I've only recently set it up. It's good, but not a necessity. Though the layout of the room it's in only allows the rear speakers to be in the corners of the room, and I'm along the same wall. I'll draw a diagram (X = speaker).
I don't believe this setup allows for ideal rear sound, but it's still pretty nice. I wouldn't worry about setting it up in a normal desk-type situation though, that's probably more trouble than it's worth. A good set of headphones will do the job quite nicely in that situation.
(Diagram attached)
I've only recently set it up. It's good, but not a necessity. Though the layout of the room it's in only allows the rear speakers to be in the corners of the room, and I'm along the same wall. I'll draw a diagram (X = speaker).
I don't believe this setup allows for ideal rear sound, but it's still pretty nice. I wouldn't worry about setting it up in a normal desk-type situation though, that's probably more trouble than it's worth. A good set of headphones will do the job quite nicely in that situation.
For a PC setup, I use the Razer Tiamat headphones.
It is the only "true" surround gear I know of, and very good build quality. I cannot compare [u]sound[/u] quality, since I don't have other good quality headphones, but bass is very good and powerful, and the fact that there are separated speakers (5 per ear) allows them to really provide surround sound.
When I tried it the first time, I scared myself often in games. For example, I think it was one of the early Assassins Creed games, where people in the crowded towns would always chat, or shout out things. It used to startle me when realistic voices/sounds were coming from behind.
It took a while to get used to.
I find it a very good complement to 3D Vision, and I don't think I would like to game any other way.
For a PC setup, I use the Razer Tiamat headphones.
It is the only "true" surround gear I know of, and very good build quality. I cannot compare sound quality, since I don't have other good quality headphones, but bass is very good and powerful, and the fact that there are separated speakers (5 per ear) allows them to really provide surround sound.
When I tried it the first time, I scared myself often in games. For example, I think it was one of the early Assassins Creed games, where people in the crowded towns would always chat, or shout out things. It used to startle me when realistic voices/sounds were coming from behind.
It took a while to get used to.
I find it a very good complement to 3D Vision, and I don't think I would like to game any other way.
I have an Onkyo 5.1/Infinity setup on my 3D rig in the living room on a big screen and it makes all the difference, it's like '3D Vision' for my ears! Lol. :) ... that said the 'environment' has changed drastically in the past few months, so I've been looking for cheaper quieter headphone alternatives.
I purchased a highly recommended Logitech headset ... and it crackled and hissed like crazy, needless to say that got returned in a hurry. I was going to give this a try, it's free ... http://www.razerzone.com/surround but haven't had a chance to yet.
Before I moved away from my 'desktop' I was using a JVC Dolby-headphone 'amp' and a cheap pair of Sennheisers that had over powering bass, to compensate for the JVCs lack of bass. I was extremely happy with that setup using a 5.1 digital source(toslink), very clean and very directional.
I have an Onkyo 5.1/Infinity setup on my 3D rig in the living room on a big screen and it makes all the difference, it's like '3D Vision' for my ears! Lol. :) ... that said the 'environment' has changed drastically in the past few months, so I've been looking for cheaper quieter headphone alternatives.
I purchased a highly recommended Logitech headset ... and it crackled and hissed like crazy, needless to say that got returned in a hurry. I was going to give this a try, it's free ... http://www.razerzone.com/surround but haven't had a chance to yet.
Before I moved away from my 'desktop' I was using a JVC Dolby-headphone 'amp' and a cheap pair of Sennheisers that had over powering bass, to compensate for the JVCs lack of bass. I was extremely happy with that setup using a 5.1 digital source(toslink), very clean and very directional.
TsaebehT, do you concur that surround sound home theater speakers to your pc sounds far better than surround sound "pc speakers"?
and that an AVR makes that or even pc speakers sound far better than they would without it?
people keep recommending [url]http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SP-BS22-LR-Designed-Bookshelf-Loudspeakers/dp/B008NCD2LG[/url] for a 5.1 setup
Definitely go with surround audio. I use the Logitech Z-5500 5.1 system, and find it to be really compelling for gaming. It's not quite good enough for music quality though.
My suggestion is that you should specifically look for a THX system, because gaming in 3D is closer to a movie experience than a music experience. For music, I use a high-end audio system because of how accurate the audio is, but it's not as good for gaming where you want heavy-duty bass for sound effects. THX is a non-fake tag that tells you that will work.
In my judgment, 100W subwoofer for the Andrew Jones is not going to cut it for gaming. But if you want to emphasize audio quality for music, that might work. If you really want audio quality though, I'd still go higher end, maybe something like the Aperion setup. I've heard that in person, and it's one of the few that can do double duty as THX caliber and high quality music.
So, pricey version would be Aperion setup.
Cheap version would be Logitech 5.1.
Also, don't chintz out on the speakers. It's tempting to go low-cost here, but it really hurts, and speakers are one of the few computer items that will last for 10 years and don't really change.
Definitely go with surround audio. I use the Logitech Z-5500 5.1 system, and find it to be really compelling for gaming. It's not quite good enough for music quality though.
My suggestion is that you should specifically look for a THX system, because gaming in 3D is closer to a movie experience than a music experience. For music, I use a high-end audio system because of how accurate the audio is, but it's not as good for gaming where you want heavy-duty bass for sound effects. THX is a non-fake tag that tells you that will work.
In my judgment, 100W subwoofer for the Andrew Jones is not going to cut it for gaming. But if you want to emphasize audio quality for music, that might work. If you really want audio quality though, I'd still go higher end, maybe something like the Aperion setup. I've heard that in person, and it's one of the few that can do double duty as THX caliber and high quality music.
So, pricey version would be Aperion setup.
Cheap version would be Logitech 5.1.
Also, don't chintz out on the speakers. It's tempting to go low-cost here, but it really hurts, and speakers are one of the few computer items that will last for 10 years and don't really change.
Acer H5360 (1280x720@120Hz) - ASUS VG248QE with GSync mod - 3D Vision 1&2 - Driver 372.54
GTX 970 - i5-4670K@4.2GHz - 12GB RAM - Win7x64+evilKB2670838 - 4 Disk X25 RAID
SAGER NP9870-S - GTX 980 - i7-6700K - Win10 Pro 1607 Latest 3Dmigoto Release Bo3b's School for ShaderHackers
I don't believe this setup allows for ideal rear sound, but it's still pretty nice. I wouldn't worry about setting it up in a normal desk-type situation though, that's probably more trouble than it's worth. A good set of headphones will do the job quite nicely in that situation.
(Diagram attached)
It is the only "true" surround gear I know of, and very good build quality. I cannot compare sound quality, since I don't have other good quality headphones, but bass is very good and powerful, and the fact that there are separated speakers (5 per ear) allows them to really provide surround sound.
When I tried it the first time, I scared myself often in games. For example, I think it was one of the early Assassins Creed games, where people in the crowded towns would always chat, or shout out things. It used to startle me when realistic voices/sounds were coming from behind.
It took a while to get used to.
I find it a very good complement to 3D Vision, and I don't think I would like to game any other way.
I purchased a highly recommended Logitech headset ... and it crackled and hissed like crazy, needless to say that got returned in a hurry. I was going to give this a try, it's free ... http://www.razerzone.com/surround but haven't had a chance to yet.
Before I moved away from my 'desktop' I was using a JVC Dolby-headphone 'amp' and a cheap pair of Sennheisers that had over powering bass, to compensate for the JVCs lack of bass. I was extremely happy with that setup using a 5.1 digital source(toslink), very clean and very directional.
[MonitorSizeOverride][Global/Base Profile Tweaks][Depth=IPD]
and that an AVR makes that or even pc speakers sound far better than they would without it?
people keep recommending http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SP-BS22-LR-Designed-Bookshelf-Loudspeakers/dp/B008NCD2LG for a 5.1 setup
My suggestion is that you should specifically look for a THX system, because gaming in 3D is closer to a movie experience than a music experience. For music, I use a high-end audio system because of how accurate the audio is, but it's not as good for gaming where you want heavy-duty bass for sound effects. THX is a non-fake tag that tells you that will work.
In my judgment, 100W subwoofer for the Andrew Jones is not going to cut it for gaming. But if you want to emphasize audio quality for music, that might work. If you really want audio quality though, I'd still go higher end, maybe something like the Aperion setup. I've heard that in person, and it's one of the few that can do double duty as THX caliber and high quality music.
So, pricey version would be Aperion setup.
Cheap version would be Logitech 5.1.
Also, don't chintz out on the speakers. It's tempting to go low-cost here, but it really hurts, and speakers are one of the few computer items that will last for 10 years and don't really change.
Acer H5360 (1280x720@120Hz) - ASUS VG248QE with GSync mod - 3D Vision 1&2 - Driver 372.54
GTX 970 - i5-4670K@4.2GHz - 12GB RAM - Win7x64+evilKB2670838 - 4 Disk X25 RAID
SAGER NP9870-S - GTX 980 - i7-6700K - Win10 Pro 1607
Latest 3Dmigoto Release
Bo3b's School for ShaderHackers