Need 5.1 surround sound speakers for gaming

[farhansupaturk]

I do competitive gaming and I would like to hear everything around me but I don't like to wear headsets. I need recommendations on the best 5.1 speakers for gaming. I do listen to a lot music too. So I'd like it high quality.

 

[rontonomo]

for gaming a good headset is really the best option. it will let you hear sounds even the best surround sound system won't.

 

[therealduckofdeath]

Well, if money isn't a concern you can make it as expensive as like... A bunch of active nearfield monitor speakers and a matching subwoofer, for instance. That can clock in at several thousand bucks. A high end spatial sound system is also something you can spend too much money on, if you insist.
For spatial accuracy, real speakers will always beat headphones, as your headphones doesn't compensate for your head movements and they're really only creating virtual surround and not real surround.

 

[rontonomo]

Well, if money isn't a concern you can make it as expensive as like... A bunch of active nearfield monitor speakers and a matching subwoofer, for instance. That can clock in at several thousand bucks. A high end spatial sound system is also something you can spend too much money on, if you insist.
For spatial accuracy, real speakers will always beat headphones, as your headphones doesn't compensate for your head movements and they're really only creating virtual surround and not real surround.

i have a $3000 sound system and my Sennheiser headset is still better for gaming... hands down it will let you hear footsteps and other sounds way better hands down...

 

[therealduckofdeath]

I prefer headphones, too. It's a lot more practical and you don't annoy everybody around you. But, if your sound system struggles to reproduce the full sound stage at 3,000 buckaroos it's maybe set up wrong? One thing you have to keep in mind when you use headphones is, you're very likely listening at a (damaging) high volume. Almost everybody does that. Raising the volume on your speakers to get the same sound pressure is probably just making you uneasy as you just realise how loud it is.

 

[farhansupaturk]

Oh.. if that then can anyone recommend a good high quality gaming headset?

 

[therealduckofdeath]

On headphones I'm probably much like rontonomo. I prefer brands who focus on headphones rather than gaming brands. Sennheiser HD 518 and HD 650 are two wide soundstage headphones with excellent sound. One at around $100 and the other is around $300 now, I think. They're open back, so if your PC or where you live is a bit noisy they're maybe not the best option. You can combine that with Window 10's virtual spatial sound processing to get a 3D effect if you want that. If your budget is bigger and you like something that shuts out ambient noise I noticed that Sennheiser is launching a closed back headphone that is supposed to maintain the sound signature of an open back one, called HD 820. Those will retail at 2,500 bucks and they won't be out until the summer. There are other brands, like the Focal Clear that supposedly are some of the better sounding headphones around. Those will set you back a nifty $1,500. You'll also need a good external headphone amp to get the best out of more expensive headphones. My own setup is an Asus Xonar DSX sound card connected to a little external headphone tube amp. And then you'll obviously have to get some sort of condenser mic to get your voice back into the game.
Anyhoo, like you see. It's easy to make things extremely expensive really fast on sound. Those examples aren't even the most expensive you can find.

Expanding on the speaker part... I am personally eyeing a pair of speakers called Monkey Banana Gibbon 5. They're supposedly quite excellent at a "decent" price, around 170 euros a piece. They're 5" active monitor speakers, allowing them to connect to a sound card like the Xonar DSX. Personally, I'm just looking at a 2.0 or 2.1 setup, but the speaker type can obviously be bought at any number you like. Their subwoofer is quite expensive, so for me that would have to wait for a month or so.

 

[farhansupaturk]

On headphones I'm probably much like rontonomo. I prefer brands who focus on headphones rather than gaming brands. Sennheiser HD 518 and HD 650 are two wide soundstage headphones with excellent sound. One at around $100 and the other is around $300 now, I think. They're open back, so if your PC or where you live is a bit noisy they're maybe not the best option. You can combine that with Window 10's virtual spatial sound processing to get a 3D effect if you want that. If your budget is bigger and you like something that shuts out ambient noise I noticed that Sennheiser is launching a closed back headphone that is supposed to maintain the sound signature of an open back one, called HD 820. Those will retail at 2,500 bucks and they won't be out until the summer. There are other brands, like the Focal Clear that supposedly are some of the better sounding headphones around. Those will set you back a nifty $1,500. You'll also need a good external headphone amp to get the best out of more expensive headphones. My own setup is an Asus Xonar DSX sound card connected to a little external headphone tube amp. And then you'll obviously have to get some sort of condenser mic to get your voice back into the game.
Anyhoo, like you see. It's easy to make things extremely expensive really fast on sound. Those examples aren't even the most expensive you can find.

Expanding on the speaker part... I am personally eyeing a pair of speakers called Monkey Banana Gibbon 5. They're supposedly quite excellent at a "decent" price, around 170 euros a piece. They're 5" active monitor speakers, allowing them to connect to a sound card like the Xonar DSX. Personally, I'm just looking at a 2.0 or 2.1 setup, but the speaker type can obviously be bought at any number you like. Their subwoofer is quite expensive, so for me that would have to wait for a month or so.

Is it okay if I use my motherboard's internal sound card for it? I'm using Aorus Z370 Gaming 7

 

[rontonomo]

On headphones I'm probably much like rontonomo. I prefer brands who focus on headphones rather than gaming brands. Sennheiser HD 518 and HD 650 are two wide soundstage headphones with excellent sound. One at around $100 and the other is around $300 now, I think. They're open back, so if your PC or where you live is a bit noisy they're maybe not the best option. You can combine that with Window 10's virtual spatial sound processing to get a 3D effect if you want that. If your budget is bigger and you like something that shuts out ambient noise I noticed that Sennheiser is launching a closed back headphone that is supposed to maintain the sound signature of an open back one, called HD 820. Those will retail at 2,500 bucks and they won't be out until the summer. There are other brands, like the Focal Clear that supposedly are some of the better sounding headphones around. Those will set you back a nifty $1,500. You'll also need a good external headphone amp to get the best out of more expensive headphones. My own setup is an Asus Xonar DSX sound card connected to a little external headphone tube amp. And then you'll obviously have to get some sort of condenser mic to get your voice back into the game.
Anyhoo, like you see. It's easy to make things extremely expensive really fast on sound. Those examples aren't even the most expensive you can find.

Expanding on the speaker part... I am personally eyeing a pair of speakers called Monkey Banana Gibbon 5. They're supposedly quite excellent at a "decent" price, around 170 euros a piece. They're 5" active monitor speakers, allowing them to connect to a sound card like the Xonar DSX. Personally, I'm just looking at a 2.0 or 2.1 setup, but the speaker type can obviously be bought at any number you like. Their subwoofer is quite expensive, so for me that would have to wait for a month or so.

Is it okay if I use my motherboard's internal sound card for it? I'm using Aorus Z370 Gaming 7

no for a good heaset you will need a dac amp or they will not get loud enough.

 

[therealduckofdeath]

It looks like that motherboard has a pretty good built-in headphone amp. So, it's definitely worth a try! I can't find any specific reviews of the sound on it, so you'd have to do that yourself.

 

[farhansupaturk]

On headphones I'm probably much like rontonomo. I prefer brands who focus on headphones rather than gaming brands. Sennheiser HD 518 and HD 650 are two wide soundstage headphones with excellent sound. One at around $100 and the other is around $300 now, I think. They're open back, so if your PC or where you live is a bit noisy they're maybe not the best option. You can combine that with Window 10's virtual spatial sound processing to get a 3D effect if you want that. If your budget is bigger and you like something that shuts out ambient noise I noticed that Sennheiser is launching a closed back headphone that is supposed to maintain the sound signature of an open back one, called HD 820. Those will retail at 2,500 bucks and they won't be out until the summer. There are other brands, like the Focal Clear that supposedly are some of the better sounding headphones around. Those will set you back a nifty $1,500. You'll also need a good external headphone amp to get the best out of more expensive headphones. My own setup is an Asus Xonar DSX sound card connected to a little external headphone tube amp. And then you'll obviously have to get some sort of condenser mic to get your voice back into the game.
Anyhoo, like you see. It's easy to make things extremely expensive really fast on sound. Those examples aren't even the most expensive you can find.

Expanding on the speaker part... I am personally eyeing a pair of speakers called Monkey Banana Gibbon 5. They're supposedly quite excellent at a "decent" price, around 170 euros a piece. They're 5" active monitor speakers, allowing them to connect to a sound card like the Xonar DSX. Personally, I'm just looking at a 2.0 or 2.1 setup, but the speaker type can obviously be bought at any number you like. Their subwoofer is quite expensive, so for me that would have to wait for a month or so.

Is it okay if I use my motherboard's internal sound card for it? I'm using Aorus Z370 Gaming 7

no for a good heaset you will need a dac amp or they will not get loud enough.

I think there's DAC built-in my motherboard.

"ESS SABRE DAC"

 

[farhansupaturk]

Okay so I'll just see reviews on good headsets and then I'll get them. Thank you!

 

[sizzling]

Depends what's important to you. A 5.1 setup will give far greater directional accuracy but headsets can be good for picking out sounds like footsteps.