How many of you have surround sound?

[zerohero]

I might not have HDTV, but I do have 5.1 surround sound thanks to good prices on ebay. I just wanted to get a general overview of people who have it just like the other thread. You see with all these enhancements like HDTV, and surround sound, its intresting to see how many in the overall average gaming population actually own these devices.

[Aridyme]

I don't have an HDTV either, but I do own a set of 5.1 Logitech Z-680s.

[Austin]

I'm set up for surround sound. After we first got it at my parents' place, I couldn't go back to not having it, and had to set it up in my apartment.

[zerohero]

I don't have an HDTV either, but I do own a set of 5.1 Logitech Z-680s.

Make sure you check out the thread for the "poor mans guide to HDTV". I'm currently in the process of doing it.

[digitalpress]

I can't even remember how long ago it was when I DIDN'T have surround sound. At least fifteen years now since I've been in this house and I took most of my stereo stuff from my last residence.

Can't imagine my primary gaming area without it, really.

[s1lence]

I have it on both of my main tv's as well as my computer, its hard to imagine gaming with out it now.

[Kid Ice]

I don't have an HDTV either, but I do own a set of 5.1 Logitech Z-680s.

Same here. Very inexpensive and convenient.

[allsport11]

I can't even remember how long ago it was when I DIDN'T have surround sound. At least fifteen years now since I've been in this house and I took most of my stereo stuff from my last residence.

Can't imagine my primary gaming area without it, really.

*DITTO*
There is no other way to watch Heat on Laserdisc other than 5.1 surround sound. :)

[slip81]

I got my first 5.1 set up in 2002, then about a year and a half ago I upgrated to 7.1.

I don't have surround on my comp, just stereo because I don't really play computer games, I mainly listen to music and 2.1 is better for that.

[unwinddesign]

Yup, I have 5.1s. Z-5500s. Good stuff, although they aren't set up correctly due to spacial issues/display problems. Should all be fixed once I switch over from my projector setup to a TV setup. Well, I guess setup a TV, given that the aforementioned piece of equipment blew out. So my 5.1s are hanging out in the basement, waiting to be used, while I game it up on some 2.1s. Oh well, they work fine for XBLA Uno. LOL

[98PaceCar]

7.1 here. I can't imagine gaming or watching movies without it now. Right at 4500 watts total including 2700 to the sub (it's really about 350 or so with peaks up to 2700). Play Rez on a good system and you'll never go back!

[Joker T]

I have a Zenith 5.1 Setup. I love it, I just need a new TV to go with it.

[mario2butts]

I have a Denon AVR-884 surround receiver with two old Polk front speakers given to me by a friend (model unknown), two Polk RTi-4 rear speakers, Polk CSi-3 center speaker, and a Sony sub. It's great for gaming, especially Xbox in DD5.1. I also use it for DVD movies, Super Audio CDs (Dark Side of the Moon 5.1 is amazing), and DVD-Audio. The receiver also has a nice "5 channel stereo" option that plays a stereo signal through all the speakers, which is great for older games. I'm happy with it, though I currently don't have a very good TV to complement it. Saving up for a projector...

[Jasoco]

I got a crappy Venturer sound system for $50 at Thanksgiving. It's the best I'm gonna afford for a while, and it's not too bad. It's better than the two speakers in the TV.

I also don't have HDTV.

[keiblerfan69]

I have a set of Logitech X-530s. Works great for 360 and music.

[Lothars]

I have a set of 5.1 surround sound for my entertainment center and also a set of 5.1 on my computer

I would never go without 5.1 surround sound again just it's awesome.

[tholly]

i have 5.1 on my tv and 4.1 on my desktop

i would never not have it in the future.....

[hezeuschrist]

Heh, I have two 5.1 systems in the same room, one for the TV and one for the computer. Completely unnecessary, but I've got the speakers so i'm gonna use them.

I also have an HDTV and a fairly large LCD Monitor.

And personally I think that the audio makes a far larger impact for a great experience (be it gaming or movie) than the HDTV does. But then again, we barely have any access to actual HD content, so maybe that'll change.

[CosmicMonkey]

I have a Panasonic 5.1 seperate A/V amp, and Panasonic speaker set-up.

Absolute quality.

[RJ]

I have it on our family rm TV via a Kenwood system w/ a PS2 hooked up.

Alll my other game systems are on TVs w/ stereo sound.

[blissfulnoise]

Klipsch RF-10 (http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=861) in the hizzle hooked up to a Yamaha RX-V657 (http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/receivers/RXV657.htm).

It sounds rad.

I've got a 5.1 RCA HTIAB downstairs in my "game room".

[Julio III]

Well I have it on my PC but don't really use it. I either just have the front ones on or the rear ones on. Back at home years ago my dad always used to hookup these extra speakers and put them at the back but that was before DVDs even and well, it was just the same 2 channels as the front speakers. No, no surround for me but I know how awesome it is having experienced it elsewhere and also occasionally watching a DVD on my PC with it, however most films I have apart from Lord of the Rings don't really utilise it

[Joker T]

That sub looks huge blissfulnoise, I'm quite jealous.

[alec006]

Surround Sound,yep 5.1 for all of my videogames and components,for my computer i have Quadsound. Im wondering thou is 7.1 actally better having more speakers?

[smokehouse]

I can’t help myself…..
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/smokehouse/Home%20Theater/post-wire.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/smokehouse/Home%20Theater/rotel-side.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/smokehouse/Home%20Theater/sunfire-side.jpg

(audio portion)
B&W 601S3 (fronts and rears)
B&W LCR600 S3 (center)
Type Twelve Audio 12” subwoofer

Sunfire Theater Grand processor
Rotel RMB-1075 5ch amp
QSC RMX 850 amp (sub)
Outlaw Audio ICBM

Straightwire Rhapsody S speaker cable, Canare 4S11 sub cabling, Tributaries interconnects.

[Haoie]

Nope. The TV I usually use for games doesn't even have stereo.

So spartan.

[Trebuken]

Does anyone have a receiver or know of a way to convert a stereo signal into a simulated 5.1 or better format?

What kind of results can you get from some of the retro systems?

Later,
Trebuken

[smokehouse]

Does anyone have a receiver or know of a way to convert a stereo signal into a simulated 5.1 or better format?

What kind of results can you get from some of the retro systems?

Later,
Trebuken

Pro Logic II(x) or DTS Neo 6 will do that for you. They both have settings to adjust the way it works (along with movie, music..etc modes)

I works ok, I perfer a good 2ch setup for older systems myself.

[donkeykong1]

I have 5.1 surround in the living room. It's a Sony setup. I actually gor lucky a few years ago around Christmas time. I was lloking to buy a system for Christmas and I happened to find one that was priced cheaper than it was suppossed to be. To make a long story short, after having to deal with the manager for about 20 minutes, I did get it for the price I saw it at. I got a $500.00 surround sound for $200.00 I was a happy customer.

[alec006]

Does anyone have a receiver or know of a way to convert a stereo signal into a simulated 5.1 or better format?

What kind of results can you get from some of the retro systems?

Later,
Trebuken

Prologic is alright,usally i dont get anything from the back speakers so i use my old 1990 Pionner amplifier/receiver that has Simulated Stereo which puts channels to all of my surround speakers sted of just usally the front 3.

[Joker T]

Pro Logic does that to me sometimes to.

[Felixthegamer]

I am in the process of upgrading the tv, dvd player and my sound system. I don't have surround sound yet, but I will soon

[mario2butts]

Does anyone have a receiver or know of a way to convert a stereo signal into a simulated 5.1 or better format?

What kind of results can you get from some of the retro systems?

Later,
Trebuken

I personally don't like filtering stereo through Dolby Pro Logic I or II, it sounds off to me. As I said in my previous post, my receiver supports "5 channel stereo" mode, which takes the left signal and puts it through front and rear left, right signal through front and rear right, the part of the stereo signal that is the same on both channels through the center speaker, and anything under a certain frequency (user-selectable) to the sub. It's really nice since the stereo signal is minimally altered, but sounds louder/better/etc since its coming through all speakers. Fantastic for all retrogames, standard audio CDs, LPs, etc. I use it for anything that doesn't support surround. My receiver's a Denon AVR-884 (also sold as the AVR-1804). It's a few years old but I'd imagine Denon's current line supports the mode as well. Try browsing Crutchfield.com's receiver section, they have awesome spec sheets and pics.

[zerohero]

I can’t help myself…..
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/smokehouse/Home%20Theater/post-wire.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/smokehouse/Home%20Theater/rotel-side.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/smokehouse/Home%20Theater/sunfire-side.jpg

(audio portion)
B&W 601S3 (fronts and rears)
B&W LCR600 S3 (center)
Type Twelve Audio 12” subwoofer

Sunfire Theater Grand processor
Rotel RMB-1075 5ch amp
QSC RMX 850 amp (sub)
Outlaw Audio ICBM

Straightwire Rhapsody S speaker cable, Canare 4S11 sub cabling, Tributaries interconnects.


I hate you!


LOL, na nice setup man.

[Half Japanese]

I've had surround sound in some format since about 1999. My original setup was Pro Logic II through my Aiwa shelf system, which is still kicking (though I gave the system to my mom).

Now I've got an Onkyo 6.1 'home-theater-in-a-box' setup that had good enough sound for the money to make it worthwhile. I'll probalby stick with it for several more years before I think of upgrading.

As for the HDTV, I plunged for that about the same time as the surround sound setup, albeit for a modest 27" Zenith model.

[diskoboy]

I just bought one of those Sony htddw700 home theaters in a box.


I've gotta say - For being $170 (there's a local electronics store here who beats Circuit City on all their prices... I buy from them, always.) this is a pretty damn nice system!


I hope to get some new speakers, on down the road, to replace the dinky (but powerful, none the less.) ones that came in the box.

My one complaint - no SACD support or video switching.

[Retsudo]

Nope, no surround sound. I wish I did though.

[jdc]

Nope.

Before, when I was on a 27" tube tv, I used to use the old-school, powerhouse-stereo-hooked-up-to-the-tv "ghetto" setup.

Now I have my LCD hi-def....and my small circa 1850 house is on the market this week. We're looking at buying 20 year old houses that come with nice "game-rooms". It's funny to go shopping for a house based on it's "game room-ability"....but it's one of the most used rooms for us. I've never tried surround, but judging from you guys, I need it.

[Nez]

Some onkyo 5.1 system I purchased a couple of months ago. That thing get HOT its runs at about 110 degrees and heats up the whole damn room. Also have four medium size pioneer speakers a pioneer center speaker and a yamaha sub. Sounds really good but I can never find anytime to crank it up. :/

[SkiDragon]

Speaking of surround sound, does anybody know what games I can use to test whether I have the system hooked up correctly? I know some N64 games claim to have surround sound, but I can never really hear it. Do any of those games, or games for other systems, have a sound test that individually "plays" each speaker? Thanks.

[Trebuken]

Speaking of surround sound, does anybody know what games I can use to test whether I have the system hooked up correctly? I know some N64 games claim to have surround sound, but I can never really hear it. Do any of those games, or games for other systems, have a sound test that individually "plays" each speaker? Thanks.

Your receiver could/should have this option (no receiver?). If you don't maybe a DVD player. You could use a Star Wars DVD with the THX optimizer that is on the DVD....

Later,
Trebuken

[tholly]

Speaking of surround sound, does anybody know what games I can use to test whether I have the system hooked up correctly? I know some N64 games claim to have surround sound, but I can never really hear it. Do any of those games, or games for other systems, have a sound test that individually "plays" each speaker? Thanks.


on the xbox, the halo 2 multiplayer map pack disc has a sound test that tests the 5.1 channels individually.....

[SkiDragon]

I know the speakers work. I am just curious if my in game sound is working. I am mostly wondering about games that use "Pro logic", like N64 and Gamecube games.

[kevin_psx]

3.0

left front
right front
and rear

That's "good enough" for me. See no reason to spend more money for more speakers. I probably wouldn't notice the difference.

[tholly]

3.0

left front
right front
and rear

That's "good enough" for me. See no reason to spend more money for more speakers. I probably wouldn't notice the difference.


i think the difference from your setup to a 5.1 or 7.1 would probably be pretty noticeable....., but if you dont use it enough or dont care, then it would be wasted money....

[SirDrexl]

I've had surround sound for about ten years, but I didn't have discrete surround sound (as in 5.1) until 1999 when I got my first DVD player. I still don't have PLII though, since I bought my current receiver in 2002 when PLII wasn't commonly supported. I may not have it for a while, because I'm not buying a new receiver until the audio formats in the new HD disc formats like DD+ and Dolby TrueHD are commonly supported (plus I need to wait for HDMI 1.3).

SkiDragon, Dolby Surround (as in Pro Logic) does not have discrete channels for the surround speakers, so it isn't possible to just play the sound in the surround speakers. Also, with PL the surround "channel" is mono, so you couldn't just play the left or right surround speaker.

All I could suggest is to play a game that has PL such as Donkey Kong 64, and get your character into a position where an enemy is behind it offscreen. It should sound as though the enemy is behind you, so there should be sound coming (mostly) from the surround speakers. The effect won't be as dramatic as true 5.1, but it still should be there. DK64 had some good surround sound IIRC. You could also try carefully disconnecting the front speakers while the game is being played, or getting up close to the surrounds and listening for sound.

[kevin_psx]

i think the difference from your setup to a 5.1 or 7.1 would probably be pretty noticeable....., but if you dont use it enough or dont care, then it would be wasted money.... Well the 0.1 part = subwoofer. Can't use it else I'd drive my neighbors nuts (downstairs). BUT I agree it would sound a lot better w/ more base



A 5.0 divides 2 rear speakers into 2 left/right speakers.
But that's mostly just background noise.
I don't see any need.
Do you?


So bottom line. I think a 3 or 4-speaker setup is good enough for most persons (or singles like myself). There's no need for more.

[slip81]

i think the difference from your setup to a 5.1 or 7.1 would probably be pretty noticeable....., but if you dont use it enough or dont care, then it would be wasted money.... Well the 0.1 part = subwoofer. Can't use it else I'd drive my neighbors nuts (downstairs). BUT I agree it would sound a lot better w/ more base



A 5.0 divides 2 rear speakers into 2 left/right speakers.
But that's mostly just background noise.
I don't see any need.
Do you?


So bottom line. I think a 3 or 4-speaker setup is good enough for most persons (or singles like myself). There's no need for more.

If you're happy with your set-up cool, but there definately is a difference between something like 3.0 or 4.0 and 5.1, 6.1, 7.1.

With a 3.0 set-up your only getting part of the sound, center and two front. When you add two more speakers and a sub you get a more encompassing experience from the right source. Rear channels are often more than just background noise, they usually serve the purpose of moving sound, like a plain or car moving from the back of you to the front, or things like gunshots coming from all sides and behind you. Also a sub adds much need thump and roar to things like explosions and engines.

I will admit though that you need a true digital source to get the full effect, if all you do is play games and watch old movies you probably wouldn't notice a difference since you'd most likekly be using pro logic which just matrixs' the rear channes and splits the same sound.

[meancode]

I now, for the first time, have 5.1. Not in speakers though, in a pair of headphones. Absolutely amazing headphones.

And now my stupid ass neighbor can shut up.

[kevin_psx]

A 5.0 divides 2 rear speakers into 2 left/right speakers.
But that's mostly just background noise.
I don't see any need.
Do you? Rear channels are often more than just background noise, they usually serve the purpose of moving sound, like a plain or car moving from the back of you to the front, or things like gunshots coming from all sides and behind you.

As I said-- I don't see the need to split the rear 2 speakers into left/right.

4.0 is good enough.

[slip81]

A 5.0 divides 2 rear speakers into 2 left/right speakers.
But that's mostly just background noise.
I don't see any need.
Do you? Rear channels are often more than just background noise, they usually serve the purpose of moving sound, like a plain or car moving from the back of you to the front, or things like gunshots coming from all sides and behind you.

As I said-- I don't see the need to split the rear 2 speakers into left/right.

4.0 is good enough.

Well it's split because things are mixed in stereo. Just like you wouldn't try to listen to a song like Whole Lotta Love in mono, a movie with surround is the same way.

By only having one rear channel you loose some of the spacial effect, since you can't tell which direction things are coming from, or which angle a director meant for you to hear certain things.

That's the need for 2 seperate rear channels.

Sorry if I keep coming back to this, I'm not trying to convince you to upgrade or anything. It just seems that you didn't quite understand why those speakers are there, so I was trying to explain.

[aaronpetrosky]

I plan on getting it soon that way I could enjoy Black and Genji to their fullest.

Anyone ever play these games with it?

[kevin_psx]

As I said-- I don't see the need to split the rear 2 speakers into left/right.
4.1 is good enough.Sorry if I keep coming back to this, I'm not trying to convince you to upgrade or anything. It just seems that you didn't quite understand why those speakers are there, so I was trying to explain.
I understand.

I just don't care. I don't care if the car is coming from left rear or right rear. Knowing it's coming from behind is good enough. "4.1 is good enough."



Especially when I have to work my ass off trying to pay for it. It's not worth it to me to Work an extra $500 to make the upgrade-- for such trivial difference.

Clear? :D :) ;)

[shoes23]

I plan on getting it soon that way I could enjoy Black and Genji to their fullest.

Anyone ever play these games with it?

In the words of Peter from Family Guy, playing those games (especially Black) with 5.1 surround sound is, "FREAKING SWEET".

On a side note I just bought some Durabrand 5.1 surround sound speakers (5 speakers and a woofer) from Wal-mart to hook up to our TV in the basement for a whooping $35. Gamers on a budget who want to up their sound system should definalty give it a look, as it provides everything needed to play all your games at 120 decibels. Not the best quality compared to my Bose speakers but provides a much better bang for your buck than purchasing an expensive system.

[Anthony1]

You want to talk audio, I can talk a little bit of audio. First off all, the biggest key with sound is the speakers. No matter what you do, if you use shit speakers, then it isn't really going to work right. The most important speaker of all is the Subwoofer. 2nd most important is the center channel. Then comes the Left and Right mains, and finally the various surround speakers. Of course you need a decent receiver. But one does not need to spend a fortune on the receiver or the speakers, if one knows what the hell one is doing!!!



For example, I have a kick ass 7.1 audio in my Movie Theater setup in my Garage. The receiver that I'm using is a very inexpensive Panasonic digital path receiver that has gotten rave reviews from the avsforum set.


peep game....

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=530504


there are 105 pages to that thread for a reason. The reason is that you can find one of those for less than $230 with tax, shipping and everything, and the sound is amazing for the money. No joke. I was very concerned about whether or not it woud have enough power to fill my large room with sound, but it has no problems at all. Sounds amazing. 7.1 baby. It doesn't have HDMi or anything like that, but for the time being, it's perfectly fine. There are going to be new receivers coming down the line in the next few years that are going to fully take advantage of the new lossless formats that Dolby and DTS are going to be bringing to the table with HD-DVD and Blu Ray. So, it doesn't really make a ton of sense to spend big $$$$ on a receiver before the new digital audio formats are completely squared away, and of course you want tons of HDMI inputs and stuff like that, and currently receivers only have like 1 or 2. So, the bottom line is why spend more than $230 for a receiver, when you can get one like this that kicks major ass in terms of sound quality?




Ok, that's the receiver. When it comes to speakers, there are tons of great brands of speakers out there. Lots of really good speakers. But I must admit that I'm partial to a Canadian brand known as "Energy". One of the reasons that I like Energy so much, is that they are very consistent with their quality. Of all the different speakers they've put out over the years, very few aren't regarded as outstanding. And most are regarded as amazing. The other reason is that you can get their speakers for "relatively" decent prices. But even better, if you are a little more brave, you can have some absolutely phenomenal speakers for super cheap if you are willing to buy them used via Ebay or Craigslist.


In my home theater setup, when it comes to speakers, it's all about the front sound stage. The front sound stage consists of the center channel speaker and the left and right mains. I use a Energy AC-300 center channel. You can get these used via Ebay or sometimes Craigslist for around $150 ish. Energy AC-300's are very popular, even though that particular center hasn't been made in a number of years. When they show up on Ebay, there are always several people bidding on them.


For my front and left mains, I'm rolling with Energy C8's. These babies are tower speakers that can seriously pump some sound. These puppies will handle just about anything you throw at them. They have tremendous mid range and lows, in addition to the crystal clear highs. If you had to live without a subwoofer, these boys can almost carry the entire bass load by themselves.


For my surrounds, I'm using Energy C2's as the "rear" surrounds and I'm using Energy C3's as the side surrounds.


For the Sub, I'm currently using a sealed sub, the Energy ES-12. To be honest, I need to add a second ES-12 for a dual sub configuration. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble finding another ES-12. I've also considered spending some big bank on a SVS sub, but I'd like to try another ES-12 in tandem first. The room I'm using is very large, and one ES-12 isn't enough to pressurize the whole room.





Panasonic XR55 7.1 Digital Path Receiver
Energy C8 Left and Right Mains
Energy AC-300 Center Channel
Energy C2 Rear Surrounds
Energy C3 Side Surrounds
Energy ES-12 sealed Subwoofer

[DTJAAAAMJSLM]

No surround sound for me! I've never really been too picky about audio quality in games.

[zerohero]

A 5.0 divides 2 rear speakers into 2 left/right speakers.
But that's mostly just background noise.
I don't see any need.
Do you? Rear channels are often more than just background noise, they usually serve the purpose of moving sound, like a plain or car moving from the back of you to the front, or things like gunshots coming from all sides and behind you.

As I said-- I don't see the need to split the rear 2 speakers into left/right.

4.0 is good enough.

Well it's split because things are mixed in stereo. Just like you wouldn't try to listen to a song like Whole Lotta Love in mono, a movie with surround is the same way.

By only having one rear channel you loose some of the spacial effect, since you can't tell which direction things are coming from, or which angle a director meant for you to hear certain things.

That's the need for 2 seperate rear channels.

Sorry if I keep coming back to this, I'm not trying to convince you to upgrade or anything. It just seems that you didn't quite understand why those speakers are there, so I was trying to explain.


Hmmm I have a dolby digital pro logic reciever thats a 5.0 system that has two seperate rear surrounds , and I still just depends on the movie, I'll upgrade to 5.1 the end of this year the way things are looking now.

But it sounds sweet and does the job well.

[FullCircle]

I plan on getting it soon that way I could enjoy Black and Genji to their fullest.

Anyone ever play these games with it?

In the words of Peter from Family Guy, playing those games (especially Black) with 5.1 surround sound is, "FREAKING SWEET".

On a side note I just bought some Durabrand 5.1 surround sound speakers (5 speakers and a woofer) from Wal-mart to hook up to our TV in the basement for a whooping $35. Gamers on a budget who want to up their sound system should definalty give it a look, as it provides everything needed to play all your games at 120 decibels. Not the best quality compared to my Bose speakers but provides a much better bang for your buck than purchasing an expensive system.
I've also got the Durabrand surround system hooked up. Initially, I hooked it up to use as yet another switch box for some of my systems. After listening, though, I was surprised that you could get that type of sound quality for that price. Of course, my wife won mine from work and I have JVC speakers hooked up to it instead.