[eskimo]

Figure i'd ask here as one relates to audio. I'm going to be buying the console without Kinect, and it will be primarily used for Halo and Destiny. 
 
Xbone -- AV Receiver -- Headphones....
Where does my mic go now, is that grossly overpriced official adapter the only way for mix input?
I have however got a Mixamp i'm not using, but the AV Receiver sounds superior. Could i use that for just mic/ voice until a cheaper 3rd party adapter comes out?
 
 
Are there settings on the console to change voice levels when playing games? As through the Receiver voice is far too low. 
 
 
Can i disable the Xbox control over other devices? I don't want it controlling my tv and receiver when it turns off and on.
 
 
Is there any reason why i can't turn the console's main/ socket power connection off when not in use?
 
 
Thanks in advance.

 

[Stillhart]

  Figure i'd ask here as one relates to audio. I'm going to be buying the console without Kinect, and it will be primarily used for Halo and Destiny. 
 
Xbone -- AV Receiver -- Headphones....
Where does my mic go now, is that grossly overpriced official adapter the only way for mix input?
I have however got a Mixamp i'm not using, but the AV Receiver sounds superior. Could i use that for just mic/ voice until a cheaper 3rd party adapter comes out?
 
 
Are there settings on the console to change voice levels when playing games? As through the Receiver voice is far too low. 
 
 
Can i disable the Xbox control over other devices? I don't want it controlling my tv and receiver when it turns off and on.
 
 
Is there any reason why i can't turn the console's main/ socket power connection off when not in use?
 
 
Thanks in advance.

Okay, I'll try to hit these questions up in order:
 
1 - In all cases, the mic has to go into the adapter to the controller.  There is a way to hack up the stock headset and use that as an adapter, but you do lose the ability to mute and control volume balance.  I'm not a fan of buying the adapter either, but it is what it is.
 
2 - Even with a Mixamp, you need to run a cable from the Mixamp to your controller.  Sorry.  BTW, are you going to be using virtual surround from your AVR?  If not, you may want to consider getting an optical splitter and using the Mixamp for Destiny/Halo and the AVR for movies, or games that are fine with stereo audio.
 
3 - Nope.  I tried using my receiver and a Recon3D and neither of those let you adjust chat/game balance the way the Mixamp does.  The only workaround is to turn the in-game volume down and the AVR volume up.  This could lead to severe volume issues when you swap between games/apps.
 
4 - Yes, you have to enable the control in the first place.  Just don't do that and you're fine.
 
5 - If you leave it in "standby mode", there are some benefits:  quick boot, voice on, games in standby so they pick up where you left off, background updating, remote purchase/preload, etc.  You can have it not use that feature so it turns fully off every time.  (Takes a lot longer to boot tho.)  If you do that, there's no reason you can't turn off the power to the box at that point.

 

[eskimo]

  Okay, I'll try to hit these questions up in order:
 

Thanks, very helpful
 
My receiver is a Yamaha, so has the Silent Cinema surround decoding. That's why i have put up with quiet voices instead of using the Mixamp as it sounds so much better.
 
I wonder if i could hack the xbox headset slightly to fit my head along with the headphones? As the sound output will be through "speakers" which is really the receiver -> headphones and voice output setting could be changed to "speaker only", then the mic will operate all okay, perhaps. 
Just don't want to throw down £20 on an adapter, and the headset included with the console isn't worth anything to sell.

 

[Stillhart]

  Thanks, very helpful
 
My receiver is a Yamaha, so has the Silent Cinema surround decoding. That's why i have put up with quiet voices instead of using the Mixamp as it sounds so much better.
 
I wonder if i could hack the xbox headset slightly to fit my head along with the headphones? As the sound output will be through "speakers" which is really the receiver -> headphones and voice output setting could be changed to "speaker only", then the mic will operate all okay, perhaps. 
Just don't want to throw down £20 on an adapter, and the headset included with the console isn't worth anything to sell.

It doesn't let you force it to speaker or headset, it only autodetects.  This has caused me issues with various setups I've tried over the months.  My current setup works the best so far.  YMMV

 

[eskimo]

As standard, xbox 360 with the included "headset" plays sound through the speakers and voice through the headset. So might not be a good outcome. 
 
I keep finding out about the little Xbone issues which most people don't pick up on. 
 
Another thing for example, with boot times and such, will this really replace my Sony blu-ray? 360 upscaling was non-existent and sounded like a helicopter. 
 
I'm placing my order for the console + Destiny tonight. It's only really Halo that keeps me on xbox.
 
Thanks for you help again.

 

[Stillhart]

  As standard, xbox 360 with the included "headset" plays sound through the speakers and voice through the headset. So might not be a good outcome. 
 
I keep finding out about the little Xbone issues which most people don't pick up on. 
 
Another thing for example, with boot times and such, will this really replace my Sony blu-ray? 360 upscaling was non-existent and sounded like a helicopter. 
 
I'm placing my order for the console + Destiny tonight. It's only really Halo that keeps me on xbox.
 
Thanks for you help again.

To be fair, they're putting out regular monthly updates and they've taken care of a lot of the little niggling issues.  I expect they'll throw in a fix for the auto-detect sooner or later, especially since I heard you can force it on the 360.  I've been pretty happy with all the QoL updates they're pushing out.
 
Regarding boot times, if you plan on not using standby mode, it's going to take a while to boot up.  On standby it takes like 5-10s, full reboots feel closer to 1m.

 

[eskimo]

I got my XB1, it sounds like a 10 year old pc with the hdd ticking over to no end. The shop are changing it over on Thursday for me

Good start...

 

[Stillhart]

I got my XB1, it sounds like a 10 year old pc with the hdd ticking over to no end. The shop are changing it over on Thursday for me

Good start...

Sucky.  Oh well, get the bad stuff out of the way now instead of a couple years from now when the warranty runs out, eh?

 

[eskimo]

  It doesn't let you force it to speaker or headset, it only autodetects.  This has caused me issues with various setups I've tried over the months.  My current setup works the best so far.  YMMV

 
 
While looking around XB1 settings i haven't found anything yet. Haven't had much time to tbh though, been playing what time i have on Destiny. 
 
Though in the Destiny settings, you can choose where to output voice. So i will modify the xbox standard "headset" and affix it to my headphones. 
 
Though i haven't seen anything about raising or lowering audio levels overall.