Topic: Xbox Live and chat volume

[W7RE]

Not sure if anyone else here uses Xbox Live to play mutliplayer games much, but does anyone else have problems hearing people when they use voice chat?

The sound is definitely coming through, it's just so quiet that it's overpowered by the game sounds. I could turn my speakers way up and hear it, but then any other sounds from the system would be overly loud.

I'm using the pack-in Xbox 360 headset with the volume dial turned to max, pack-in wireless controller (I've tried fresh batteries, and a freshly charged battery pack). I went to Xbox button > Settings > Preferences > Voice > full volume (10), and I tried with speakers only, headset only, and both. I tested with previewing a voice message, as well as in-game with Left 4 Dead and Gears of War 2, with multiple people on the other end.

All system sounds are fine, it's just the voices that are far too quiet. I feel like there's some extra setting that I'm missing here.




On a side note, I swear every time I post something like this on another forum, all the responses just rehash shit I already went over in my initial post. For example., I posted this exact post on the official xbox forums. The first response I got told me to make sure the voice volume is turned to 10 and is set to headset only. Well fuck me, didn't I say I tried that?

[K-man]

Never had a problem like that.  The only issue I ever experienced was horrible echo when I'd talk sometimes.  I've never had an issue with hearing someone unless they just flat out were speaking away from the mic or very quietly.

[Cobra951]

I have no headset, so there's a big problem right there.  But I know exactly what you mean.  Just yesterday, I was in a "party" where everyone runs around in this game's test track parading vehicles and taking "pictures" of other people's.  That's vehicle sharing in effect.  Voices were not only low over the speakers, but muffled as well.  I could not understand a frigging word being said.  I ended up just communicating via text messages with the guy who invited me in.  I don't understand why voice volume at least can't be altered.  Ideally, the voice audio EQ should be controllable as well.

[W7RE]

I don't understand why voice volume at least can't be altered.  Ideally, the voice audio EQ should be controllable as well.

If you press the Xbox button in the middle of your controller, scroll to the right until you hit the Settings page, then choose Preferences, and then Voice. That lets you adjust the volume of voice chat independantly of the in-game sounds. My problem is that I have that setting maxed, and have tried all 3 options for where to have the voice come out, and still the voices are muffled and low, like you were just saying.





Though, I did just have a match of GoW2 online and could hear people... kinda. The volume was working alright though, still a bit low for my taste considering I have it on max in the system settings and cranked the volume knob on the headset all the way up. I say I could "kinda" hear people because by the time I got into the lobby I could hear some high pitched squeaqy voice that sounded like it was screaming, and it was cutting in and out. First round, the squeaky guy got 4 kills (this is in a 4v4 match). Second round everyone started leaving except me, mr squeaky, and one of his teammates. After a couple rounds the lag died out and I killed the guy, and immediately the lag came back.

I suspect what was happening was what's called "lag switching". You figure out you're the host, and you temporarily unplug your modem. This lags everyone out but you. So you lag people out, and run around killing everyone.

[Quemaqua]

It was a problem I noticed when playing Burnout Paradise online on my PS3, though I use the term "problem" loosely, as most of these people I don't want to hear talking anyway.  But that game has an actual adjustment for it in the menu, so you can crank it up.  But this definitely isn't the first time I've heard the problem mentioned.  I've seen it pop up here and there quite a bit.  It doesn't concern me because I play very few console games online, and even the ones I do are pretty infrequent experiences for me.  Voice chat on a PC isn't an issue, and if there's ever a program that fucks up and gets it wrong (Steam, you pile of shit), we have the Teamspeak server I run.  I do wonder if a solution has ever popped up.  It seems to afflict enough people that the administrators of these games and services would take notice.

[Cobra951]

If you press the Xbox button in the middle of your controller, scroll to the right until you hit the Settings page, then choose Preferences, and then Voice. That lets you adjust the volume of voice chat independantly of the in-game sounds. My problem is that I have that setting maxed, and have tried all 3 options for where to have the voice come out, and still the voices are muffled and low, like you were just saying.

I will look at that tonight.  Thanks.  The problem is so extreme that I'm hoping it is a slider midway that I can crank up to max.

Edit:  Nope.  It's already at max.  I did change it from play through headset to play through speakers.  Maybe that will alter it for the better somehow.

[W7RE]

The guy has some annoying monotone narration going on for most of the video, but behind that you can hear game sounds and some chatter (esp people cheering him at thee nd of each round lol). About 17 seconds in he says "let's listen" and you just hear people talking in the pre-game lobby. Anyway it's not the video I wanted to point out, it's the fact that you can hear people talking, and at a volume that seems appropriate. You can understand people (well not so much the hyper 10 year old). I assume he had his chat coming out of his speakers in order to record the game and capture the voice chat too. When I do that it's impossible to hear people. The other day I thought people were either quiet, or in private parties chatting, until I got tot the end of the game as saw a voice icon turning on and off nexto someone's name. People were talking, I just couldn't hear them.

And yea even not taking the volume into account, I was shocked at the lack of sound quality on Xbox Live. I've spent the last few years playign WoW and chatting with people on Ventrilo, which sounds worlds better than Live chat. You could set a Vent server to the lowest quality codec you could find and it would still sound better than Live.




Cobra, if you had it set to only headphones, I'd guess you wouldn't have heard anything at all before. :p

[Cobra951]

No, I could hear it.  Just not understand it.  There are 3 settings, headset, speakers, and both.  It was on the first, headset.

[W7RE]

That's really weird that you had it on headphones, but it was coming out of the speakers. I wonder if it does that automatically if there's no headset plugged in.