Virtuoso lack of sidetone (Weak)

[MrTV]

On 5/24/2020 at 12:40 PM, mudbones said:

Hello guys, im at my wits end here with these headsets and could use a lay up.

 

Got the virtuoso headsets the other week and found that the side tone volume is so weak, icue has it maxed but I can hardly hear myself still and find that I'm talking so loudly that the girlfriend gets upset. this issue wasn't a problem with the void pros that I replaced it with it in the past. Its hard to describe, but there is a sidetone and I can hear myself, but its so muffled. And if I put my hands and cup the mic and I can hear that much louder.

 

i tried to clean re-install icue and updated all firmware wit no luck. anyone got any ideas what else I can do?

HEYYYYYY I found a work around for me at least. Works for my Virtuosos Try either DOLBY ATMOS or Windows Sonic. Yes, this disables the equalizer in Icue, however, Atmos has an equalizer of its own (dont know about Sonic). Yes you have to pay for Atmos I HAVE NOT TRIED SONIC. Anyway,

This works for me in wireless mode, havent tested wired mode yet

Open sound settings through the search bar below. 

Turn the volume on your PC, not your speakers (click the speaker icon bottom left), all the way down - yes do this its not a troll

Go to device properties and choose either Sonic or Atmos - I use Atmos

Turn the volume up and adjust Sidetone through ICUE

DO NOT TURN THE ICUE EQUALIZER BACK ON

Corsair hit me up if this fixes it for people 😉 and leads to an overall update

[ironcloud]

Greets everyone, it seems like after performing a bunch of searching around on forums I've stumbled upon proof that I'm not alone with the sidetone issues.  For years I was living the wired lifestyle and decided to begin searching for a wireless headset to handle a few different use cases:

• Reliable performance for conference calls during the day
• Decent audio quality for listening to music between conference calls
• Decent mic quality on a removable boom
• Cross compatibility for use on both Windows for gaming and MacOS for work computer
• Positional audio for gaming with Dolby Atmos
• Subdued / professional design and build quality

In reading and watching some reviews it seems like the Corsair virtuoso XT wireless still is the best option for all of the above to this day.

I've now owned the headset for around 4 months now and utilized the iCue software to ensure that I keep up with software updates.  (Side note: the iCue software seems pretty laggy release after release).  In noticing that the side tone was weak out of the box, I had done extensive searching around and noticed that there were discussions of various workarounds.  After trying many of these and just re-checking after every software update through iCue, it seems like they are all temporary.  Since first use, the side tone has always been set to 100%.  It does seem like there is a notion of side tone, but in order to actually hear it I have to bend the mic to literally touch my face.  This defeats the purpose as others here have noted, plosives render the mic quality useless. 

At this point I'm at my wits end and looking by the age of this forum post being over 1 year, it seems as this will never be fixed.  If anyone at Corsair is listening, please let us know if it just makes sense to give up and return the headset.  I do really want to keep using the headset, but there are times in the early morning / late evening where I'm just talking too loudly and end up waking up my small children in the bedroom next door.

Thanks again to all the others here who have persisted in this thread.   This has motivated me to create a Corsair forums account just for this purpose.

[Teebeutla]

Hello there. I'm here dor the same problem. Got my virtuoso SE yesterday. Installed icue4 and checken the settings. Set the sidetone on high and connected with my ps4 Pro. I hear nearly nothing of my voice. Only when I put the mic veeeeery close to my mount ( it nearlybtouches it...)

Is there a way to her myself louder?

 

Greetings from  Germany

[ironcloud]

Hi @Teebeutla it sounds like you are having the same issue as myself along with everyone else on this thread.  Yesterday I was able to talk to a Corsair support team member who was very helpful.  Unfortunately he performed the same test with his Virtuoso XT headset and was able to recreate the issue immediately. 

He did some research in some internal issue tool, and apparently it is a known issue but wasn't able to provide any timeframe on when it would be addressed.  Without this feature it makes it difficult for me to use for conference calls and gaming with friends.  They were not able to issue a return because I am out of the 30 day return window.  The only option we have now is to either sell it or wait and hope this gets addressed in the future.  Based on the age of this thread, the latter is not looking like it will happen. 

[SirDragonClaw]

+1

I am also having this issue on both my headsets. It would take a software engineer with access to the source code for icue less than 10 minutes to fix and test this. It is just stupid that it has not been fixed after so long.

"SUPPORT TEAM", FORWARD THIS ISSUE TO A DEVELOPER!

[ironcloud]

On 11/3/2021 at 8:47 PM, SirDragonClaw said:

+1

I am also having this issue on both my headsets. It would take a software engineer with access to the source code for icue less than 10 minutes to fix and test this. It is just stupid that it has not been fixed after so long.

"SUPPORT TEAM", FORWARD THIS ISSUE TO A DEVELOPER!

Totally agree.  I feel like there needs to be some simple gain threshold adjustments in ICue since the sidetone slider already exists.

[MrAngryEyz]

Just bumping this yet again.  It seems pretty cut and clear this is a software gain issue.  PLEASE Just let us crank sidetones up more please! My sig other has threatened to trash my new very expensive headphones cause I'm always yelling since I can't hear myself talk.  Really disappointing, since like others I've never had problems with Corsair's "lesser" headset the Void pros.  

[Bad Luck]

Just purchased this headset a few days ago and aside from some comfortability issues (not enough padding on the headband), and the equalizer causing audio to randomly lower and rise, the sidetone is the most annoying of all. No matter how much I raise it, it just sounds muffled/too low. You'd think Corsair would have ironed out all the issues with this headset by now (considering it's $210), but here we are. 

[ravepeet]

I'm experiencing the exact same issue with my Corsair HS80. Sidetone is only noticeable when talking in the mic from very, very close.

[fonboozles]

Made an account just to post in this thread.

I regret buying my expensive Virtuoso SE because of this sidetone issue. I  can't return it anymore and have almost completely switched back to using my old, cheap lil headset because I literally cannot play games in my house with roommates, given how loud I end up being. Even during the day, with my door closed I get complaints. Never had this issue before. It's ridiculous this isn't fixed

[ironcloud]

Just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to share their experiences here.  Not surprisingly there are others in this thread that registered in the forums for this specific issue.  Seems as though we are mostly in the same boat as we have passed through the factory return window and now have to live with it or sell it. 

Unfortunately looks like we have to continue to keep this thread noisy in order to get developer attention. 

[Professormoriar]

Hey Corsair, 

           I just bought this Virtuoso after seeing branding that it is a premium headset. Turns out its not. 

   Previously I had a Void pro, it was a plastic $%^&heap, but it had great audio and voice clarity as well as a perfect sidetone. 

I've been trying to fix this issue for almost 7 hours now, your sidetone quality is absolute %^&*#%$.

Why would you charge $140 for a headset that has these sort of issues? Ive seriously been trying to figure this out all night, im so pissed off right not im ready to throw it into my fire pit.

Signed,

         An upset customer.

[Mahlon]

I, too, just bought the Virtuoso XT and am having the same problem. I'm so surprised that this what not mentioned in any review I saw online, and I watched over 30 reviews!!! Well, unfortunately, these are going back. I ordered both these and the Logitech G Pro X Wireless. Logitech installed smoothly and no issues with my fan/monitoring software. They just worked easily and straightforwardly out of the box. Corsair iCue software immediately had problems with my fan monitoring.

I bought these because of the mic, but with Logitech's Blue software, I can get very close to the sound of the Corsair. The logitech mic is not bad, just needs some tweaking with the Blue software.

Well, unfortunate. I really wanted to like these. They "sound" good. But at $roughly $260+ dollars.... no way.

M.

[Hellz1626866399]

I've been considering buying this headset for xmas. Having had issues with previous corsair headsets (excepting the hs70, which is great), similar to those documented in this thread, thought I'd check. 

Glad I checked, I won't be buying them now - 1 year on and still no meaningful response/ solution from corsair - really poor. 

[Axolotl]

On 9/3/2021 at 11:19 PM, MrTV said:

HEYYYYYY I found a work around for me at least. Works for my Virtuosos Try either DOLBY ATMOS or Windows Sonic. Yes, this disables the equalizer in Icue, however, Atmos has an equalizer of its own (dont know about Sonic). Yes you have to pay for Atmos I HAVE NOT TRIED SONIC. Anyway,

This works for me in wireless mode, havent tested wired mode yet

Open sound settings through the search bar below. 

Turn the volume on your PC, not your speakers (click the speaker icon bottom left), all the way down - yes do this its not a troll

Go to device properties and choose either Sonic or Atmos - I use Atmos

Turn the volume up and adjust Sidetone through ICUE

DO NOT TURN THE ICUE EQUALIZER BACK ON

Corsair hit me up if this fixes it for people 😉 and leads to an overall update

Thank you so much! This fixed my quiet sidetone issue.

It seems that when you set the sidetone, you need to have 0% volume via Windows in order for the sidetone to have the correct volume. Really hope Corsair fixes this, as I was about to return my headset before finding this fix.

Is there any way to have this looked at by a Corsair dev?

[Lionbrow]

I just received a Virtuoso XT and I am also having an issue with the quiet sidetone. I am coming from an HS70 SE which had much louder sidetone. When all the way up, the Virtuoso XT has the same sidetone volume that the HS70 does at around ~25%. I tried the Windows Spatial Audio/Dolby Atmos trick but it did not really work; I still need it significantly louder. Not sure if it is related, but I also had do fully disable the Corsair Service because it is causing constant popping. I am really disappointed in this situation and if it's not resolved I am going to have to return them. 

Edited December 27, 2021 by Lionbrow

[Axolotl]

The sidetone issue still persists when using a Windows PC, however I used the headset with a PS5 and there was no sidetone issue when using PS5.

This looks like a bug that occurs while using a Windows PC, ruining an otherwise great headset. What are the chances Corsair will fix this? Thinking I should return the headset if there's no evidence Corsair will fix it.

[MonsterMedic]

One year later...Just bought my Virtuoso XTs and still very low sidetone with everything up to date. Any updates on this issue? I know a year ago they were "looking into it"

[Wint92022]

I bought this headset about a week ago and completely regret my purchase.  This obvious technical oversight coupled with their complete lack of care and customer support - "Derr, open a ticker, derr" seals the deal for me.  

I'd rather spend an additional $275 on a different product and donate this to a kid who doesn't know any better.  At this point this product and Corsair's customer service are sub par at best. 

Your product and customer service are bad and you should feel bad. 

[MrAngryEyz]

Quote

 

Bumping again.  @Corsair Albert I noticed you were trying to assist before.  I think it's obviously a systemic issue based on the number of us having this issue (and trying/failing with other solutions).  

How do we officially request the software to be fixed so we aren't limited so much on the side-tones.  I have been a corsair-only guy mostly but this issue is REALLY starting to turn me the wrong way.  I feel like I'm being forced to buy another headset (which won't be a Corsair) at this point because of the lack of solutions to a side-tone issue that doesn't exist on the "lower" void pro headset. 

[jacanuck]

Have been patiently waiting for a software update to address this problem since I purchased this in Spring of 2021.  

I replaced them today with Steelseries Arctis 7 - best thing I ever did, no more random disconnects or weak sidetone.

[drummerboyj]

same issue sidetone is at full and barely audible.  I updated icue software and virtuoso firmware to the latest and it helped a little but honestly thinking about returning this headset because of this.  Wish I had read these forum posts before buying.  

[Wint92022]

No answers? Nothing? 

Cowards.  You can at least admit it's a known problem with no known fix.  

[and_roux]

I was able to get sidetone to max volume without iCUE installed (on macos the corsair coreaudio driver has a massive memory leak - I would highly recommend against having iCUE installed on macOS unless you like random app/WindowServer crashes) by performing the following steps:

Initial setup:

• Headphones are unplugged and in Wireless mode
• Wireless dongle is plugged in
• headphones are connected

Steps to reset and get sidetone back to max volume:

1. Unplug wireless dongle
2. soft reset headset - hold mic mute button for 15 seconds (headset should appear "off")
3. turn headset to wired mode for 5 seconds
4. turn headset to wireless mode
5. plug wireless dongle back in (headset will connect)
6. hold mic button for ~3 seconds and release to enable sidetone

Sidetone should be back at its max volume. It's still lacking - but at least it's at its best. I kept having the issue where it was at like 1% and I could barely hear myself even if I was blowing right onto the mic.

Edited January 19, 2022 by and_roux

[MrAngryEyz]

bumping the issue.  Some sort of response would be appreciated. @Corsair @Corsair Aaron @Corsair Alan @Corsair Albert @Corsair Angie @Corsair Art @Corsair Black Pearl @Corsair Blade @Corsair Brice @Corsair Calico Jack