The sound of gaming

Video games and home theater enthusiasm seem like the perfect match. A far cry from the days of pixelated sprites and harshly synthesized sound effects, modern video games have all the hallmarks of a top-notch Blu-ray release: high-resolution graphics, Dolby Digital surround sound, and tons of interactive features. Unfortunately, the twin houses of gamers and home theater buffs almost never mingle, despite how well their equipment can work with each other.

I recently upgraded my modest home theater to a 5.1 surround system with an Onkyo SR607 receiver, some THX-certified Boston Acoustics speakers, and a Sony SA-W2500 100-watt subwoofer. It won't rock the house's foundations (which is good, since I live in an apartment), but it puts out some solid, clear sound, and it has seriously enhanced my gaming experience.

Before I put together my new system, I used my HDTV's mediocre built-in speakers. They were stereo, they got decently loud, they reproduced dialogue and sound effects well enough, but they simply weren't all that good. Since I'm a member of a generation that grew up on synthesized BGM tracks and beeps and bloops for sound effects all through the 8- and 16-bit gaming eras, the television's speakers were "good enough." I knew my Xbox 360 was capable of much more, but, like many other gamers, I was reasonably satisfied. The Xbox 360, like the Playstation 3, supports Dolby and DTS surround, and can play DVDs and stream Netflix video. Like its rival, the Blu-ray Disc-playing Playstation 3, the Xbox 360 has enough A/V bells and whistles to justify itself not only as a gaming platform, but as a media player. In fact, my Xbox 360 serves as my main DVD player, for convenience. Of course, it was built primarily to play games, so all of those audio and video features that work so well with movies and music can work just as well with games.

Until I got everything set up, plugged in (via a fiber optic TOSLink cable running from my Xbox 360 to my receiver), and turned on. Between the drastically improved fidelity of the dedicated speakers and the rich presence of the surround sound, my game was transformed from a diversion to an experience.

First off, surround sound presents some obvious benefits to 3D games. Tactically, being able to hear your enemy behind you is invaluable, and something that stereo speakers simply can't reproduce. Whether it's soldiers or zombies, you'll have an edge when you hear those rear surrounds go off. Especially in survival horror games like Resident Evil 5 and Dead Space, being able to hear creepy monsters sneak up behind you doesn't only enhance your survivability, but the game's tension and immersion as well.

If you're not sure your speakers are set up correctly or if your game properly takes advantage of surround sound, a flick of the right thumbstick can be all the test you need. In the opening scene of Red Faction: Guerrilla, you listen to the main character's brother guide you through a short tutorial section. By spinning the camera around my character with the right thumbstick, I heard the brother's voice sweep across my speakers to reflect the camera's position. I enjoyed a similar experience in Prince of Persia, when I listened to the princess Elika's feet tap on the ground. As I moved the camera about, the footfalls moved with it, reflecting where Elika was. Of course, Elika was barefoot and walking on stone, so she shouldn't necessarily have sounded like she was wearing high heels, but that's more a problem of sound design than the home theater's fault. Sometimes convenience is simply better than realism in video games.

Besides surround sound, a good home theater can provide plenty of power, and brings us to the next big benefit for gaming: quality and loudness of sound effects. When you have a subwoofer, the weak "Bang. Bang. Bang." that used to waft from your television becomes a proper "BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!" Bullets, rockets, bombs, anything involving combustion is going to sound better with the beefy bass of a subwoofer behind it. In Red Faction: Guerrilla, where virtually every man-made structure is destructible, the extra power is invaluable. Between the 5 satellites to provide the soundscape and the subwoofer to provide the rumble, I felt like an EDF stronghold was collapsing before me, thanks to the judicious combination of high explosives and a ridiculously overpowered sledgehammer.

With the rise of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, music has become intimately linked to video games. Thanks to the use of the original master tracks, playing Rock Band can feel like you're actually playing a classic song. With the music all around you and every drum and bass note rumbling through the subwoofer, it becomes an experience that draws you in to the music. Besides "music games," popular and classic tunes have made a very comfortable, if passive, home in plenty of other games. Saint's Row 2, Grand Theft Auto 4, Madden 09, and many other hits come brimming with some of the hottest hip-hop, rock, reggae, and even classical tracks available. It's fun to drive down the street, shooting up Ronin in Saint's Row 2, but it's surreally awesome fun to drive down the street, shooting up Ronin in Saint's Row 2 to A-Ha's "Take On Me." You wouldn't listen to your CDs or your radio over your television's speakers, so why would you listen to your video game's CDs or radio stations? Master tracks need to be respected, and music needs to be appreciated. A beefy sound system can be all the difference from plinking away at a toy guitar in front of a screen to rocking your brain's out... and then enjoying a bit of the old ultraviolence with some Ludwig Van.

Surround sound might be nice and a subwoofer can be handy, but when you get right down to it, a home theater is valuable to gamers for the same reason it's valuable to movie and music buffs: it sounds louder, it sounds better, and it sounds better louder. With a solid set-up, you can crank up the volume and enjoy your video games that much more. Subtle sound effects come through with clarity and explosions and rumbles rock the room with aggression your television's speakers can't hope to match.

I'm a gamer, and after a few months with 5.1, there's no way I'm going back.

— Will Greenwald

Comments

[Andrew]

Man I totally agree. I just also recently purchased a TX-SR607. I am very excited to get it all hooked up and running 5.2, because my towers have built in subs! However, I'll have to wait until I get back to school because my room her for the summer is too small to house my surround sound. I've played a couple of times at my brothers with surround sound and it makes a huge difference. Playing COD4 is a whole new world with surround. You can actually tell where your enemies are coming from. This is especially helpful when playing online. I agree playing with your TV speakers is OK if you have never played 5.1 but once you do there is no going back. Just wondering, but have you tried the height channels at all with games and your receiver?

[Will Greenwald]

I haven't tried height channels yet (I'm already pushing the receiver's output, and I'm moving too soon to really justify putting up wall mounts for two more sats), but I'd like to.

The only problem is that the height channels will offer only processed/simulated height. Games don't mix separate height channels (neither do movies, yet), so essentially all systems with height channels need to rely on Dolby Pro Logic IIz processing to mix the height "tracks."

If and when we ever see movie and game sound engineers actually, directly mix height channels (which will require more encoding and work than the usual 5.1 mix), we might see some significant changes and improvements. Either way, I'd like to try PLIIz as soon as I get the chance.

[gaming mouse]

Man I can only imagine how awesome that must be. I'm stuck here with my dinky little 20 dollar speakers for the time being. Someday, though, I hope to have something similar to what you have. Saving up for an hdtv first, though...