For those people (like me) who have a creative labs soundblaster (any) make sure in the vent home page, select setup, then make sure under hardware input mixer (optional) line set to microphone and nothing else.

This was a trick I learned after many complaints and allot of trouble. Seems it is a documented problem for all soundblaster cards.

This should take care of the echo problem. Get used to using a hot key for the mic, as using an open mic causes feedback and echo, not to mention the annoying breathing...LOL

Just make sure you select the push to talk (PTT) and select a hot key for Mic Open.