PC Recommend a mic?

[capella6707]

This is the first game I've found myself in need of communicating with other players. I've never really done multiplayer games before - or avoided the multiplayer part of a game. At any rate, having been almost exclusively solo up until I got this game, I've realized teaming up has become essential to get the better gear in The Division (especially in the DZ, post-1.2).

I play on a laptop (a very nice Lenovo Y700, running the game on High settings with ~30fps) and the few times I've communicated in the game I've just used push to talk, using the laptop's mic.

So I'm thinking about getting an external mic, but I really don't want a headset (earphones with a mic boom) - I just want the mic. Also, with a boom mic (no headset), would I be able to turn off push-to-talk and just talk and the mic won't send any non-voice sounds?

Suggestions? I really don't know what to look for...

Thanks

[EDIT]

Would this be a viable option? It does have headphones, too, but they seem pretty unobtrusive...

 

[quinch1199]

As I only use a headset (a Turtle Beach) I can't recommend any stand alone mics. However, any mic set up you use can use PTT (push to talk) as you will have the option to use any spare key in the settings as a PTT button (hold down or switch on & off to talk). 

I tend to use a spare mouse button (I have an MMO mouse with about 9 buttons on it) or something like "\" key for example...but any key you can reach with a spare finger that doesn't mean you can't play at the same time. 

That said since playing this game I've moved from PTT to Vox operation and that seems to work best for me now and has free'd up keys so I can hotkey things like grenades or ammunition types on my mouse. 

IF you feel you have to buy a full headset I would caution against getting small ones. As they rest ON the ear rather than cup around the ear I found them to get very uncomfortable very quickly as the pressure builds on your ear itself, no matter the padding, for me it was the same. This is why I went for a full size set where the ear pieces fully encompass my ears inside them meaning no pressure on them and they don't get too hot as there's space in the ear pieces. 

Also don't be put off by Playstation or Xbox branded mic sets... they all pretty much will run off a PC perfectly. Often you can get cheaper and quality ones as they're marketed for the consoles rather than PC's. 

 

[quinch1199]

With Vox option you need to make a sound before the mic picks up so using it without PTT means I usually have to make sure I repeat the first letter/word of what I want to say. Not much different with PTT to be honest as you need to allow time for the channel to open before actually talking. 

A better quality mic WILL pick up background noise to an extent but most block out some but if you have a potentially noisy room, or constant background noise such as TV or people talking etc I'd stick with PTT. 

 

[Xeromaus]

Unless you MUST hear other sounds around you while you play, I'd go with a good headset anyway. I'm using a set of turtle beach with their "superhuman hearing" mod (PX24, ~$70), and it's amazing in game. There's a ton of audio cues the enemies throw out that most of my squad can't hear through speakers or their headsets due to distance or other sounds masking them, but I can tell you which grenade an npc just threw by it's beep, hear them call out incoming skills from huge distances away, or tell you if a drone is up ANYWHERE in falcon lost without a pulse or visual cues of any kind.

If you must have a standalone boom mic, I'd recommend Blue's Snowball iCE (~$50), or a Razor Seiren Elite (~$180), depending on how much you want/are willing to spend. For a low end but functional mic, you can pick up a Cyber Acoustics CVL 1064 (~$10). It's not a great mic by any means, but it has basic noise cancelling and does the job adequately.

 

[Callsign_Gloves]

With @quinch1199 here also. I'm using a pair of Turtle Beach X12's, and I don't know too much about mics to really recommend one. So I'm going to leave this to the guys that do.

~ HawKShoT

 

[quinch1199]

FYI the Turtle Beach headphone set I have are just PX11's ... quite cheap as they're branded for Xbox but the mic is really clear and earpieces super comfortable.

 

[quinch1199]

There's a ton of audio cues the enemies throw out that most of my squad can't hear through speakers or their headsets due to distance or other sounds masking them, but I can tell you which grenade an npc just threw by it's beep, hear them call out incoming skills from huge distances away

THIS! oh my gosh this... really tells you when to move cover even before the grenade "red haze" shows you where its landed as well as listening for when enemies are reloading. 

 

[capella6707]

Thanks for the input, guys.

I guess after reading your comments, it's brought to mind more of what I'm looking for. Mobility (compactness) and price are a major factor for me. Compactness, because I game on a laptop and carry it around with me, so large, "surround-the-ear" style headsets wouldn't be too desirable. Price-wise, I'd like to stick to around $50 or less, if at all possible. I totally recognize that those requirements alone will require me to compromise quality, but I have to take those into consideration.

Thoughts on those points?

 

[quinch1199]

Thanks for the input, guys.

I guess after reading your comments, it's brought to mind more of what I'm looking for. Mobility (compactness) and price are a major factor for me. Compactness, because I game on a laptop and carry it around with me, so large, "surround-the-ear" style headsets wouldn't be too desirable. Price-wise, I'd like to stick to around $50 or less, if at all possible. I totally recognize that those requirements alone will require me to compromise quality, but I have to take those into consideration.

Thoughts on those points?

Single earpiece with boom mic perhaps? They're more compact and cheaper but of course you lose all 3D sound queues. 

Also, mobile phone earbuds with a mic are an option if you buy an adaptor - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Headset-Adapter-Smartphone-Converts-Lanyard/dp/B0046FMRGA

I will say I have no idea on quality but just thinking outside the box if you're on a budget.