issues for me

Hissing is due to electricity. Here's a guy explaining how to fix the problem:

[ame]

[/ame]

 

hope this helps.

Guys check to see if you have the Mic disabled on Playback device.

 

Right click speaker, bottom right by the clock. Click playback devices, click Corsair headset and enter Properties. Under Levels Tab, make sure the Microphone is disabled.

 

If this is the issue I thinking off try enabling that Microphone option and blow into the Mic Does it playback through the headset?

 

Disabling the Microphone from playback wont make the mic stop working it will still be ok on Skype etc.

If this ins't the same issue you guys having, ignore all the above :D

 

Just made an account to confirm that this completely fixed the High Pitched noise I get whenever I use something that can record, be it in-game or something like Skype or window recorder. (Using Windows 7 here)

 

Got a Veangeance 1500 v2 and this noise kinda ticked me, Playing anything under sound level 11 I could barely hear it. but going up past 11 it gets louder and louder, glad I found your post. the noise is completely gone now!

 

Here is a pic for anyone like me who is bad and takes a while to understand this PC stuff

 

http://i57.tinypic.com/2ngfurn.png

 

 

I just clicked on the speaker part in Line and Microphone, and it's gone. I can still record and use my mic.

 

Again thanks, hopefully this is the fix to this and not just me getting lucky

Just made an account to confirm that this completely fixed the High Pitched noise I get whenever I use something that can record, be it in-game or something like Skype or window recorder. (Using Windows 7 here)

 

Got a Veangeance 1500 v2 and this noise kinda ticked me, Playing anything under sound level 11 I could barely hear it. but going up past 11 it gets louder and louder, glad I found your post. the noise is completely gone now!

 

Here is a pic for anyone like me who is bad and takes a while to understand this PC stuff

 

http://i57.tinypic.com/2ngfurn.png

 

 

I just clicked on the speaker part in Line and Microphone, and it's gone. I can still record and use my mic.

 

Again thanks, hopefully this is the fix to this and not just me getting lucky

 

what drivers are you using? the corsair ones? or windows?

I just bought this headset, got it home and... yup, same problems.

 

These include:

 

- Unbearable high pitch noise in any apps that require mic

- Noticeable white noise at medium volumes

- Weird feedback through the headset (e.g. you can hear yourself, but it plays at a delay)

- If I try to change the headset volume from within Windows, Realtek or Corsairs apps, it crashes

 

 

Such a shame to see this problem is being glossed over by Corsair, rather than being tackled head-on with solutions and advice. Meanwhile, consumers are parting with hard earned money for something which is trash (yes, if a $6 headset gave me more satisfaction than this, I think that's a fair comment - it's actually a pain to wear.)

 

I will hopefully be returning the headset to the retailer tomorrow.

 

p.s. for the guy posting a 'fix' that involves turning the mic loopback off, this is not a viable solution. When you are wearing a closed-back headset, you need some of your voice to loop back into the headset, so you can hear yourself talking.

 

Trying putting your fingers in your ears and talking - joking aside, that's the reason deaf people sometimes speak slightly different. It's hard to talk with no feedback.

Took me some 20mins to figure out how to make an account to post a reply...(apparently corsair's website account and the community one are not connected).

 

I tried the Power thing (get the power supply to feed into a direct power source rather than a power strip, ironically I have a corsair power supply, though doubt it has anything to do, just an extra note, pleased that it has not fired up in smokes after the 20-30 power surges I had - 850 corsair something btw).

 

The way I was able to stop the damn hissing sound (wish I saw that in the amazon reviews...) was by

1: As I said, connect the power supply to a direct power source.

2: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE DOWNLOAD THE Corsair Headset Software Version 2.0.26 driver. Instead, download the

Corsair Headset Software Version 2.0.16 version.

 

Worked like a charm, no more hissing noise (and I had a complete reproduction step of how to get it by playing a song on spotify and pause it instantly - hissing noise. By doing those two things? No more hissing noises (and the mic is on as well, I can hear myself speak into in the speakers if on, but who cares, NO MORE HISSING NOISE). Of course, this is what worked for me...can't guarantee for you, although, I felt I had to share seeing the common distress. Maybe some good karma will hit me these days...

Where down version 2.0.16

 

thanks

http://www.corsair.com/en/vengeance-1500-dolby-7-1-usb-gaming-headset-v2

Thanks for the tip. But if I leave the microphone at 100% and use Audacity, still hear a hiss more with this version 2.0.16 is the best, a very low microphone volume found, will have to perform some additional configuration more, hug

This did nothing for me.

 

The best I have got them, is by going to Add/Remove programs and uninstalling the Corsair software. They still work, but Microsoft drivers take their place.

 

Headphone hissing and squealing reduced but not eliminated. Downside is that they are WAY too loud and I've got no idea if you get 7.1 sound from them.

 

SO frustrating. How did a piece of software or driver get release that actually makes their product WORSE than the standard Windows software.

 

p.s. I doubt the earth thing is the reason, it's a software/compatibility issue surely. i.e. if the noise disappears when using Windows drivers, surely it's unlikely that the Corsair software could somehow pick up the noise from an unearthed connection.

My biggest issue, as it stands (using 2.0.16) is the volume is way too sensitive. For reasonable listening levels, i have to be at system volume of 8%. Much more and it's unbearably loud.

Also just registered to state the same issue. Posted on Overclock.net as well.

 

I had the V1 of the 1500 for years and enjoyed them a lot. The cord got eaten by a chair wheel and the RMA replacement was a V2.

 

For the past year, I thought the hissing was mainly a ground loop issue, because my new (old) house had underground socket. And yes, there was ground feedback sound that could be fixed by touching another USB port, after rewiring my house, I found that a ground loop was only a small part of the problem.

 

Fist off, the headphones are PAINFULLY loud at anything but a few ticks above mute. I still have the reflex motion to bat these off my head in case some new source of audio decides to start playing at 100%.

 

As for the hiss noise- I did the initial steps of muting the mic and line in from playback in the headphones themselves, and that helps some.

 

But my main issue was with the mic itself. In a word, it is garbage. Running the headset in a quiet closet, connected to a laptop outside, running on battery, with no ground interference, tested with old drivers, new drivers, AND windows defaults, and the mic is always pegged at 50% noise. Speaking, normally or forcefully, barely makes the mic twitch. Shouting into it makes a reading, but pops it, as expected.

 

I found I can clean up recorded audio in Audacity, but that is no help for doing live video via Hitbox or Twitch. I've had $5 lapel mics from newegg that do a better job then this thing.

 

Sad to say there is no "fix" for these things. The V1 were great, and I can listen back to my old youtube videos at how much better the voice sound was back then. My plan now is to get a good quality desk mic (Sampson Go, Blue Snowball ICE, Blue Snowflake) and run a nice set of regular headphones, like what Tek Syndicate recommends.

 

Damn shame Corsair, damn shame...

Just made an account to confirm that this completely fixed the High Pitched noise I get whenever I use something that can record, be it in-game or something like Skype or window recorder. (Using Windows 7 here)

 

Got a Veangeance 1500 v2 and this noise kinda ticked me, Playing anything under sound level 11 I could barely hear it. but going up past 11 it gets louder and louder, glad I found your post. the noise is completely gone now!

 

Here is a pic for anyone like me who is bad and takes a while to understand this PC stuff

 

http://i57.tinypic.com/2ngfurn.png

 

 

I just clicked on the speaker part in Line and Microphone, and it's gone. I can still record and use my mic.

 

Again thanks, hopefully this is the fix to this and not just me getting lucky

This worked for me as well with the latest driver 2.0.35. While the noise is not completely gone it is very, very, very faint and I have to concentrate to hear it. Be that as it may I'm saying it fixed the issue for me.