It may have had an effect there, but I think the bigger problem was an inability somewhere to handle more than a few audio streams at once. I kept seeing people's speaker icon come up but hear nothing, while I could hear other people that were talking, and then be able to hear those people when it was more quiet.
For now, party chat is the best option. The problem comes when we get more than 8 people.
How many people can be in a call in Skype? Do you have to have it open while you play?