I'm planning to change to surround or quadrophonic sound - need some tips | Forums

[SergeVE]

I am planning to invest in surround sound or quadrophonic sound .
Now I just have the default stereo sound , with onboard sound .

So before I spend some hard-earned money on the necessary hardware ( amplifier , speakers , and maybe even a soundcard ) I would like to know if it is worth it , and what is it like ?

Is the "surround" option in IL2-AEP the full 5.1 surround ? , or if not , what do you get ?

I especially want to "isolate" the radio-conversations so I can listen to it via a headphone at a normal level , and turn up the volume of the rest of the sound( mainly engine noise ) , so I can also "feel" the vibrations of the speakers.
Is it possible to achieve this ? ( if necessary with 2 amplifiers )

[SergeVE]

I am planning to invest in surround sound or quadrophonic sound .
Now I just have the default stereo sound , with onboard sound .

So before I spend some hard-earned money on the necessary hardware ( amplifier , speakers , and maybe even a soundcard ) I would like to know if it is worth it , and what is it like ?

Is the "surround" option in IL2-AEP the full 5.1 surround ? , or if not , what do you get ?

I especially want to "isolate" the radio-conversations so I can listen to it via a headphone at a normal level , and turn up the volume of the rest of the sound( mainly engine noise ) , so I can also "feel" the vibrations of the speakers.
Is it possible to achieve this ? ( if necessary with 2 amplifiers )

[LuckyBoy1]

As far as onboard sound being good, well that depends on which onboard sound you have. If you have one of the newer boards with the nVidia sound chip that has its own APU, you'll get not only good sound, but good performance as well. If not, your sound is taking up 10-15% of the CPU cycles vs. a sound card that will take up 1-5% of CPU cycles. I would suggest an Augigy 2 sound card if you do not have onboard sound with its own APU.

As far as the quality of, or even presence of surround in this game, well, you'll have to ask somebody else because I listen in stereo.

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[Weather_Man]

Yes, the surround sound is very good. I use quadrophonic, but I believe it does full 5.1 as well. You will notice the difference. If you have games like CoD, or getting Doom3, then you will likely have an accident or two in your pants.

I don't think it's possible to isolate the game radio traffic to your headphones. Though, I'm not familiar with how all that works.

[Il2pelaaja]

Iâ´ve got Audigy2 and Creative Inspire 6.1 (six speakers+subwoof.), the surround sounds are coming nicely from different directions and the machinegun sounds & vibrations from propellers etc. seem quite realistic.
I think it is possible to have the radio conversation at lower sound level than the other sounds.

[RvDijk | Baksteen72]

Upgrading to an Audigy2 is definitely recommended if you have an older on-board sound chip. My personal opinion is that for games you won't need a separate amplifier, a good 5.1 or 6.1 set will do nicely. IL2 certainly has great surround effects. I am very pleased with my Logitech speaker set, although for music it's not very well suited. If you want to play a lot of music as well, you might want to buy an amplifier and suitable speakers...

AMD XP3000+ / 1 GB / FX5900 (53.03 driver) / 1152x864x32x100Hz / Audigy2 / XP Home

[SergeVE]

Hmm , i'm getting very tempted to go for it .

By coincidence , I just found out today that a local shop is having a sale , and the sound-card "Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS - PCI" is priced at 97 euro.

That only leaves me to choose a good 5.1 or 6.1 speaker/amplifier set .
Does any else have good/bad experience to share about 5.1 or 6.1 speaker/ampli sets ?

[RvDijk | Baksteen72]

I like my Logitech Z-640 5.1 set very much. And if you're talking about feeling the sound of the planes in IL2, this set has an awesome subwoofer that is sure to displease your neighbours

AMD XP3000+ / 1 GB / FX5900 (53.03 driver) / 1152x864x32x100Hz / Audigy2 / XP Home

[Kandiru]

ME TOO

I have a Pioneer receiver. I also watch DVDs and noted that SB Audigy2 does not output 5.1 digital. This is a fact well documented in forums on google and SB support cannot address it.

I got rid of my SB as soon as i got my new computer and put a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz in, an awesome card that outputs audiophile grade sound.

I have a Pioneer receiver, get the coaxial digital out via a 3.5mm stereo to RCA stereo adapter from Radio Shack. The Atlantic rears are on Atlantic Tech stands and the system has been calibrated using Digital Video Essentials and a RS SPL meter.

The game will only output 2 channel stereo but the receiver can decode the digital stereo into DPL2
Awesome, enjoy!

[1.JaVA_Hornet]

Hey,
I own since a year a Philips seismic edge
with a belonging philips surround set.
It wasn`t really expensive.
A collegue of mine bought it yesterday.

I am very satisfied with it. I don`t want
an other card.

Music is great!!! And il2 and call of duty etc.
are also great on these magnific hardware.

Buy it if you can, it wouldn`t regret you.