Separate audio out for Voice?

[psilimit]

Many of us have a separate sound card for voice communication. Anyone that uses a USB headset is also in the same boat. But Steam does not have internal options for setting the Voice audio out (odd, as it has an option for the mic device).

Most other voice communication software has options for selecting audio devices.
Mangler (a Linux Vent client) will happily let me pump voice chat to my headset and the in/out sounds through speakers (same on Windows). Skype is the same IIRC.

Now, it IS possible to get Steam to use the second sound card by setting AUDIODEV=hw:0,1 but then the games pipe out of the head set, too.

Windows has a relatively simple solution: Set a Default Communications Device (separate from the Default Device) in the Windows Control Panel and Steam will respect it.

Well, this is Linux. I'm happily using strait Alsa (Pulse has too many issues).
Is there another env var I can set to get voice out of a headset?
Does Pulse have an option for Voice out that Steam will respect?
Would it be possible/necessary to start Steam on with AUDIODEV=hw:0,1 and then manually set EACH and EVERY game to use the default device (AUDIODEV=hw:0,0)? And let's face it, that would mildly absurd.

[instabilis]

I think pavucontrol should give you that functionality with Pulse, I would assume ALSA has something similar available, maybe with alsamixer?

Edit:
There's also an application called earcandy that might work as an alternative solution.

[Ashley]

+1