# Mic is very quiet.



## TrooPeRZz (Feb 25, 2011)

For some reason my headset is very quiet. In the past few days, nobody could hardly hear me as well as I can't hear myself.

I check on the "Sound" option, when onto my microphone properties and put the volume of my mic to 100%, but very little sound. The only strange bit I am confused about, is that when I tap my mic with my hands, the volume meter goes up to the max, but when I speak it only vaguely gains up to one bar.

Any help?

My mic is a basic C-Media USB headset.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Hi TrooPeRZz :wave:

Is the mic on a little plastic arm that drops down in front of your mouth, or embedded in the headset itself?

If on a moveable arm, try gently bending it so it's closer to your mouth (There might well be a 'bendy' bit for just such adjustments), otherwise it'll likely be a matter of moving the headset around to get the best position, embedded mics often rely on bone-conductance to pick up the voice.


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## TrooPeRZz (Feb 25, 2011)

Yes, the mic is on a plastic arm. I have tried moving the arm around but no luck. It can hardly pick up my voice, but if I tap the mic, the sound meter goes up :/


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Could you post the exact make/model of the headset and whether it's connected via the PC's mic-socket or USB?


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## TrooPeRZz (Feb 25, 2011)

All I can find out of the model is that it's a C-Media USB Headphone Set.

And it is plugged in the USB Socket.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Try the following:

1 - Double click the speaker icon on the lower right corner of your desktop (the “tray”)
2 - Click “Options” and select “Properties”
3 - In the Mixer Device, select “C-Media USB Headphone Set”
4 - In the “Adjust volume for” section, select “Recording”
5 - Check the box next to “Microphone”
6 - Click OK
7 - A single level control will appear. This is the input level control for the USB microphone. Adjust as needed for your recording situation, following the instructions provided with your audio recording software.
8 - For advanced controls, click “Options” and select “Advanced”
9 - Below the level control, you will see a button labeled “Advanced”. Click it.
10 - Additional options may appear here, depending on your operating system. If “AGC” appears, you can select this and the software will automatically select the input level for you. If “Mic Boost” appears, you can select this and the signal from the microphone will be boosted.


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## TrooPeRZz (Feb 25, 2011)

Sorry I forgot to mention that I am in Window 7, so The first instruction didn't work.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

OK, right-click the speaker icon and select 'Recording Devices', the select the 'Microphone' entry and click 'Properties'. Along the top of the dialogue-box, select the 'Custom' tab and the '20DB Boost' should be there - Tick if unticked then OK.

The next tab along marked 'Levels' should have the mic volume slider, adjust that to approx mid to 3/4 and OK back to desktop.


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## TrooPeRZz (Feb 25, 2011)

When I went to the custom area, the 20db boost wasn't there.

Also, the volume meter was the first thing I did, once this error popped up. It's at 100%.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Does the headset appear in the 'Device Manager'? 

Try re-installing the driver - You can get the latest from '*C-Media*' but you'll need to find the specific model-number on the headset


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## TrooPeRZz (Feb 25, 2011)

Yes, the device manager has picked up my USB headset. But I don't what my headset specific model is..


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Did you get a driver-CD with the headset? If so, can you install from that.


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