cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Best gaming sound system ever!!

JCGaming
Level 7
Creative Sound Blaster ZXR 5.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCIe Sound Card w/SNR 124dB, DBPro optical output, Multi-channel surround, SBX Pro
Studio, Sound Core3D Processor & Audio Control Module

Razer Leviathan 5.1 Channel Surround Soundbar & Subwoofer

What sound system do you have to enhance your gaming experience?
9,950 Views
11 REPLIES 11

SoundMan
Level 7
JCGaming wrote:
Creative Sound Blaster ZXR 5.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCIe Sound Card w/SNR 124dB, DBPro optical output, Multi-channel surround, SBX Pro
Studio, Sound Core3D Processor & Audio Control Module

Razer Leviathan 5.1 Channel Surround Soundbar & Subwoofer

Not to be rude or a jerk in anyway and I mean this very nicely. I prefer scientific evidence over biasness and baseless claims.

If you're happy with your sound system then that's it. What's the best in the world to you is not to somebody else.


JCGaming wrote:
What sound system do you have to enhance your gaming experience?

I feel this should be the topic title in my honest opinion.

SoundMan wrote:
Not to be rude or a jerk in anyway and I mean this very nicely. I prefer scientific evidence over biasness and baseless claims.

If you're happy with your sound system then that's it. What's the best in the world to you is not to somebody else.



I feel this should be the topic title in my honest opinion.



I see your point!

Korth
Level 14
The question needs more context, too.

Decent onboard audio (like the ubiquitous cheap little Realtek ALC1150) is already overkill for just listening to music and movies and stuff. Stereo and HD audio, 5.1/7.1/etc, full surround, all the common codecs, clean amplification and fidelity across a wider spectrum than most humans can hear, support for sophisticated digital DSP and filtering and EQ, it's really got almost everything you would ever need.

Better audio only sounds better when coupled to a better audio source. Some games are optimized for certain sound hardware and have astonishingly immersive audio. Some aren't and no amount of hardware will ever make them sound better. Witcher 3 has awesome graphics but (in my opinion) a rather unexciting soundscape. Buggy ugly old Diablo 2 looks quite terrible by today's standards but has truly superb environmental sound. Unsurpassed sound quality requires careful selections, no one product will ever make every thing you do sound better.

And let's face it, PC audio/gaming hardware has become surprisingly good, it really has, and it's always getting even better. But it still ain't real audio hardware and it generally pales in comparison to any serious hi-fi setup.
"All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated and well supported in logic and argument than others." - Douglas Adams

[/Korth]

Korth wrote:
The question needs more context, too.

Decent onboard audio (like the ubiquitous cheap little Realtek ALC1150) is already overkill for just listening to music and movies and stuff. Stereo and HD audio, 5.1/7.1/etc, full surround, all the common codecs, clean amplification and fidelity across a wider spectrum than most humans can hear, support for sophisticated digital DSP and filtering and EQ, it's really got almost everything you would ever need.

Better audio only sounds better when coupled to a better audio source. Some games are optimized for certain sound hardware and have astonishingly immersive audio. Some aren't and no amount of hardware will ever make them sound better. Witcher 3 has awesome graphics but (in my opinion) a rather unexciting soundscape. Buggy ugly old Diablo 2 looks quite terrible by today's standards but has truly superb environmental sound. Unsurpassed sound quality requires careful selections, no one product will ever make every thing you do sound better.

And let's face it, PC audio/gaming hardware has become surprisingly good, it really has, and it's always getting even better. But it still ain't real audio hardware and it generally pales in comparison to any serious hi-fi setup.



What do you have for you sound setup?

Korth
Level 14
Motherboard audio, mostly the Asus-programmed Realtek ALC1150 (along with a few extra little filtering caps and secondary audio components) built into my R5E, lol. I've got too much other junk in my daily-use computer to bother with adding in a soundcard which won't make the things I do on that computer actually sound any better.

I'm not an audiophile, I just know guys who are. I've built and bought and modded enough non-PC audio gear to smooth over the weak links - good headphones and speakers, clean lines, etc - and the R5E onboard audio is strong enough to deliver audio. It's not about elitist bias towards particular parts, it's about getting good sound. Again, there are exceptions but gaming audio is generally not that great and hardly worth the effort of buying better soundcards unless you expect a particular combination to truly excel.
"All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated and well supported in logic and argument than others." - Douglas Adams

[/Korth]

I agree, Onboard Audio has a lot improved these days, but still, against a good dedicated Soundcard it still pails in comparison. They did achieve a lot, but still, in my opinion its just good for listening to clips on Youtube or stuff like that. Really listening to music with Onboard, thats a big no no. My opinion of course, not a general distinction. 😉

OPPG-Wolfseye wrote:
I agree, Onboard Audio has a lot improved these days, but still, against a good dedicated Soundcard it still pails in comparison.

Depends what you use it with.
The ALC1150 is just fine if you connect your 30 dollar headset and 60 dollar creative/logitech speakerset on it. You're not getting anything extra out of an 200+ dollar soundcard with that headset/speakerset. Different sound doesn't equal better sound quality.

No of course different sound doesnt mean better, but what "better" or "worse" is, thats a matter of preferrence. If you're happy with your Onboard, thats fine, and noone can dispute that. But other people, like me for instance, might not be so happy with the Onboard, compared to for example the new Asus Strix Soundcards. For me, they are more to my liking when it comes to sound. There are other reasons as well, but thats just in relation to this topic. 😉

OPPG-Wolfseye wrote:
No of course different sound doesnt mean better, but what "better" or "worse" is, thats a matter of preferrence. If you're happy with your Onboard, thats fine, and noone can dispute that. But other people, like me for instance, might not be so happy with the Onboard, compared to for example the new Asus Strix Soundcards. For me, they are more to my liking when it comes to sound. There are other reasons as well, but thats just in relation to this topic. 😉

My point is that you simply can not compare onboard ALC1150 with a 200+ dollar sounds card using 60 dollar headset/speakerset as those units are simply not capable of producing better SQ between those two sources.

It's always best to upgrade your weakest link fist and for almost all people that will mean upgrade headset/speakerset first and then consider upgrading your soundcard after.