Do you really need a surround sound amp to enjoy Forza’s audio fruits?
I’m not really concerned with directional audio but I am curious so as to how a surround amp changes the way the cars sound - i.e. are the exhaust sounds more life-like? Do the overall car sounds seem less compressed? Again, my only concern is the pitch, tone and overall quality of sounds, not the directional ques.
I have a stereo amp and speakers + sub which are fairly powerful for my room and I’d just like to know if I really need Surround sound to enjoy racing games. Do you personally game on a surround or normal amp? Is the difference night and day or at least as much as what you’d typically see between a SD and HDTV screen?
It puts you in the driver seat better and you can hear what the car is doing better too.
Or you can use a gaming headset. I have a polk audio headset i won last year via Forza and it works well. I doubt it’s the best but definitely gives same sound cues like surround sound.
Prior to selling my home I had a LG surround set with 4 speakers, a sub and a sound bar. It worked great with Forza.
I am planning on getting a Bose sound bar and sub for my new house. Previously I played in living room, but now I’ll be playing in a bedroom so the space is considerably smaller. From what I can tell, a Bose sound bar would be enough for Forza in a smaller space.
Tv speakers alone just don’t give the same effect. Definitely recommend a headset or at least a sound bar.
This bit really interests me. Better as in how? I.e. do the LaFerrari and F40 actually sound life-like on a surround amp as opposed to a stereo one? Or the SLS AMG for instance? These are just a few cars that I feel do not sound too life-like in the game, at least on my stereo system. It’s still a pretty beefy system though with 2 subs, 2 midrange speakers and 4 satellites all set up in a stereo surround field.
On sound bars; isn’t it just better to get a standalone amp and dedicated 5.1/7.1 speakers set up around the room?
Well, TV speakers have never been my primary choice, I ditched those way back in the SNES days. But I’ve never really invested in a surround amp since. It’s always been stereo, because in my opinion, I find the end result quite satisfactory, minus the directional ques, which I do not need at all while gaming.
Jason, does surround sound actually make the cars sound better, like, more realistic and true to life? Some cars have funny downshifting and “whiny” cockpit sounds - does surround fix that? I don’t need the directional audio, I could care less about that, honestly. My main concern is how life-like the cars sound; from what I can imagine, surround amps use higher sound sampling quality and output 100% uncompressed sound, is that right? If so, then surely, the engine and exhaust on each car must sound better on a surround amp.
Headphones are out for me - I wear spectacles on a shaved head, so comfort is an issue. I’ve been actually considering getting a surround amp for my speakers as I already have the 5.1 speaker setup, but it’s one of those budget home theaters in a box. It’s got no jack at the back through which I can connect surround components like an Xbox. But the speakers are from 2004 and have pins that make a clicking sound as you insert them in the corresponding color-coded jack at the back of the HiFi component amp. I’ll have to look for an amp that can accept those pin-connectors. If not, do you think it’s a good idea to just cut off the clicking pins and hook up the positive/negative wires directly at the back of my new surround amp? I imagine a really old amp with screw-on caps might be able to accept speaker cables that way.