Tired of unclear communication during gaming sessions? Here we will explain how mic monitoring can help and the steps to enable the feature on PC, Mac, Xbox and PS4.
You’re at a crucial point in game play. Your team is under siege and you’re all trying to hanker down. Shouting instructions, giving warnings to each other. But in the chaos, all the voices are booming, distorted, no one can hear anything clearly. You’re all shooting but no one’s dropping to the ground. They continue to advance and before you know it you and your team are defeated. And it all could have been avoided if you had been able to communicate clearly…
That’s where mic monitoring comes in. If you want better gaming with clearer communication and more wins, you are in the right place.
What Is Mic Monitoring?
Mic monitoring is a feature that allows you to hear yourself clearly. Often with large over ear headphones, sound from the microphone, coupled with loud noise from the game, can give your voice a muffled sound. This usually leads to gamers speaking louder than they need to into their boom, unsure if their teammates can hear them. As a result, the listeners will need to turn down their volume to avoid the deafening sound and annoying voice distortion. Unclear communication during game sessions is literally a killer. Don’t lose anymore lives to bad communication. Here’s exactly how mic monitoring can revolutionise your gaming experience.
Real-Time Troubleshooting
Because you can hear yourself so much clearer, if there are any issues with your audio you will be able to pick up on it in real time. Mic monitoring won’t leave you wondering if you have been heard by your teammates.
Save Your Voice
Having to shout to be heard in any scenario isn’t great, but it can be especially frustrating in gaming scenarios. If you’re finding you are doing this often, it’s not surprising you’re feeling hoarse!
Better Team Communication
Because you can hear yourself, you know your teammates can hear you too. If they are also using mic monitoring, you can hear them clearly as well. This leads to all-round better communication, less deaths and more wins.
Enabling Mic Monitoring
Mic monitoring is available for PC, Mac, Xbox and PS4. Enabling this feature will be slightly different for each platform. Xbox and PS4 will require you to use a headset with built-in microphone features.
How to enable mic monitoring on PC
1.Right-click the Sound icon on the taskbar
2.Click Sounds
3.Click the Recording tab, look for the device you’re using and click Properties
4. Click the Listen tab and tick the box that says Listen to this device.
If you want to disable mic monitoring, simply uncheck the Listen to this Device box.
How to enable mic monitoring on Mac
There is no built-in way to enable mic monitoring on Mac. But all you need to do is install an app or program to use the feature with your Mac.
The easiest program to use is QuickTime. You could also download Audio Monitor or Garage Band for free. For now, let’s focus on how to use mic monitoring with QuickTime.
1.On the QuickTime Player bar, click File > New Audio Recording
2.When the new Audio recording box pops up, turn the volume slider on the screen all the way up.
NB: You don’t have to click the record button to use the mic monitoring feature.
To disable mic monitoring, simply turn the volume slider all the way back down.
How to enable mic monitoring on Xbox
As mentioned above, with the Xbox you will need headphones with a built-in mic monitoring. This feature will be automatically activated when you plug in your open back headphones for gaming. If this doesn’t happen follow the steps below.
1.Plug in your Mic Monitoring-capable headphones into your Xbox controller
2.Press the Xbox button on your controller and navigate to the leftmost tab, System > Audio
3.Adjust the Mic Monitoring slider accordingly
To disable mic monitoring, simply lower the slider back down or remove the headphones.
How to enable mic monitoring on PS4
PS4 is the same as Xbox. You will need to use a pair of compatible headphones with a built-in mic monitoring feature. However, unlike the Xbox, PS4 name mic monitoring, Sidetone. Sidetone is not automatically enabled when the headphones are plugged in. So, you will need to adjust the settings manually.
1.Plug in your headphones and head to Settings > Devices > Audio Devices
2.Navigate down and click Sidetone Volume
3.Increase the volume level to turn it on
With the PS4, the Sidetone feature will automatically turn off once you disconnect your headphones. But you can turn off the feature and continue playing with your headphones. Simply turn off the Sidetone feature.
To inadequate audio during gaming sessions. Enable the mic monitoring to hear yourself clearly over the chaos and defeat the enemy! If you haven’t got a pair of gaming headphones yet, you should invest in a pair that can do your consoles sound justice. Studio Monitoring The Best Studio Headphones Under 200 and open back gaming headphones will give you the clear, immersive sound you need.
