Windows 10: USB Microphones Low Volume/Poor Quality

I have Samson, Snowball, and other USB microphones. They all sound GREAT on my older Win 7 Computer. On my high-end Win 10 computer, the volume is extremely low. I tried Equalizer APO with Peace equalizer, and they improved the volume, but the sound quality is not as good as it is on the older Win 7 machine. There's a background hiss on when using APO and Peace. Do I need to switch to an XLR mic and plug into the 3.5 mic jack? I seem to have tried EVERYTHING. In the meantime, I do all my podcast and screencasts on our older Win 7 machine.

:)

 

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.

 

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

Just tried this. This provided no difference to the problem at all. Here are the specs if you would like them.

 

Blue Snowball microphone with low audio quality on Windows 10.

Hi Eoin,



I realize the inconvenience you are experiencing with Windows 10. I will certainly help you.



This issue might occur if there is change microphone or audio settings.



To assist you better, please provided us the information below:

• Have you tried to check the issue by connecting with another microphone device on the computer?
• Are you getting any error message on the computer when you use the Microphone?

I suggest you to follow the steps provided in the Microsoft Help Article about sound related issues and check if it helps.

Fix sound problems:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...eac-4566-867a-98d2761a770d/fix-sound-problems

Please get back to us with an update on with low sound through Microphone, we will be happy to help.



Thank you.