I get sniped whenever I stop to type

Is it possible to have a headset where I sometimes use the earbuds for sound, and other times have sound come out of my speakers, while I still use the microphone? Like others have said, this will normally drive your teammates crazy. But you can fix this easily by using the push-to-talk button and binding it to no volume. "This script will mute the game volume while you are speaking to keep game sounds from coming through with the voice chat" (from the http://tf2wiki.net/wiki/General_scripts#Mute_Game_While_Speaking):" alias "+mute" "volume 0; +voicerecord" alias "-mute" "-voicerecord; volume 1" bind "MICROPHONE-BUTTON" +mute Personally, I use http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8497888&st=headset&lp=3&type=product&cp=1&id=1186004297578 from Best Buy. It's comfy, the sound is good, and the mic works well. Do NOT buy an Altec Lansing headset. The one I bought, the ear piece came off in my hand from the simple act of pushing my hair back from my ears. The one I got as a gift also broke within a few weeks. Conversely, I have had two Plantronics headsets, and each of them have lasted more than three years.

I have a microphone which sits on my desk rather than a headset so that I can use earbuds because other types of headphones annoy me. Plus I have the option of using speakers then but I try to use the headphones because you can get some echo that way that's really annoying to the people in chat with you. The mic I have was like $10 online made by Altec Lansing.

- Is it possible to have a headset where I sometimes use the earbuds for sound, and other times have sound come out of my speakers, while I still use the microphone? I really like sound coming out of the speakers when I know it won't piss off the roommates. I don't know if this means detaching the earbuds, or what. I leave the desktop speakers plugged into the audio out and the headset mic plugged into the audio in when I do this. You can assign a "press to talk" key in Vent / TS / whatever, meaning that you don't blight your team-mates with nasty echoing game noises in their headsets all the time.

For a wired headset, I'm reasonably happy with my http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000NOR89Y/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/. Great microphone quality. You could wear the headphones around your neck if you just want to use the mike, but that's pretty clumsy. I'd love to find a good wearable PC microphone that isn't attached to headphones.

Neweggers love http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826158051. If your rig is set up for 5.1, I recommend getting a 5.1 headset. I have a Zalman, which isn't all that great, but I can use it to locate opponents behind me. To hear a footstep and know not only that someone is behind you, but that they are at 7 o'clock, is a big advantage. Consider http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=5.1+headset&x=0&y=0.

Is it possible to have a headset where I sometimes use the earbuds for sound, and other times have sound come out of my speakers, while I still use the microphone? This isn't very easy. If you have sound coming out of the speakers, the mic is going to pick it up and create a fierce echo. Using PTT will mitigate this a bit, but whenever you're talking, you'll have the potential for annoying echo. For a wired headset, I'm reasonably happy with my Sennheiser PC151 headset. Great microphone quality. I've got this headset too and I absolutely love it. Mic is great and headset is quite comfortable.

oops, my current headset is Plantronics, not Panasonic...

Word of warning about some gaming 5.1 headsets : they're sometimes balanced for low bass response. A friend's headset - which I think is the Creative set mentioned above - is horrible for fidelity, but man, you can definitely hear it when a spy is sneaking up behind you. The mic on it works very well. I purchased the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153002 from Woot! for $50. Money down the drain. Do not get these 'phones. The microphone is useless.

Good to know on the speakers/mic feedback problem. I hadn't even thought of that. Like I said, no experience with this. There's a used Sennheiser PC161 for $46 on Amazon-- going to give that a try!