What's your soundsystem like for gaming?

[Herschie]

The best gaming soundsystem I ever had was from a gaming chair that I found one night at Target with the wife. I was playing Metroid Prime, and it really did a nice job with the eerie sound effects and creeping enemies. This thing was fantastic. Unfortunately I had to take it back because it was super uncomfortable. I would have been better off in a folding chair!

I use my TV's default speakers on my 48-inch LG, but the smaller CRT only has one sound input and a video. And I can't set all of my games to mono, nor any of the Super Nintendo games. So I went to Best Buy and bought one of those cheap bluetooth speakers that also had one of those inputs that looks like a headphone jack (I forget what they're called). It wasn't much, but at least I could hear my games as they were meant to be heard.

Unfortunately this thing does a terrible job handling mid-range frequencies. Every time I pick up a heart in Ocarina of Time, it sounds all distorted. And I just simply can't have that. So I dug up my soundbar that I bought for my old 40-inch Samsung LCD from like ten years ago because that TV's speakers had horrible sound. Man, does this baby rock! I mean, yeah, I can hear hearts being picked up clearly. But you get nice bass with things like doors slamming, and it clearly differentiates what's coming from the left, and what's coming from the right.

I might grab another one of these things for my bigger TV. Makes a huge difference. But for my older games, I think I might have to give Metroid Prime another whirl. And once my wife and I move into a place where I can have my dedicated man-cave, or VGR (Video Game Room), then I'll really invest in a nice surround-sound system. But this soundbar is more than sufficient for the time being. I call it "The Little Speaker that Could".

[Sut]

You know I've not paid much attention as I just use the TV speaker but it would be awesome to have better sound.

Perhaps time I looked into it.

[Robotrek]

I use an old STA-116 and a couple speakers I had laying around. 8 inch woofers, some smaller mids and highs, and it sounds really nice. I can't play games with TV speakers after experiencing that killer sound honestly. Except for the Atari 2600.

[Herschie]

And once my wife and I move into a place where I can have my dedicated man-cave, or VGR (Video Game Room), then I'll really invest in a nice surround-sound system.

I am a man of my word. My wife and I moved into a 3-bedroom townhouse, and one of those bedrooms is now my VGR. Of course, I didn't invest much, as a Vizio 5.1 soundbar system was on sale at Walmart for $149. But it's fine, my VGR isn't super-huge, and I really didn't need much anyway. Plus, since I no longer live in a shoebox apartment, I don't have to worry about neighbors complaining about my subwoofer. Although if they did that, I could complain about them stinking up my apartment with their kimchi. Seriously, every time they cooked, I kept on wondering where the dog took a dump.

But I digress. Let me tell you something, this thing is jammin! It's like I'm back in my gaming chair, only I'm actually comfortable. And games that I've played a billion times before suddenly have new life. Take Ocarina of Time for example. I was in the Royal Family Tomb, one of the creepier areas of the game. Odd sound effects seemed to be coming from out of nowhere. The redeads actually frightened me. And the way the room filled with bass was something else. Next was Dodongo's Cavern, and the room shook every time a bomb went off. I actually had no idea that N64 games could support Dolby.

I had to play Metroid Prime next. Holy cow! This sounds even better than that stupid gaming chair! The bass is magnificent, and the eerie sound effects really come alive.

Seriously people, get one of these bad boys! Though I am a little disappointed that the surround is not compatible with the Wii U. Still, this takes gaming to a whole new level!

[ESauce]

I've been using just the standard tv speakers for my gaming. I have a 5 year old Sony Bravia and while the sound isn't perfect, it gets the job done.

If I upgraded I would probably go for a sound bar, because we don't have great places to put surround speakers and I'm certainly not able to afford wiring them into the ceiling. Actually a $150 sound bar would probably be my limit. What is the model of your Vizio sound bar?

[LS650]

'Sound system'... you mean like the speaker of the TV I plug my old 8-bit stuff into?

LOL... any kind of sound system would be entirely wasted for any of the systems I play.

[Herschie]

'Sound system'... you mean like the speaker of the TV I plug my old 8-bit stuff into?

LOL... any kind of sound system would be entirely wasted for any of the systems I play.

Eh, you'd be surprised. At least with the Super Nintendo I was, but then again that system was known for its phenomenal sound. I'm at the Cubs Convention this weekend, but I'll certainly try out my NES when I get home tomorrow afternoon.

Actually a $150 sound bar would probably be my limit. What is the model of your Vizio sound bar?

At which time I will let you know the model number. I don't know if it's still on sale though.

[LS650]

Eh, you'd be surprised. At least with the Super Nintendo I was, but then again that system was known for its phenomenal sound.

SNES? I have nothing that modern... go back at least 10 more years...

[PAAGaming]

For my retro corner I'm in the middle of putting a new sound system together. I'm using 2 spare bookshelf speakers (Q Acoustics 1000i) and classic speaker wire (cheap but good QED 79 strand) and am waiting for a cheap but hopefully good 2 channel amplifier (Lepy 2024+).

The amp has a 3.5m out that I can plug into the tv or whatever else uses one. This should in theory give good sound for very little money.

In the living room I using a Sony 1050 AV receiver connected to 5.1 speakers. I've upgraded the front left and right speakers to Kef Q500s.

I mainly use the Wii U but the surround on the Wii U isn't great. Wii Fit U is great in surround if you go jogging and stand close to the TV you really feel like your in a paradise island going for a jog.

I hope the Switch has better surround though.

[Herschie]

LOL... any kind of sound system would be entirely wasted for any of the systems I play.

You are wrong, my friend! At least you most likely are. I haven't had a chance to try out my Atari or Colecovision yet, but the NES sounds fantastic! Yes, the NES. I get some nice bass and everything. The only thing that sucks is that the NES only puts out the right channel in S-Video sound, so I only hear sound from the right side. But that should be easily remedied with an RCA splitter from Radio Shack (How does that place stay in business?). Who would have thought that a subwoofer would be handy with the NES?

If I upgraded I would probably go for a sound bar, because we don't have great places to put surround speakers and I'm certainly not able to afford wiring them into the ceiling. Actually a $150 sound bar would probably be my limit. What is the model of your Vizio sound bar?

https://www.vizio.com/s4251wb4.html