Bluetooth audio sounds like a potato when using the Mic

**Chilling_Silence** · 09-02-2016, 04:45 PM

Hi all,

Got myself a nice shiny new headset, a Creative Aurvana Gold, which sounds great when I'm using them as headphones and just playing music (Though the top-range isn't as clear-cut as it could be, they feel a little muted in the upper-range, but still).

However, if I tell Windows 10 to start using the Microphone, the quality of the audio being played back turns to total custard and it sounds like I'm listening to the music through the sole of an old boot. If I tell Windows to use the Microphone built in to the laptop, it'll happily use that and continue playing back the music in the higher quality.

I'm thinking it's doing something, when capturing, like changing the playback profile to match the capture profile, which is something that resembles potato quality... Like 8000hz, rather than the 44.1khz it normally plays back at.

Any ideas how I can tell Windows not to?

Cheers

Chill.

**Chilling_Silence** · 09-02-2016, 07:17 PM

Trying it at home on a different standalone USB bluetooth adapter on my Desktop and I get extra "Enhancement" options, like bass boost and loudness equalization which is kinda nice.
It also shows the recording slightly differently, so I think I'm on to something here:
http://i.imgur.com/mAcq2D7.png

From what I'm gathering, this is the issue. Any ideas how to work around this?

**dugimodo** · 09-02-2016, 07:18 PM

What do potatoes sound like? better or worse than custard? or if it sounds like both does that mean potatoes and custard are involved in some sort of sonic conspiracy?
I have a logitech stereo headset that windows 10 will only let me use as a mono headset for phone calls or stereo headphones for music. It will not let me set it to do both. maybe that's the same issue? It's not a bluetooth limitation either because my note 3 happily uses it as a stereo headset, perhaps windows has some sort of bandwidth limitation or the adapter does?

**Chilling_Silence** · 09-02-2016, 09:37 PM

Indeed, I wonder, but I'm not sure where to go about researching this issue or what I should be calling it or anything. Spent about an hour earlier looking around and got nowhere unfortunately, so was wondering if I asked here and phrased it right if somebody may have any pointers?

**Zippity** · 09-02-2016, 09:50 PM

Do potatoes in harmony sound like a bag of crisps?

**Chilling_Silence** · 10-02-2016, 04:31 PM

No ideas then from anybody?

**Greg** · 10-02-2016, 08:00 PM

I can't understand why you'd need the mic at the same time as listening to quality audio? And if you do, why not simply use the PC's mic?

**Chilling_Silence** · 10-02-2016, 08:41 PM

Coz my desktop doesn't have a Microphone built in, so I'd have to use the Microphone on my Steelseries Siberia V2... and the point is that I want to be able to walk around and still talk, go get a beer without having to muck around with my headset, go stir dinner and that sorta thing...

Here's a sample of what it sounds like, as soon as I enable the Mic on the headset. It sounds like total ass, and there's no way I wanna pay $300 for a headset that sounds like a potato:
http://picosong.com/8UWm

This is taken from the Suicide Squad trailer on YouTube. 10 seconds in you'll hear the difference. No way can you tell me that's "acceptable" :P

Same goes for gaming, it's actually just completely unpleasant, I'd rather not have any audio than have that...

**Chilling_Silence** · 11-02-2016, 11:22 AM

Can't get it to work, taking it back today. Will have a look for one with a dedicated wireless adapter, rather than one that uses Bluetooth. Unfortunate, but the quality is so abysmal it's a surprise nobody else has come across this earlier and done something about it on the Bluetooth level :-/

**dugimodo** · 11-02-2016, 11:54 AM

Careful with the wireless ones also, I have a Logitech H800 and can not recommend it for use anywhere in the same building as a PC with USB 3. Ok that's an exaggeration but it's nearly that bad. USB 3.0 causes interference around the 2.4Ghz band and totally messes up the H800, the right channel gets broken up and distorted, logitech do not offer a solution. In bluetooth mode it's the headset I mentioned that will only do mono on my PC when the mic is enabled.

It works perfectly with my smartphone so I suppose it's not totally useless.