Need help finding an amplifier/dac with separate audio control for chat audio.

[Michael Bargmann]

Hello,

this is my first question ever since I am usually able to google for the answer myself but I can't seem to find the name for the thing I am looking for.
I bought myself a nice pair of sennheiser headphones, the problem I am having is that I used a turtle beach headset, more specifically a turtle beach z60. This headset had a separate "amplifier" which allowed me to separately control main audio (game/video etc.) and chat audio. I plugged in my new headphones into the amplifier of the z60 (after some modification because turtle beach made the plug narrow at the end so only their headsets could fit) and it works but ofcourse it's just a cheap amplifier and I would like to buy a better one that would suit my new ones better.

the only amplifier I can find that has separate chat volume control is the sennheiser gsx 1200 ( maybe the gsx 1000). Are there any other dac/amplifiers that can do this.

TL;DR: Looking for DAC/amplifier with separate volume control for game and chat audio like the ones that come with turtle beach z60 headset.

Thanks for the help

 

[ssddx]

you say "headphones" yet want "headphone and mic" control.

do you have headphones and a seperate mic? if so, which?
or, are you using a sennheiser headset? if so, which?

if both are analog you have a few choices to control volume:
-analog mixer/controller with mic input
-audio interface
-headphone amp with monitoring capability
-external in line volume rheostat volume controls for mix/headphone

while an interface normally has a weak amp capable of driving easier to power headphones or earbuds if you have something needing a stronger amp this gets daisy chained afterwards on the output side. analog mixers are like non usb versions of interfaces. monitor controls are like what you wanted with just a mic/headphone knob. rheostats are the analog control knobs you can buy. while they come in different types you could likely find two that will work for your mic or headphone.

example of analog mixer https/www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-XENYX502-5-Channel-Mixer/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1480955379&sr=8-3&keywords=analog+mixer

example of audio interface https/www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Audio-Interface-Tools/dp/B01E6T56EA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480955343&sr=8-1&keywords=scarlett+2i2

example of monitoring headphone amp http/www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MA400?product_id=%7Bproduct_id%7D&adpos=1o4&creative=54989476081&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKEAiAvZTCBRDvnoOaoa2j3xISJABxPjN9xeXzlbfSjN8bjtJa_7tufbpmAhsqhYu9dnrl4xi75xoCqe7w_wcB

depending on what devices you have, along with what needs you have (general use or are you a youtuber/streamer) will change what devices may work best for you.

 

[Michael Bargmann]

Sorry, I should have told you some more about my setup.

The headphones I have bought are the Sennheiser HD599's

My microphone currently is some generic cheap thingy which will be replaced by a Type-b USB microphone in a month or two ( i have not yet decided which ones I will get).

However, I did not mean to control MY chat audio (microphone level). I will plug my USB microphone straight into my pc and have a volume dial on the microphone itself. this will be more than enough since i'm just using it for voice chat, not recording or streaming.

I meant being able to control incoming voice chat volume (skype, Ts3 discord, mumble etc.) separately from game audio. If you looking turtle beach z60 amplifier you can see what I mean by looking at the 2 volume wheels, 1 with a volume icon and one with a chat icon.

I hope this clarifies my question a bit more.

Thank you for your time.

 

[ssddx]

if the z60 has a volume knob for not mic but instead incoming voice chat then it is special and interfaces with software inside windows to do this as by default all audio is pushed out simultaneously so post soundcard you're stuck.

the only way i can think of everything working is to use virtual audio cable or similar software and set output A) to everything but chat and output B) to chat audio then use a mixer or analog interface of some sort to control the volume levels. a simple way to do this would be to put a simple 2 in 1 out mixer prior to an amplifier (if you decided to get one)

most of the devices i know of are not capable of what you want in a simpler one device option. i think the z60 and similar devices are more pink elephants than typical designs if they regulate chat different than game