Audio output leaking into microphone

Question

I noticed that my audio output (anything from system sounds to music) is leaking into my microphone.

Stereo Mix is disabled and the audio is not loud enough to be recorded by the microphone externally, probably it's crosstalk from the wires but I tried with a brand new headset (by the way they're both with 3.5mm jacks) and the problem persists.

I also tried (with both headsets) to connect the microphone and the headphone to different sides (microphone front and headphone rear, and vice versa), but still it leaks audio into the microphone, sometimes even when the microphone is disabled hardware-wise (with the button).

I know that probably there's something wrong with the motherboard' sockets but i noticed that TeamSpeak3 is the only software i know of that isolates audio output and input when selecting the "Windows Audio Session" option, so maybe there's a solution with a software that enables WASAPI for any application.

I'm not trying to record audio, i mainly use my microphone for stream and VoIP (Discord really detect any sound from the output and redirects it into my microphone, i can't listen to something loud without letting the other users listen to the same thing and if i lower the sensitivity they cannot hear me).

Answer 1

The crosstalk problem appears to be an electrical design issue of the "common audio ground" of the mic and speaker jacks. Connecting an amplifier speaker to the headphone jack seem to not cause the crosstalk, its only headphones. The solution is to separate the grounds for the two connectors. I resolved it by running a separate ground wire from the rear pc stereo output jack's sleeve, by looping it around the speaker jack end, to the headphone jack's ground; as suggested in this question: electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/373716/pc-headset-crosstalk

Answer 2

Found a fix for this, right click on speakers on the bottom right Click on sounds Click on playback Right click on every single item displayed and disable it except for the one you are using. Do the same thing for the recording tab. Test.

Answer 3

I have a similar issue with my Turtle Beach Earforce X12 headset and after doing some research, I can say one thing.

It's probably your headset(s).

With that said, I encourage you to watch this brief gif:

In it, I play some audio in the background through my aforementioned Turtle Beach headset. Note how the input sensitivity is up near the middle of the bar. Around halfway through, I unplug my headset's output (leaving the mic plugged in) and switch it for a different pair of headphones. Notice how Discord is no longer picking up erroneous input. I should note that the mic is muted on the headset through this entire video, so this output bleed has to be coming from inside the headset (or Discord, but I am not in a position to judge).

My suggestion, is to see if you can use a different pair of headphones for your audio output and either get a budget external microphone or use your existing headset as a microphone only. Doing the latter is easy if your headset has two 3.5mm jacks so you can plug in the microphone jack but not the listen/audio output jack.

If neither of those options are convenient you can try setting Discord's input sensitivity above the typical peak amount when you're listening to loud music in the background, so at least it won't trigger automatically on your music alone. You may also consider push-to-talk. Lastly, you could also turn down the background audio when chatting on Discord anyway, but I realize that isn't a solution.

Also, as some of the comments have pointed out, it's worth checking if you have everything in the correct jack and that everything is setup properly software-wise, including in Windows and for your audio driver.

If you need any clarification, let me know, but I hope this helps.

Answer 4

try using stereo on your headphones rather than 5.1 and 7.1...... seriously so annoyed it took me 2 months to realize :(

Answer 5

3 years later, same problem, but found a fix. You basically enable Noise Suppression and AEO (Acoustic Echo Cancellation).

1. Open Sound Panel: Right click on the speaker icon at the bottom-right corner of your screen and click Open Volume Mixer. Then Click on System Sounds.
2. Open your Device Properties: Go to Recording tab, then right click on your input device and click Properties.
3. Make sure you leave everything as follows:

Disable all sound effects (UNMARKED).

Noise Suppression (MARKED).

Acoustic Echo Cancellation (MARKED).

Answer 6

For those whom the above solutions did not work and if you have "Realtek Audio Console" in your system, open it, go to Microphone Array under Recording Devices and set "Personal Call" under Mic Effects.

Answer 7

Was facing the same problem since a month (bought new earphones). All of my friends were complaining that they could hear my game audio (though I plugged in earphones). I had to switch to push to talk which was troublesome. Tried all the solutions I found online, but none of them work.

But luckily, the weird solution that worked for me is, press and hold the mic button on your headphones/earphones and connect them. Now there is no audio leak.

Still don't know the reason why this works.

Note: I'm using a wired earphones(Similar Model), not sure if this works with different types.

Answer 8

just change from 16 to 24 48000hz.. this worked for me