2.1 vs 4.1 / 5.1 etc speakers? worth the upgrade

[thespeakerbox]

I'm looking to buy a nice set of 2.1 speakers for gaming. Would 4.1+ be really better or is it just hype

 

[PurdueRy]

It depends if quality will be the same as the 2.1 set you were going to buy. Or if you would use the same budget to buy the 5 speaker set.

It also depends if you have room to properly place them.

 

[Cobolman]

A lot of it depends on your setup. If you really can't put the surround speakers in a good spot, it's best to stick with a three-speaker arrangement.

 

[Ika]

For gaming, 5.1 would be extremely useful, for 3D positional effects and such. If you only play strategy games/ non-3D world games, quality 2.1s would be the better choice, however.

 

[Ichigo]

Headsets/headphones are best for gaming. Speakers for everything else.

 

[Machine350]

Originally posted by: Ichigo
Headsets/headphones are best for gaming. Speakers for everything else.

:thumbsup: I recently picked up a decent Sennheiser headset, wow, what a difference. My Altec Lansing 2.1 setup sounds like complete crap now.

 

[alcoholbob]

Originally posted by: Ichigo
Headsets/headphones are best for gaming. Speakers for everything else.

Depends which speakers : >

 

[shortylickens]

It really depends on you.

I know plenty of folks that honestly dont notice a difference between genuine surround 5.1 and mirrored stereo. Their ears just cant pick it up. So maybe a quality 2.1 would be better for them.

By the same token, I honestly cant hear a quality difference between Z-5300's, Promedia Ultra 5.1's and a thousand-dollar home theater system.
Many an audiophile has given me incredulous looks during comparative tests.
I just dont hear it.

 

[alcoholbob]

Well I think you do, but your value judgements are different. My room mate says he can't tell the difference, nonchalantly, but when I point specific things out, he agrees. I don't have better ears than he, nor does he have worse ears than me. It's all in an individual's value judgement.

On the other hand, perhaps you really can't hear the difference at all, period, well, in that case, everyone's hearing is different, just like everyone has different visual acuity.

 

[QuantumPion]

I prefer speakers because wearing headphones 100% of the time is uncomfortable and bad for your ears.

Having rear speakers is beyond a doubt, extremely useful in games. If you try to consciously think about where a sound is coming from, it is difficult to tell. But you will realize how effective they are when someone tries to sneak up behind you and you instantly whip around with your crosshairs dead on without even realizing it.

4.1 speakers would be sufficient. The purpose of the center channel is to accurately position dialogue for people who are not sitting diretly in front of the screen, in home theaters. For a computer, it is just you sitting directly in front of the monitor, so the center channel is not needed. All else being equal though, I would take the center channel if you gave it to me.

The advantage of having a true 5.1 system with a soundcard that supports it is that you get to use the crossovers built into your soundcard. This means your soundcard will know to send the bass to the subwoofer, because it has a plug specifically for it, as opposed to just sending the whole signal to the speakers and sub, and letting the speakers do the crossover.