Because I have a fancy room all to myself within which to explore the wonders of gaming, I am looking at moving from constantly having a headset strapped to me, and getting a desk mic + speakers.
Speakers is kinda where I’m looking for some info because there is a lot of noise out there. Anyone use speakers for gaming? Recommend 2.1 or 5.1? I’m leaning 5.1 for the “where did @linebacker just shoot me from even though he’s on my time” sound ident. Any specific systems?
Or do you think I’m crazy and I should stick to headphones + mic, or a headset?
I’ve got the Yeti, and while it’s a great mic for recording podcasts or a narrative track for video, it’s also quite large. I can’t think of where I would conveniently place it for gaming.
I mostly use speakers, and I have an older version of the already old Logitech Z-5500, the “new” versions are the Z906. They are pricey, but mine have been going strong for nearly 20 years now, 5.1, thx cert, the works. Due to space limitations I really only use them in stereo, but the 5.1 is great when i hook it up.
Probably over kill, but man are they nice. Not sure how the Z906’s directly compare to their predecessors, maybe someone here has a set and could shed some light on it.
I have a Creative Zwhatever 5.1 system but I only use it for surfing the web. I use a surround sound headset all the time for gaming because of the better directional audio.
yeah, I cringed a bit at that price too, the Z506’s look a bit different, without the control box than the Z-5500 (if you thought the z906’s were pricey don’t look at what people want for these nowadays) I wouldn’t really have mentioned them due to price, but they have managed to last me close to 20 years and a good 7 or 8 moves and still sound just as good as the day I got them. so, the previous version lasted long enough to make it worthwhile at least.
I’ve actually owned the Z506 for years now … they’re pretty damn good without breaking the bank.
Also, I should have mentioned that I don’t need to use a headset for flight/racing aims because directional audio isn’t critical. I get pretty fancy with X-Plane though where I use speakers on my main system for listening to the aircraft while I have a headset on to interact with ATC from my second system/Pilot2ATC … kinda like in RL.
You should be aware that if you get a desk microphone and speakers, you will introduce the noise from the speakers to the microphone.
Besides that microphones are usually best used rather close to the source, so it won’t be conducive to the audio quality that the mic is standing on the table far away from your mouth while you’re talking. It usually means that you are getting unwanted reverberation from the room onto the mic signal. While all this might not be a huge deal, it can be annoying to your fellow gamers.
Lastly, USB microphones are usually a raw deal on cost vs performance. The reason is that the manufacturers have to cram what usually goes into 2 separate devices into the housing of a comparatively small microphone, with all the compromises in noise shielding etc. that entails. I can almost guarantee you that by buying a cheap microphone and a cheap microphone preamp/analog digital converter you will get much better performance for a comparable price.
That aside, from a pure audio engineering standpoint, a clip or headset microphone would be the correct tool for the job.
As for speakers, yes i do use speakers for gaming, simply because i have a pair that deliver comparatively good sound quality. The question is really, what do you want and what should it cost?
The simplest solution would be a solid set of headphones. With the right game, you can get 3-dimensional “surround sound” with headphones (it’s a technique called binaural audio, i won’t go into the details but you can look it up if you’re interested).
Will you be listening to music as well over the speakers/headphones or are they just for gaming?
I get that headphones would be better but I’m trying to avoid having to wear them all the time, especially now I’ve got a space where that isn’t necessary from an environment perspective. I’ll still have them as they’ve served me well enough.
My intention was to set up the mic on a desk boom or whatever they call them. Will post a pic after. It can be stored back out of the way not needed and moved forward for talking otherwise.
Z506 sounds like it has done a couple peeps well here. How do you guys have the rear speakers wired? Just along the wall to the sides? Floor?
Actually, I have two sets. One for the GPC and one for the HTPC in the bedroom. I’ll post pics when I get home today from work. We have a rug in both rooms and I just run the wires under the rugs.
I was intending to wall mount them, though I understand this set doesn’t have wall mounting hardware so I’d require some mini shelves. My intention to make this project not too expensive is rapidly heading the wrong direction.
