I am using the Xbox Volume Adapter and recently the game/voice chat buttons are changing...

There's an option in the settings that says something like "Use Kinect for in game chat" that you can toggle on and off, so you can definitely turn Kinect off for voice chat.

As for the headset adapter, it may be an issue with the headphones you're using it with. On the adapter there are buttons to turn the volume up and down, but there are also buttons to change the balance between the game sounds and voice chat, so using those
you can get the mix just how you like it, so if you want the game sound quiet and the voice chat loud, for example, you can do that. The quality of the voice chat is crystal clear too. I'm using the official MS stereo headset, but a friend of mine uses a Turtle
Beach headset (I'm not sure which model) and he says the same as me, so I think either your headset has an issue or you're not using the controls on the adapter correctly.

Press and hold the chat button on the adapter, this is the audio balance for the chat and game and if the game button is on full the chat will mute. The volume on the right side of the adapter is the overall volume. This may be your issue, it may not.

While looking at the Microsoft chat adapter you will see five buttons from the left to the right. Game Volume button, Chat Volume button, Mute button, Volume up button and Volume down button. Pressing the button with the little controller symbol will let
you control the game sound volume. The button with the little person symbol will let you control the chat volume. To turn the chat or game sound up or down press the corresponding button and then use the volume up/down to tune the sound to your liking.

I got this from an amazon review, which seems to somewhat confirm that the voice quality is a microphone sensitivity issue in party chat that needs to be fixed by Microsoft.

"I purchased this product to allow me to use my Turtle Beach DX12 microphone for in-game chat (instead of the Kinect mic). It works flawlessly. But for those of you out there considering purchasing this product you should know it basically serves TWO purposes,
and based on what you're using it for depends on how the volume control buttons on the Stereo Headset Adapter will work.

FUNCTION 1: Using the adapter to allow your old gaming headset that had OPTICAL AUDIO inputs (Turtle Beaches, Astros, etc) to work with the Xbox One the same way it did with the Xbox 360 (you plug the 2.5mm "chat audio cord" into the Stereo Headset Adapter
so your 3rd party headset's microphone works and you can hear and control chat volume via you're 3rd party headset and/or the buttons on the adapter).

When using the adapter this way, in order to get the functionality that you're looking for (using the 3rd party headset's microphone for chat while getting game audio ONLY from the optical out of the Xbox One) you will need to do the following:

1) Turn your system on

2) Update the controller

3) Connect the 2.5mm cord from your 3rd party headset to the adapter

4) Push the bottom left button on the adapter (looks like a person with a "+" sign on their body) until you hear a beep - This will set the volume output ratios coming from the Adapter to 0% Game Volume & 100% Chat. *NOTE*: If you don't have them set this
way you will here a slight "Echo" in game because the adapter will output game volume as well as chat volume, and you don't need any game volume from the adapter since you're getting it from the Optical Output from the Xbox One.

5) Now you can use the 2 right buttons (the "Master Volume" buttons) to control the in-game chat volume.

6)* IF YOU HEAR A CRACKLING SOUND and you have your Xbox One's Dolby Digital Surround ENABLED VIA OPTICAL OUT you must HARD RESET YOUR CONSOLE after completing the above steps (Hold Power Button for 10 secs, let system power off, wait 10 seconds and turn
the system back on). This will fix the occasional "crackling" problem.

7)* For some reason this adapter makes the MICROPHONES SUPER SENSITIVE. If you're in a party and YOUR FRIENDS ARE COMPLAINING THAT YOUR MIC SOUNDS BAD/LOUD you simply need to move the mic farther from your mouth (6" worked for me) and talk in a normal volume.
This stops the "poor" quality microphone sound from occurring. I was told this issue may be getting fixed in an upcoming firmware update.

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FUNCTION 2: Using this adapter to allow ANY HEADSET to provide you in game audio and chat functionality (if the headset already has a built in microphone)

When you use the adapter for this purpose the GAME and CHAT audios are derived from the controller (comes out of the Stereo Headset Adapter that you plug the headphones into). Since both forms of audio are coming from the adapter, the volume adjustment buttons
serve the purposes shown in the instruction manual:

Left of the mute button ==> Changes the Game/Chat volume ratios (For example you're at 50% Game and 50% Chat, then the game and chat volumes will be at the same level... if you're at 70% Game and 30% Chat, then you're game volume will be louder than the
chat volume, but you can still hear both... if you're at 100% Game and 0% Chat, then you have full game volume and you won't be able to hear chat - it's effectively "muted")

Right of the mute button ==> This is the "Master Volume" control. Once you have you're game/chat ratios where you like them... you can then increase the OVERALL AUDIO OUTPUT using this button.

Hope this helps you out!"

Question, I can hear the game audio, but I cant change the chat volume, yet I can still hear my friends in party's and game chat. The only way I can change how loud there voice is to change the game volume on my X12. I tried going to preferences and voice,
but when I switch to play through headset, I don't hear my friends. Is there anyway I can change my friends voice volume? Because chat volume doesn't work on game chat and party chat.