Windows 10: My USB-A headset audio quality lowers when I use my microphone, is there a way around it?

I have a poly black wire 8225 headset and I noticed my audio quality drops significantly whenever the headphone becomes active.Is there a way to prevent this or get around it. I looked into this problem and all I found were issues related to Bluetooth headsets which this is not.

:)

 

enabling microphone lowers headset audio

I am using a Plantronics Blackwire 3220, whenever my microphone on the headset is in use (through a program like Discord, or just through testing sound levels on the sound settings) the audio i recieve through the headset is lowered by at least 50% and starts to sound slightly tinny (i dont know how else to describe it)

it is not an issue with the app discord itself, as if i am in discord call but disable the mic or use a different mic the sound returns to normal, it ONLY happens when the mic is in use

my pcs sounds/communications tab is set to "do nothing", the headset and mic on the sound/playback are both set to disable all enhancements and to disallow applications from taking control

if i change my audio output (for example to my loudspeakers) the audio is no longer lowered when using the microphone, it is ONLY when i use the headset

i have looked everywhere to try and solve this but nothing i find works, and i dont want to have to adjust my volume every time i use my mic

how do i fix this so that when my mic is in the use the headset audio doesnt change

 

Windows 10 USB Microphone quietness + low quality (AT2020 USB)

Hi,

There is a significant problem with the the new generation of Windows which is to do with (mostly) professional USB microphones, mine being the Audio Technica AT2020 USB Plus. The microphone input by default is far too quiet (and also slightly lower quality). This problem occurs in Windows 10, however it worked perfectly in Windows 7.

The solution, I repeat, is NOT turning up the percentage level, DB, or boosting the microphone. For someone who intends to record professional audio, this solution is effectively what "digital zoom" is in a camera, simply boosting the audio in its entirety, even though the input volume is simply not what it should actually be. This results in noise becoming louder, and many other various imperfections.

Things I have tried:

• Reinstall/update the driver. There are no drivers except the generic Windows 10 USB microphone drivers. They worked perfectly on Windows 7 but after that they were completely broken.
• Contact the manufacturer. I contacted Audio Technica and explained how this is a call they get often, and that it is a problem with Windows. The only way they said it could be fixed is with some form of Windows update which matches the driver format of Windows 7.
• Boost the volume. Artificially boosting the volume in any way results in quality loss and is in no way a valid solution. This works for some people, but mostly it is just hiding the problem.
• Run the recording audio troubleshooter. All this does is check to make sure the audio services are running and that the microphone is detected. Neither of those are the source of the problem, therefore this fixes nothing. Neither will any other troubleshooter.
• Install Windows updates. As of this post, there is no Windows update that fixes this. I've installed every update for the past 2 years and they've done nothing to address this. Unless an update has been released that specifically addresses this, installing updates will fix nothing.
• Contact Microsoft support. This helped slightly as it gave me a few different things to do, but all of them have been in vain.
• Run a virtual machine of Windows 7. Not only is this extremely tedious, but it simply doesn't work correctly. Even if the microphone was working in its original Windows 7 format and as far as I know, a virtual machine is simply not made to record audio at high quality. This was suggested by Microsoft Support. VM tried: VirtualBox.
• Install previous audio codecs and drivers. I have tried to install previous audio drivers from Windows 7 onto Windows 10 with no success. This was also suggested by Microsoft support.

This was NEVER a problem in Windows 7. This problem has been on the forums of Microsoft Support for over 2 years with no clear solution.
Name of my laptop: MSI GL62 6QD


Any, and I mean ANY help would be appreciated about solving this problem, thank you.

 

Low quality audio in headset when microphone is activated

Anytime anything activates the mic (Discord, Skype, Webex, the recording tab in the sound part of the control panel) the audio quality in my headset is very low quality.

To Reproduce:

1. Play music of choice
   
2. Press the windows key and type sound
   
3. Click the Recording tab. Music will change to low quality
   
4. Click the Playback tab your music should sound normal
   
5. Rip hair out in frustration