A little while ago I built a sweet gaming rig, got a sweet gaming monitor, a sweet gaming keyboard and a sweet gaming mouse. There's just one thing missing! A sweet gaming sound system! My rubbish PC speakers are really letting the team down. Any recommendations for a sound system good for PC gaming? Is it worth setting up some surround sound setup? In my mind, I imagine Amnesia would be even more terrifying with surround sound but do games ever support that?

go with surround gaming headphones instead, way better.

@onarum said:

go with surround gaming headphones instead, way better.

Dependiing on your lifestyle, this may be true. personally I have a Logitech 5:1 that was their best around 5-7 years ago, and a 4:1 klipsch that sounds amazingly good without the center even. In the livingroom I use my home theator...

Also, make sure you have a good sound card. The ASUS Xonar DG Is the greatest for Price/Performance, and is an amazing card.

@onarum said:

go with surround gaming headphones instead, way better.

Surround headphones are the best con companies have pulled off in a long time, pure snake oil. A good set of Stereo can's with a properly balanced sound stage is all you need to get a surround feeling.

As far as speakers go, there's nothing really special out there in the "PC speakers" department. You're far better simply hooking into a proper HT receiver with some decent speakers wired up :P

This of course... is not a cheap option.

really go with steelseries headset. they are sooooooo comfortable. Even if you wear glasses they won't hurt your ears (as it is in case with most headsets)

My girlfriend likes to watch me play games, so headsets are not really an option. I already have a fairly nice pair of Sennheiser wireless headphones, but I don't really use them much. I'd like a sound system that is good for movies and games, but my primary interest is games.

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Studiophile-Powered-Monitor-Speakers/dp/B0051WAM64/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340718669&sr=8-1&keywords=av40

I have these speakers, they are great for games and music.

Hmm, cool. What do you guys think of the Harman Kardon Soundsticks? They sure look cool, but that could just be a gimmick. Or I could maybe go for a full home media theatre speaker system? Hmm.. Choices are difficult.

I agree with the people who say to get a nice pair of headphones. I've been rocking Logitech G35s for years and the quality of them consistently surprises me. I really like having the volume knob right there on the outside of the ear cup.

@onarum: I have a set of Tritton AX Pro's, they are a 5.1 surround sound headset with a mic. They have inline controls for all the (front, rear, center, sub) channels. they have both PC Analog 3.5mm jack outputs and Optical SPIDF, they support Dolby Digital Decoding from your Xbox 360 or PS3, as well as any HT Surround Sounds receiver.

If you used the mic on the ps3 or 360 they have you covered as well with inputs for those so you can hear the voice chat through a separate channel that you can modulate audio levels with. This set Lasted me a long time and I've had them since 2009 or so.

I'll probably be using a set of bi-amped studio monitors for all my music recording play back, and I suppose they'll sound pretty good for games as well. If I just have to have "surround" sound, I'll just go with a good headset.

@Korwin said:

@onarum said:

go with surround gaming headphones instead, way better.

Surround headphones are the best con companies have pulled off in a long time, pure snake oil. A good set of Stereo can's with a properly balanced sound stage is all you need to get a surround feeling.

Exactly! You'd be surprised how much of a "surround sound" effect you can get from good stereo headphones. Its all in the way things are panned through the L-R channels. You use the same thing in music production. Ever heard a drum fill that sounds like your sitting behind the drum kit? That's all panning across a stereo field. Its hard for your ears to tell the difference when the drivers are a few centimeters from your ear

I got a Corsair SP2500 2.1 set for cheap and they're surprisingly good.

Not high fidelity or anything, but then it doesn't cost hifi money either.

Seeing as I mostly listen to pretty heavily compressed music (spotify) and play games on them, I think the quality:cost ratio is pretty fantastic.

Decent stereo headphones + Dolby Headphone is a fantastic combo.

Personally I have HD595s (so the above setup) at the desk with a 5.1 Onkyo system/amp on the side for when I feel like using my TV for PC gaming, since I have my PC hooked up via HDMI to my TV. Otherwise my TV and speakers are usually used for watching TV, films or of course consoles. It's really the best of both worlds if you have the space for it/your PC is in the same room as a TV.

@mortface: http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-GameCom-780-Surround-Headset/dp/B006ZS5ATM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341436570&sr=8-1&keywords=gamecome+780

Seriously, 7.1 dolby digital surround sound. For the price range, nothing can beat these (according to the reviews. Mine are in the mail)

EDIT: Just for clarity. These cans are just stereo speakers with two settings: Stereo, and emulated 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound.

Wow! And they're not even that expensive either. I might have to get those as well.

But for my setup, I play PC games with my girlfriend and so I need a good speaker system in addition to headphones.

@mortface: @mortface said:

My girlfriend likes to watch me play games, so headsets are not really an option.

Damn. Does she have a sister? My girlfriend projectile vomits if I even breath the word game. I would have said headsets all the way otherwise, truly the best way to play games.

I use these when I don't use my headphones: http://www.amazon.com/JBL-Spot-2-1-Speaker-System/dp/B000M39268. Awesome because there's a subwoofer too. No separate purchase required.

Had them for years and they work perfectly. As with all speakers some tuning required. Good luck!

I have a set of Klipsch ProMedia somethin' somethin's. It's a smallish 4.1 system. I've had them for years (10+), they sound great at lower and higher volumes. I've had a good experience with them, and would not hesitate to recommend them.