Nothing. As much as people like to compare headphones to speakers it's apples to oranges. Both have their strengths/weaknesses and it mostly comes down to preference and environment.
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Did you feel 5.1/7.1 for gaming was a good investment for your gaming experience
- Thread starter Avenger
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Nothing. As much as people like to compare headphones to speakers it's apples to oranges. Both have their strengths/weaknesses and it mostly comes down to preference and environment.
Similar to movies, it adds a bit more depth to the environment/atmosphere but it's not something I'd miss if I only had stereo.
I don't think youtube supports surround audio so this will likely just playback in stereo unless someone's receiver is upscaling it.
I don't think youtube supports surround audio so this will likely just playback in stereo unless someone's receiver is upscaling it.
Absolutely. I recommend a good Surround over headphones. Although for MP online play sometimes my sound goes over the mic and it's annoying for the friends i'm playing with.
For those cinematic SP games it adds a lot and certain cinematic mp titles like Battlefield for regular MP titles it doesnt add a whole lot however there were situations were my 5.1 set saved me because I could hear someone sneak behind me.
I think he means try it ingame.
I think he means try it ingame.
I just got this super inexpensive 5.1 system a few weeks ago: Vizio 5.1 - Costco Deal
Holy Crap y'all I wish I got this system years ago. I've always hated headphones & my TV is in our main living room so my roommates and I have been loving it for games/movies/music
Holy Crap y'all I wish I got this system years ago. I've always hated headphones & my TV is in our main living room so my roommates and I have been loving it for games/movies/music
Nah. Considering what it costs, I was always surprised when I decided to chuck on my headphones and it felt like I was experiencing an entirely new dimension to a game's sound. It can be great, but headphones service just fine if not better.
I feel like the haters are just not equipped with a decent sub... when you actually feel the Thunderstorms in Red Dead or get the impact from explosions in Last of Us, it's game changing.
I've been using 5.1 speakers with games and movies since at least like 2000 or 2001. I don't like listening to audio on anything less unless I'm forced to. I have all of my consoles that support 5.1 or greater as well as my gaming PC and 4K Blu-ray player hooked up to my 5.1 system and I enjoy it in the comfort of a nice recliner.
Never liked wearing headphones.
Never liked wearing headphones.
Yes, absolutely if it's properly set up. No headphones from AKG or Sennheiser that I tried offer the "openness" or the "stage" of a proper surround system. With "cans", the sound is just coming from within your head. And with a good well-positioned sub, you don't have to rock the house to feel the bass in your chest.
For me a surround sound setup with discreet speakers is totally worth it, it adds so much to the experience.
It can be expensive though and requires a lot of messing around and tweaking, plus needing to have a room that can accomodate the speakers properly.
I wonder how many people that say that surround sound or atmos doesn't add much are actually using a soundbar that says 'surround sound and atmos' on it, or those atmos speakers that sit on top of other speakers and aim up to the ceiling, trying to bounce the sound up and off the ceiling. Most audio setups, just like most TVs, will not be set up properly. Compare the sensation of listening to a movie in a really good movie theatre with massive bass and positional audio speakers to watching the same movie in the same place with headphones on.
I've only got a 5.1 system, but the speakers are pretty beefy and well placed these days, and there is a powerful 12 inch sub, and it makes a huge difference. I'm hoping to upgrade to 5.2.2 at some point, and maybe get a seperate power amp for the front speakers. All of my speakers were bought second hand over a period of time and it's been pretty cheap really, compared to buying everything brand new.
I have good headphones that I use sometimes but they cannot compete. They sound good, but it's a different experience entirely. That might change with the promise of PS5s binaural audio, but I suspect that headphones will always lack that tactile and roomy sensation you get from good surround sound speakers.
It can be expensive though and requires a lot of messing around and tweaking, plus needing to have a room that can accomodate the speakers properly.
I wonder how many people that say that surround sound or atmos doesn't add much are actually using a soundbar that says 'surround sound and atmos' on it, or those atmos speakers that sit on top of other speakers and aim up to the ceiling, trying to bounce the sound up and off the ceiling. Most audio setups, just like most TVs, will not be set up properly. Compare the sensation of listening to a movie in a really good movie theatre with massive bass and positional audio speakers to watching the same movie in the same place with headphones on.
I've only got a 5.1 system, but the speakers are pretty beefy and well placed these days, and there is a powerful 12 inch sub, and it makes a huge difference. I'm hoping to upgrade to 5.2.2 at some point, and maybe get a seperate power amp for the front speakers. All of my speakers were bought second hand over a period of time and it's been pretty cheap really, compared to buying everything brand new.
I have good headphones that I use sometimes but they cannot compete. They sound good, but it's a different experience entirely. That might change with the promise of PS5s binaural audio, but I suspect that headphones will always lack that tactile and roomy sensation you get from good surround sound speakers.
Pretty much this. I've got an HSU sub. It's all about that impact.
OP, don't thrift on the receiver, but don't be afraid to get a refurb!! https://www.accessories4less.com/ is fantastic
I have a Dolby Atmos sound system. You get a richer and fuller sound that you cant achieve with a headset. And no headset can beat a good subwoofer. But at the same time i feel like you lose some detail by using a sound system.
I recently played Part II with my wife. The sound is imo maybe the best in any game but i still feel that the volume for voices and a couple of other effects are muted compered to other sounds when playing it at the sound system. When i was playing through it with a headset it is easier to hear the small details. But i still prefer a good sound system.
And when you also watch a lot of movies and tv shows its important with 5.1/7.2
I recently played Part II with my wife. The sound is imo maybe the best in any game but i still feel that the volume for voices and a couple of other effects are muted compered to other sounds when playing it at the sound system. When i was playing through it with a headset it is easier to hear the small details. But i still prefer a good sound system.
And when you also watch a lot of movies and tv shows its important with 5.1/7.2
Yes, off course. I only played TLoU2 with headphones and was ok, but spatiality was pretty bad, like having a generator on your right side ended hearing it only from the right earphone.
A real 5.1 setup is WAY more immersive, no doubt.
A real 5.1 setup is WAY more immersive, no doubt.
Microdetail is the one thing good headphones are better at than most speakers.
Depends on what people find immersive. The intimacy and the ability to hear every little detail in the soundscape can be considered more immersive to someone. Obviously bass is one area that headphones can never compete in since it
is literally possible to "feel" it throughout your entire body like you can with a subwoofer.
If you want to see what headphones are capable of soundstage wise these days try something like a Sennheiser HD800 with the DTS:X app and then play Resident Evil 2 or CoD 2019.
Not just that but maybe even decent speakers or have it properly setup/calibrated. I have two setups in my house and there's a pretty drastic difference between my main setup and my secondary simply because of speaker quality.
Speaking of TLoU2, I tried headphones when I first got it because there was all this talk about how good the headphone output was and one thing that really bugged me was how the dialog was coming into both of my ears. I really hated how that sounded compared to a normal surround sound setup where the dialog comes from in front of you as if it's coming from the characters on the screen. I really couldn't get past that and had to stop using headphones.
there were various occasions where you heard one character only on one side only because he was just a bit offcentered in the cutscene, quite annoying.
I don't know, maybe the soundstage of the headphone can change that? I doubt, it just seems that audio mixing of TloU2 in headphone mode isn't really the best.
Still there were other occasions where you could appreciate the sound in the headphone (like music, especially Santolalla guitar) and the clicker noises, surely can be more "intimate" like other said. Overall it was a nice experience but again, you can't "feel" to be there in comparison to a 5.1 setup, where you hear the direction of the sounds way more naturally, and I imagine it's even better on 7.1.
[p.s. I think that in this case the major fault was of the game, I believe you can have great soundstage with headphones if the developers really care about that but still, with real 5.1 speakers you can overcome those issues easily if a game isn't really well made in that sense]
I'm going to have a good stereo + subwoofer setup either way, so the investment to add the surround channels isn't that big. I think I paid 150€ for my current pair of surrounds (bought them used) and it's worth it for me.
Even years ago on an old HTIB doing surround through Dolby Pro Logic II, speakers dominated headphones for me. Can't beat that placement. It's always a question of space though.
Obvious, this was more of a showcase of the scenes.
Gamersyde uploaded stuff to their site with surround sound.
This is where I'm at too. The couch is against the back wall and one side wall.
I've had surround in big rented apartments before but my own house is tiny. If I was doing some renovations I'd consider putting cable in but have never managed a good set up when the wall is behind the couch.
If you watch movies through the same speakers, yes do it. I have a decent home Atmos setup and its amazing for movies and the few games that support it. Recently played Ghost of Tsushima and Last of Us 2 and their 5.1 mixes decent too.
Music through all speakers (or better yet the Tidal Atmos stuff) is great also. A decent receiver can make even 2ch music sound big and powerful through all speakers.
Music through all speakers (or better yet the Tidal Atmos stuff) is great also. A decent receiver can make even 2ch music sound big and powerful through all speakers.
No for me. Never had a room where I could properly place rear speakers. Also living in condo with shared wall so subwoofer is no go. I'm playing mostly at night time anyway so headphones all the way.
These days I can't play anything without also listening to something else so I'm actually single ear mono guy.
Sometime I feel the whole idea of surround sound is kind of silly especially for movies. Like am I the damn camera standing in front of ironman while the whole city is blowing up?? Am I Lakitu? You want me to feel like I'm sitting in my couch in a dinosaur jungle?? So silly.
Best use of surround to me is binaural stuff that you can hear with any $5 earbuds.
These days I can't play anything without also listening to something else so I'm actually single ear mono guy.
Sometime I feel the whole idea of surround sound is kind of silly especially for movies. Like am I the damn camera standing in front of ironman while the whole city is blowing up?? Am I Lakitu? You want me to feel like I'm sitting in my couch in a dinosaur jungle?? So silly.
Best use of surround to me is binaural stuff that you can hear with any $5 earbuds.
Its not ideal but as long as you let the receiver do its setup process (or set manually properly)you can get an ok sound field with rears close to the back of your head. Clearly its less than ideal but still miles better than a soundbar
Higher end receivers have terrific modes at reducing the really low bass notes which would really annoy neighbours (look at Denon mid range and up) but yes of course not everyone should use a sub. But I'd guess many could.
It's such a common issue that I'm surprised there isn't some solution. Like super flat speakers that hang on wall or something that attaches to the rear of the couch.
Actually id be up for opening my couch and putting speakers in it. Ha
I have actually considered something like these https://www.hifiklubben.dk/dali-oberon-on-wall-vaeghoejtaler/dalioberononwallbk/ and then move my couch a little bit away from the wall. But I dont know how good that would turn out. Still researching on that.
They look great but you're still going to be practically touching them when sitting down. At least in my living room.
I wonder if there's amps that have settings for close rear speakers? Like the sub for my soundbar has a regular and "under couch" mode
No surround sound setup can replicate the experience an authentic set of quality stereo headphones can provide.
I bought an expensive 5.1 system for the 360 generation and loved it for the most part. I think for cinematic experiences and bombastic games Surround Sound is incredible.
But I always found with Call of Duty I always preferred headphones when playing MP, I felt more connected with what was actually going on.
When i moved to an apartment with paper for walls I sold my 5.1 and got myself some good headphones......best investment ever.
But I always found with Call of Duty I always preferred headphones when playing MP, I felt more connected with what was actually going on.
When i moved to an apartment with paper for walls I sold my 5.1 and got myself some good headphones......best investment ever.
My surround sound set-up was primarily for watching films but it's been fantastic for gaming as well. When it comes to things like competitive online shooters, I'll still opt for headphones though. With 3D audio on PS5, I'm anticipating a lot more headphone use there too.
I'd say if you're going to invest solely for gaming, maybe just spend that cash on a good set of cans. If you're developing a full entertainment center, go for it. As always with sound equipment, you'll want to do your research and figure out what works best for your space as well.
I'd say if you're going to invest solely for gaming, maybe just spend that cash on a good set of cans. If you're developing a full entertainment center, go for it. As always with sound equipment, you'll want to do your research and figure out what works best for your space as well.
Does anyone have experience with wireless surround speakers? I would like to give 5.1 a go but in my current setup it's just not feasible to run speaker cable for surround in any way that would not look horrible in the room. I've been using an old 2.1 system for that reason for about 10 years.
I always plop a chair right in the sweet spot in front of the TV, and 5.1 works great in most instances.
I think native 3D game audio on headphones is strictly better, but unless it's integral to the experience (competitive shooters, horror games, special shout-out to Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice), I find it too uncomfortable for long sessions.
I'd love some good weightless noise canceling headphones.
I think native 3D game audio on headphones is strictly better, but unless it's integral to the experience (competitive shooters, horror games, special shout-out to Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice), I find it too uncomfortable for long sessions.
I'd love some good weightless noise canceling headphones.
I love gaming on my 7.1 system. I built it more so for movie watching/home theater, but as games move more toward a cinematic experience it works fantastic there. Star Wars Battlefront is a perfect demo of how a home theater system can enhance the overall game. It's so frenetic and the sound design is flawless, it's just so much fun to immerse myself in game in this way.
I'm not much of a big fan of headphone gaming, even simulated surround headphones. I feel the sound envelope is just too close and enclosed wirh headphones, but I also acknowledge not everyone has the space or money to invest in a true 7.1 system.
I've only had limited experience with PSVR, but I'm wondering if I can use external sound systems rather than just headphones in VR?
I'm not much of a big fan of headphone gaming, even simulated surround headphones. I feel the sound envelope is just too close and enclosed wirh headphones, but I also acknowledge not everyone has the space or money to invest in a true 7.1 system.
I've only had limited experience with PSVR, but I'm wondering if I can use external sound systems rather than just headphones in VR?
Got a 7.1 set just before summer and been loving it. It's unfortunate that the Switch doesn't really support it, but playing my PS4 games with it is one hell of experience. Hearing someone sneak up on you from the sides or behind you really adds to the experience. Same thing goes with a game like Ghost of Tsushima, hearing the animals and wind move past you.