I am having a problem with my PC38X with Xbox X. My first headset was and is the SteelSeries Arctis 7X+ and when playing online with others, they are able to hear me. When I switch over to the PC38X (plugged into the Xbox wireless controller), they are not able to hear me. I can switch back and forth between the two headsets, and they hear me immediately with the 7X+ and then can't hear me the second I switch over to the PC38X. The Xbox software shows in the controller settings that the headset mic is set to on, and I have mic monitoring turned all the way up and can hear myself talking into the mic. But even while hearing my mic'd voice say "Testing, can you hear me?" they tell me they can't. Is there anything I'm forgetting to set?
Feb 12, 2024
Audiophile grade headphones start, at a bare minimum around $200 for a few old AKGs that are widely considered to be mid-fi. Decent mid-fi starts at around $300. I personally don't consdier anything less than hi-fi (approx 900 and up) to be "audiophile" , but mid-fi headphones will at least get you a very large improvement.
Consider what you want to achieve out of this hobby. If you don't place a great deal of value on your headphone listening, just get some mid-fi headphone, some decent amp/dac combo unit and enjoy. If you want to go for audio bliss (ie, be an audiophile), you will have ot adjust your budget priorities. For example, I'm about 5k in and still hunting for upgrades. Any serious audiophile will tell you to skip the mid-fi step altogether and hit hi-fi right from the starting line.
For a starting audiophile I would recommend the following:
Source: Schiit Wyrd (USB isolator, required for any PC source using USB) - $100
DAC: Gustard X20U (balanced Sabre DAC, exceptional value, easily modded improvements, big upgrade path for I2S) - $800
Amp: Schiit Jotunheim (new product, balanced, which I tested back-to-back with my $1,700 Ragnarok and it was only a little inferior, mainly not as three-dimensional) - $400
Headphones: HiFiMAN HE-6 (one of the best headphones period, amazing value, extremely power hungry) - $1000.
Cables: The amount of benefit depends on the quality of your power. There's a number of high-value manufacturers, but I really like the value and performance of Audio Sensibility out of Canada.
So minus cables, this system represents a very strong start into hi-fi headphone listening. The HE-6 are end-game quality and can be tapped off of speaker amps. I auditioned the Jotunheim and its value is real. The Gustard is going to destroy anything around it's price point, the next upgrade is around 2.5-3k point, and it offers I2S with 4xDSD support which is an a large improvement by itself.