Should I use spatial sound for gaming?

(Pocket-lint) - The THX Spatial Audio app is designed to improve the audio of any headphones or gaming headset by adding improved spatial awareness to your gaming.

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How does THX Spatial Audio work?
Types of THX audio profiles
Which games support THX Spatial Audio?
How to use THX Spatial Audio
Is Spatial sounds good for gaming?
Should you turn spatial sound on?
Should I use spatial sound for Valorant?
Which sound is best for gaming?

Much like Dolby Atmos for gaming, THX Spatial Audio is an additional purchase for gamers that adds software level tweaks to your audio to add "a realistic and immersive 360-degree audio-scape".

In practice this means you get a more accurate and rich sound that allows you to hear the footsteps of enemies, position of your teammates or just lose yourself in the gaming world around you.

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How does THX Spatial Audio work?

The THX Spatial Audio App is designed to deliver advanced 7.1 surround sound to your ears to give you "pinpoint positional accuracy" while you play.

The promise here is greater immersion and superior audio accuracy to hear approaching enemy footsteps and notice nearby threats before they become a problem. Perfect for anyone who needs the edge in a first-person shooter or battle royale game.

How does this work? Well, you need to download the THX Spatial Audio App and use it with your favourite gaming headset or headphones.

As you might expect, the app works best with Razer headsets (THX is owned by Razer). There are specific app profiles designed to work with popular Razer headsets including the Razer BlackShark V2, Razer Kraken Tournament Edition, Razer Kraken Ultimate, Razer Nari Essential, Razer Nari and Razer Nari Ultimate. But it will also work with non-Razer gear too.

THX Spatial Audio works with 3.5mm headphones, Bluetooth and USB headsets.

Like Dolby Atmos, THX Spatial Audio works best when game developers integrate the compatibility into games. When certified by the game developers, THX Spatial Audio claims to allow gamers to "enjoy their games the way they were truly meant to sound".

Types of THX audio profiles

There are two main profiles for THX Spatial Audio. This includes:

THX Environmental mode - This is an environmental virtual surround sound that's designed to offer localised audio on your environment and help with directional awareness.
THX competitive mode - This is designed for competitive gamers who want the edge. This mode boosts enemy footsteps and minimises other sounds like explosions and distant sounds. You can hear the enemy better with this mode and get the drop on them before they do you.

Which games support THX Spatial Audio?

Though THX Spatial Audio will technically work with all games and offers THX tuned sound and 7.1 audio to even stereo headsets, you'll get the best experience by playing certified games.

The list of THX Spatial Audio certified games currently includes:

Avengers
Apex Legends
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
Battlefield 1
Battlefield V
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Call of Duty: Warzone
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Destiny 2
Doom Eternal
Final Fantasy XIV
Half-Life: Alyx
Metro Exodus
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Monster Hunter: World
Outer Worlds
Outriders
Player Unknown's Battlegrounds
Red Dead Redemption 2
Rust
Resident Evil 2
Robox Jailbreak
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
Tom Clancy's The Division 2
Valorant
Valheim
World of Warcraft
World of Tanks Blitz
Warfame

How to use THX Spatial Audio

The first step to try THX Spatial Audio is to download it. You can download the app and install it on your PC to try it out for 15 days or purchase for $19.99.

Once downloaded you'll go through the installation process and login to the app using your Razer ID.

The app then tells you then in order to use THX Spatial Audio you'll need to set it as your default audio playback device from Windows sound settings.

Within the app, then simply select the output device as the headset or headphones you're using. You can then choose between various spatilisation and EQ modes as well as adjusting bass boost, sound normalisation and voice clarity. The THX Spatial Audio also allows you to tweak the calibration to adjust the spatial audio if you feel it's off slightly.

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Once that's done, boot up your favourite game and enjoy!

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Is Spatial sounds good for gaming?

Sound can be inaccurate: This spatial sound software only works well in certain situations. It works well with gaming and movies, but can cause audio to sound inaccurate when primarily used for music. Not for speakers: Unsurprisingly, Windows Sonic for Headphones only works well with headphones.

Should you turn spatial sound on?

Spatial sound provides an enhanced atmosphere which traditional surround sound formats cannot. With spatial sound, all your movies and games will sound better.

Should I use spatial sound for Valorant?

With HRTF in Valorant implemented in Patch 2.06, it helps pinpoint enemy footsteps, reloads, and Deathmatch respawns using a simulated surround sound space. It should make players' gameplay experience more realistic and better.