Why do (gaming) headset microphones suck?

[Mortis Angelus]

Just curious if anyone have any theories about this; why do microphones used on headsets sound so bad, even from reputable brands like Sennheiser? While the mic on the Gaming One sounds better than most other gaming headsets, the mic still pales compared to business oriented headsets, and lavallier mics from the likes like Sennheiser.

 

There are lavallier/button/knob microphones out there that have far smaller form factor but sound amazing. Headsets cost quite a lot considering their audio quality, so why can't they make better microphones for them?

[Cookybiscuit]

The 12 year old kids who buy them probably don't really care about the audio quality of their mic when they are screaming at people through them, if anything it's an advantage.

[minibois]

It's probably because the consumer wont really notice.

You hear the sound from the headphones, the unfortunate souls on the other end of the game hear you're gamer rage through the mic. So unless you do recordings with it, the only thing you will hear from the mic quality is the other people saying your mic sucks.. But they either expect that from gaming headset mics, or your <willingness to defend a sub par product, because you bought it.. (there is a word for it, can't remember what it was)> will cloud your judgement.

[General Winter]

mine have no issues

 

i haven't had a single audio complaint about my mic and i use teamspeak regularly

 

i don't really have space on my desk for a table mic so on headset mic works great; i have the cloud 2 btw, i really like it for what its worth, very comfortable and everything is of high quality for what i do

[InertiaSelling]

I guess they all cut corners on the sensors. The ones they use must cost next to nothing. I compared the hyperx cloud mic to my phone's (GS6), which has to be even smaller, and now I use my phone whenever I need to record anything. It's ridiculously superior.

[PSUGuru]

The VOID Pro's mic isn't so bad. It's pretty crisp. Now, it doesn't hold a candle to the Snowball USB mic, but it's still not bad.

[Guest lilbman]

5 hours ago, Minibois said:

(there is a word for it, can't remember what it was)

Choice supportive bias?

[minibois]

3 hours ago, lilbman said:

Choice supportive bias?

That might be it.. Kind of like confirmation bias, but for a product.

[Mortis Angelus]

1 hour ago, L.Lawliet said:

Because its suppose to be all in one solution.

On top of that what u need is your teammate to hear your voice loud and clear and its enough.

it doesnt have to be crystal clear like a mic for studios, it will help them reduce the manufacturing cost and make em happy.

What u said is true u can buy a decnet lav mic from any decent brands and it will sounded much better.

The mic on the ONE is OKAY not considered to be Good imo but if u compare to any other headset then yes although G933 artemis is an exception imo its the best sounding mic on a gaming headset.

So basically you mean, they could if they wanted to do it? Makes sense I guess.

 

But I personally think that one of the main issues and why I get annoyed by random ppl in the voice chat (apart from all the shouting) is that you barely can hear what the hell they are saying. Headset mics suffer from way too strong noise cancelling that filters out many important frequencies, and they usually have pretty low gain = low audio signal. And sure, already "decent" audio quality would suffice, but just looking at e.g. Dimitri's latest video on the steelseries headset, only the Sennheiser sound decent. The rest sound like screeching crap.

 

 

 

[Scitesh]

some headsets do have exceptional mics like certain models from asus/razer or anything post 2015 by sennheiser

[Mortis Angelus]

15 hours ago, Scitesh said:

some headsets do have exceptional mics like certain models from asus/razer or anything post 2015 by sennheiser

They are exceptional compared to the usual gaming headsets. They suck* compared to business headset mics, and are not even in the same league as a proper desktop mic or even a budget lavallier mic like the Rode SmartLav+.

The worst thing is the lack of bass in the voice, making everyone sound like squeeky squirrels, and combined with noise cancellation, it results in some really narrow frequency sound.

 

*Game ONE does not suck. It is good, but still not as good as the business mics.

[Scitesh]

6 hours ago, Mortis Angelus said:

They are exceptional compared to the usual gaming headsets. They suck* compared to business headset mics, and are not even in the same league as a proper desktop mic or even a budget lavallier mic like the Rode SmartLav+.

The worst thing is the lack of bass in the voice, making everyone sound like squeeky squirrels, and combined with noise cancellation, it results in some really narrow frequency sound.

 

*Game ONE does not suck. It is good, but still not as good as the business mics.

W8 something like portronics or like sennheiser pc series? 

[Mortis Angelus]

17 minutes ago, Scitesh said:

W8 something like portronics or like sennheiser pc series? 

Plantronics have great mic quality, because that is their forte, with a pedigree in Aviation and space program. Mic quality is important there. But they didnt have the best audio quality, if I remember correctly. Sennheiser PC-series? What are those?

 

 

[Scitesh]

34 minutes ago, Mortis Angelus said:

Plantronics have great mic quality, because that is their forte, with a pedigree in Aviation and space program. Mic quality is important there. But they didnt have the best audio quality, if I remember correctly. Sennheiser PC-series? What are those?

 

 

I guess they used pc moniker for Headsets to be used in call centers or pa systems

 

Here is one I found : 

https://www.headphonezone.in/products/sennheiser-pc-3-chat?variant=977059917&gclid=CjwKCAiArrrQBRBbEiwAH_6sNKp1NvEZf4-CqVfT7J0Yg4gGGYqw615yJneNzbGf37PFVXu2o_u2MRoC9eIQAvD_BwE

[Tcrumpen]

On 11/15/2017 at 10:16 PM, Mortis Angelus said:

Just curious if anyone have any theories about this; why do microphones used on headsets sound so bad, even from reputable brands like Sennheiser? While the mic on the Gaming One sounds better than most other gaming headsets, the mic still pales compared to business oriented headsets, and lavallier mics from the likes like Sennheiser.

 

There are lavallier/button/knob microphones out there that have far smaller form factor but sound amazing. Headsets cost quite a lot considering their audio quality, so why can't they make better microphones for them?

Compromises for convenience. You can buy a half decent chinese condenser mics for around £30, it's not gonna make you sound silky smooth but it's better than the generally crappy mics on headsets

[Phentos]

The targeted demographic for gaming headsets really don't care how the mic sounds, so long as the headphones themselves sound relatively decent and their voice is at least somewhat intelligible on the other end. 

[Jon Jon]

I personally use my Blue Snowball as my mic, and AKG 7XX headphones for basically everything on my PC.

 

I just don't think gaming headsets are even worth the money when you can literally have a far better experience for similar $$.

[Zubringer]

The hyperX headphones come with pretty decent microphones, I have the hyperX cloud core and the mic is really good for the price

 

[Cyborgsmith]

With anything "gamer" focused your paying for an aesthetic/specific feature set. For a lot of us (outside of the business world) something like the ModMic on a pair of cans would give us the best of both worlds. 

 

Lets be honest RGB on a headset is not a feature set, its a waste of money and resources.