man, have I been all over the net with this, and not one person can help.

It has been posted here before, but It wouldn't let me bump it.
USB headphones.



Basically, if I plug in the 360 controller, all the audio in my USB headphones Plantronics 550 DSP
Plantronics )) Computer )) Computer Headsets )) .Audioâ„¢ 550 DSP Ultimate Performance Headset & Software

Turns to pure ****, and once I remove the controller and reboot, everything is fine again.

My guess is a driver issue, and not a vista issue.

Thanks for the response!

First of all it's a 360 game controller for windows, not a headset, sorry about the confusion.

I enjoy my USB headphones for sound and VOIP, but once I plug the game controller in, all sound goes to crap.

I have no made a query to plantronics, and I guess I should really do that.

Found a solution! Registered to post it, since I could not find the solution ANYWHERE on the internet...

Using an Xbox 360 controller or any other Xbox 360 peripheral with 95% of USB sound cards or headsets will produce HORRIBLE sound input and output. It sounds like a robot has swallowed and spat back out the waveforms. Even if the 360 peripheral is removed any USB audio devices plugged in after the fact will still sound corrupted until a fresh reboot without the 360 peripheral plugged in.



I believe that the problem is somehow linked to the "generic root hub" driver, which hasn't been updated since 2001, thanks M$.

The solution (pick one of 3):
As long as the 360 peripheral is on it's own internal virtual root hub it will not interfere with other devices. You can force it to use another root hub by doing ONE of the following:
1) Fill up your usb ports with other devices till it shifts to using a secondary root hub, then plug in the 360 peripheral. This could take up to 10 USB things, depending on your motherboard and the maximum devices on each root hub.
2) Use an extra internal PCI-USB card for the 360 peripheral.
3) Use an extra external USB hub for the 360 peripheral.



NOTE: A reboot is usually required to clear up the driver's confusion.

I didn't even think of a hub, kind of annoyed that I have to go through that, but I am really happy that there is a solution, thanks alot.