Let's start from the beginning:
It was the end of June. I had the same Soundcard I have had for over a year: SoundBlaster Audigy 2ZS Gamer. I was using a Logitech headset as my microphone. One day I got on the computer, somebody was complaining that the mic was fading in/out. Eventually, the mic went totally out. I thought nothing of it at the time. I then moved on to my Zalman clip-on mic. It was working for a good while (2-3 weeks). One night somebody then complained that it was making a swooshing sound, the next day, the microphone totally stopped working.
I then tryed an old boom stick mic that came with my Windows 98 Gateway. It worked well for 1-2 weeks. But it went out.
I contacted Creative about my problem. By phone, they wanted money just for me to talk to them, so I sent an e-mail. Here was the response.
Dear Andrew,
Thank you for contacting Creative Technical Support.
It is my understanding you have a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Gamer and
the microphone jack does not work. Your records also indicate you are
beyond your product's one year warranty period.
I apologize for the inconvenience, but according to the information
provided, you are also beyond your complimentary e-mail support period.
Unfortunately we are unable to provide any type of email support once
you are outside the warranty. I suggest consulting our online tools or
contacting the telephone number below for further assistance.
All of our Creative products receive the following customer support
services, which include:
? Complimentary telephone support for the first 60 days of ownership to
help you get started with your product
? Complimentary email support for the duration of your product's
warranty
? Warranty service by telephone or email for the duration of your
product's warranty
? Unlimited access to our portfolio of web-based support services for
the life of your product
If you are beyond your complimentary support period, there are a few
options that are available for you.
1. You may take advantage of our free web-based services including a
searchable knowledge base, forums, product documentation, tutorials, and
downloads.
2. You may utilize 3rd party online forums and discussion groups that
can be found using online search engines.
3. You may contact our telephone support to purchase a Creative Tutor
session from one of our expert technical advisors.
Our online portfolio of web-based services can be located on our site at
us.creative.com under support. Under here you will see the ?Discussion
Forums? and ?Knowledge Base?. Drivers can be found under the
?downloads? section.
More information on the Creative Tutor session can be found below.
Creative Tutor
You're eligible to receive complimentary telephone support for 60 days
to help you install and get started with your new product. At any time
after that during the service life of your product, you're welcome to
use Creative Tutor for expert help and advice by phone.
Our support advisors are available to help you with installing your
Creative product, solving problems, teaching you new ways to use your
Creative products or walking you through the included software and
applications. Your Creative Tutor session covers any one issue with
which you want assistance and lasts up to 30 minutes.
A 30-minute Creative Tutor session is available any time during regular
operating hours for $12.99.
Tel 1-405-707-8777
Operating Hours (Central Time)
9AM-6PM, Monday-Friday
Closed Public Holidays
If you are within your warranty period, please reply back with the name,
model number, serial number, place of purchase, and date of purchase of
the product which you require assistance with and we will do our best to
assist you.
If you still require assistance, please reply to this email with any
previous correspondence to ensure the quickest and most accurate
service.
Best Regards,
James (15353)
Technical Support
Creative Labs Americas
To provide feedback on your "Creative Experience" please click on the
following link:
http://www.creativehelp.com/support/con ... r=CLI&d=TS
This link is provided so that you may provide feedback on your "Creative
Experience". If you require further troubleshooting or have additional
questions simply reply to the original mail and we will be glad to
assist you.
I thought this was pretty unacceptable from a company of that size. All companies should back their products with customer support over the phone. I mean, what if someone doesn't have internet.
Anyway, back to the story.
I took out my Audigy 2ZS Gamer. I bought myself Sennheiser PC155s. This way I would have a brand new soundcard, as well as a brand new microphone. I received them Monday. I woke up this morning and went on Ventrilo (
http://www.Ventrilo.com) to talk to a friend of mine. He started complaining that my microphone was too low, so I just turned my outbound up. He said it was still too low. I then brought in a clone of myself to test my microphone. It sounded very low and a little tinny. I began to get worried.
I am very worried that this microphone is also going out.
Does anyone know what could be causing all these problems with only the microphone? I am using the Sennheiser UUSB1 soundcard.
Specs:
A8N-SLI Deluxe
FX-55
WD 160GB
510Express SLI
6800 Ultra SLI[/quote]
August 12th, 2006, 9:36 am
