[cegras]

I've read and heard countless times that positional audio is super critical to FPS games.

But for me I've never used positional audio in games that say it is almost needed - e.g. CS , quake live (where people walk and all that on 1v1's) because I could never hear the sound. I used to use speakers for gaming (some generic 2.1), and with SR80's they leak too much sound for me to really get the effect.

So my question is: How obvious are these footstep and gunshot sounds really? Are they so loud and distinct that if you wear a good closed headphone you can pick them out easily and instinctively?

Basically: What am I missing out on, and what can I do to correct it?

 

[obobskivich]

why do you need a good closed headphone? most closed headphones have terrible soundstaging and don't position things very well

the best dynamic 'phones I've heard for gaming are open, and it really does "work" (3D audio processing algorithms are very advanced, and most any game has them, and you can't "disable" most of it

)

then again, I don't play FPS games, so who knows how that is, but in RPGs and RTSs they've got plenty of positional information, and it works out quite well

one thing I will tell you, Grado's are awful for gaming, because their soundstage isn't all that great (in terms of 3D presentation)

 

[dBs]

+1 on open headphones. Sound makes a massive difference in gaming. When I used to focus on 1v1 games (namely UT), I would only rarely see the opponent honestly, but I always knew where they were based upon the sounds and my intuition about the nature of the spawns in that game.

Until just this Monday, I had figured that XFi was about as good as things got for gaming audio because it had all the decoders for the complex audio algorithms in current games. On Monday I got my Compass DAC+Amp and I will never be going back to XFi again for games.

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dBs /img/forum/go_quote.gif Until just this Monday, I had figured that XFi was about as good as things got for gaming audio because it had all the decoders for the complex audio algorithms in current games. On Monday I got my Compass DAC+Amp and I will never be going back to XFi again for games.

X-Fi doesn't have any special joo-joo over anything else, unless you play games with EAX, or enable CMSS/DD decoding (for multi-ch speakers, or CMSS HP for headphones)

 

[ROBSCIX]

...or games using OpenAL. It really depends on the game and what your using for a soundcard and of course
your playback equipment.

 

[apatN]

Get some exciting cans that grab you by the balls. I am not lying when I say I liked my MS-1s better than the HD595s. And yes, that was for being a competitive gamer.
You can also use an equalizer to bring out the footsteps. Boost the treble and bass a little.

 

[KingStyles]

As a hardcore gamer, I just relized about 9 months ago how much of a difference a good can with surround sound decoder can make. I currently use the mmx300 with the astro mixamp(soon Ill be getting the beyer headzone) while playing a lot of cod4 and cod waw. I barely use the rader anymore because the sound of footsteps near me always gives me an advantage of knowing where the enemy is that isclose enough to do damage to me. I can stand and wait and listen to a person run all around a building and follow him with my gun waiting for him to come around a corner. Or if someone spawms or runs up behind me I can turn around and shoot them. I trust me ears more than my eyes now and it has allowed me to step up my game even more. Open or close it doesent really matter, along as it has good positioning .Even the turtle beach x4 while the sound quality isnt great can be really accurate as far as where the enemy is by listening to there footsteps. Diffenetly worth looking into if you like fps games.

 

[cegras]

How obvious is this footstep noise though? I tried briefly with SR80's (although the background was noisy) and no go .. and I've never heard them from my speakers.

By the way, I have to use closed phones because, unfortunately, I'm in a noisy part of the house.

 

[KingStyles]

It depends on your source/amp/headphone on how easily you can hear the footsteps. I never really noticed them with my speakers, then I switched to cans for gaming. Im not sure as for computer gaming on what you need, I only play on consoles. I did hear that the astro a40 setup can de hooked through a computer though. You will take the first couple of days just getting your brain to transistion to the surround sound. Then you will be playing one day and you will clearly notice footsteps, reloads, gernades dropping all of a sudden and where its coming from in relationship to you. At that point you will start to listen specificly for those audio cues. That is when you will relize what an asset a good surround amp and stereo headset can do to improve your game. You will be using two senses (eyes and ears)to figure out what is going on rather then just using your ears to be in the moment.(enjoying the sound effects)

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingStyles /img/forum/go_quote.gif It depends on your source/amp/headphone on how easily you can hear the footsteps. I never really noticed them with my speakers, then I switched to cans for gaming. Im not sure as for computer gaming on what you need, I only play on consoles. I did hear that the astro a40 setup can de hooked through a computer though. You will take the first couple of days just getting your brain to transistion to the surrond sound. Then you will be playing one day and you will clearly notice footsteps, reloads, gernades dropping all of a sudden. At that point you will start to listen specificly those audio cues. That is when you will relize what an asset a good surround amp and stereo headset can do to improve your game. You will be using two senses (eyes and ears)to figure out what is going on rather then just using your ears to be in the moment.(enjoying the sound effects)

and I gurantee a proper pair of hi-fi headphones will give those Astro "gaming accessories" a run for their money on any day of the given week

you don't need any surround to stereo re-sampling, or any fancy gaming junk, just a decent pair of headphones (SR-80's are suitable quality-wise), games don't have "that good" of a sound mix to truly benefit

now, as you've stated you need them closed, I'd sugges the Denon 501's or 1001's, or M-Audio Q40's

 

[cegras]

Actually in my other thread I have narrowed it down to a K271 (it's not going to be exclusively gaming) - it's more for a mix of isolation and comfort and it would be a plus if it was good at games too.

I was just wondering, basically, how people can claim to hear those footsteps so much and whatnot when they're just so soft and inaudible to me..

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cegras /img/forum/go_quote.gif Actually in my other thread I have narrowed it down to a K271 (it's not going to be exclusively gaming) - it's more for a mix of isolation and comfort and it would be a plus if it was good at games too. I was just wondering, basically, how people can claim to hear those footsteps so much and whatnot when they're just so soft and inaudible to me..

K271 should be fine, and the isolation should help you

what games are we crying about? as I've never heard a complaint about hearing footsteps or effects on hp's far cheaper than the SR-80's, (granted, if the SR-80's are you only experience, and there was a lot of background noise, I wouldn't at all be surprised if the K271 solves it all, because its closed)

 

[cegras]

Well, not crying as I'm used to it, but I was curious to indulge in this effect.

Actually, I have yet to try it with those games that are supposed to rely on sound. Quake Live and CS come to mind. TF2 is a potshot, and I play some mods so that's gone too. I don't think Quake Wars has any obvious footstep thing implemented.

Hm. Maybe I should go and try first : P

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cegras /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hm. Maybe I should go and try first : P

 

[cegras]

I did try it in L4D, and noted nothing really spectacular. Ah well.

Should I be changing the sound profiles in the games to 'headphone'?