USB headset slows down system

I have recently purchased a new PC...dell Dimension P4 1.7 ghz with 256meg running WindowsME. I have owned a USB headset for about 3 days, and had it working just fine on my previous system, a comparative dog pII 450 with 128 megs of ram running Win98.

As of right now, if I have the headset plugged into either the keyboard (Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro with 2 USB ports) or my Xircom 4 port USB Hub, the second I do anything that sends sound to the headset, all of my USB devices go dead, and the lights on the Xircom hub go red, indicating no device present. If I plug the headset directly into a USB port on the PC (there are four), the headset works, but the PC is VERY slow. The second I pull the headset out of the PC, everything is fine.

As I stated earlier, it was working just fine on a much slower system, with the same devices plugged in. To answer any questions you might have about the number of devices I have, here we go...

Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro with two USB ports is plugged directly into the PC
Xircom 4 port USB hub plugged directly into the PC
Altec Lansing speakers, plugged into the keyboard USB port
Logitech Sidewinder Precision 2 joystick plugged into the keyboard USB port
Gravis Eliminator Gamepad pro plugged into the PC

This leaves my Xircom completely free to handle the headset, and it does have it's own powersupply.