To misquote Shakespearean England’s most famous playwright, Billy ‘Shakey’ Shakespeare, “If music be the food of love, game on!”
Of course, back in the 16th century, I imagine ‘gaming’ was limited to stuff like playing boules while the Spanish attack, quoits - whatever that is - and savage blood sports like Cup and Ball, usually accompanied by some fool with a lute playing Wonderwall.
Fortunately, today’s gaming options are far broader, as are the choices of audio complement, which bring full immersion to the ultimate incarnation of “gaming”, the video game.
Best audio accessories for gaming at a glance
- Best for open audio immersion: Creative Stage Pro - £129.99, Amazon
- Best for seamless sound streaming: Mixx StreamQ TV - £95, Amazon
- Best for glorious alfresco audio: TRIBIT StormBox Blast 2 - £279.99, Amazon
- Best for the Devil in the detail: Sennheiser HD 550 - £249, Amazon
- Best for wired audio wonderment: Audio-Technica ATH-M50xSTS-USB StreamSet - £166, Amazon
- Best for maximum effort cable control: Cable Guy Deadpool 3 'Bringing up the Rear' Holder - £12.9, Amazon
- Best for enhancing audio to the Nth degree: iFi ZEN DAC 3 - £229, Amazon
- Best for: I mean, what do you think?: Oakywood Headphones Stand - £40.80, Amazon
- Best for sitting in the seat of sound: X Rocker Veleno 2.1 eSports RGB - £170, Amyths
- Best for uncompromising audio connection, everywhere, for all: Netgear Orbi 870 Series Tri-Band WiFi 7 Mesh 3-Pack - £1199.99, Amazon
- Best for superior sound and style: Audio-Technica AT-SP3X - £169, Amazon
Yep, while great graphics are a vital aspect of today’s next-gen mostly online gaming experience, the audio that comes alongside them is equally vital. It creates drama and a three-dimensional soundscape that allows players to pinpoint movement around them in the virtual arena - essential for survival in certain shoot ’em up scenarios.
But while low-latency audio is vital for multiplayer battle royales, despite the stereotype, video gamers come in all different shapes and ages, with equally diverse abilities and demands.
So, seeking to address the audio needs of all, whether they want to envelop themselves in a cocoon of over-ear privacy, have sound abound bouncing around the room, or even want to take their gaming into the garden, herein lies an Aladdin’s Cave of audio enhancements for any gaming get-up, from handheld to whole room.
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Creative Stage Pro
Best for: Open audio immersion
Fresh out from the 80s’ innovators of PC audio, the Stage Pro from Singapore’s Creative Labs brings a new, affordable upgrade to desk-based gamers in the sonorous shape of a slick-looking 2.1-channel soundbar and subwoofer system.
The soundbar, at just 55cm long, is perfectly sized to be positioned under most displays, while still being potent enough to pump out 2x 20W of beautifully balanced game grunt from its custom-tuned mid-range drivers, with the ability to switch from Far Field to Near Field putting you right slap-bang in the centre of the sonic action.
The subwoofer section of the audio equation, meanwhile, delivers precision bass with 40W of oomph that you’ll feel in your chest as the bombs fall all around you in whatever arena of combat you’ve elected to enter. Particularly effective in games such as Bioshock and Doom, despite its compact dimensions (42 x 11.5 x 26.5cm H x W x D), the Stage Pro sub packs quite a punch.
Connection-wise, the Stage Pro offers HDMI ARC, Bluetooth 5.3, and USB Audio, Optical, and Aux-in, so you can hook up the likes of your PC, smartphone/tablet, and TV quickly and simply, whereas consoles can be connected to the TV as usual, the HDMI ARC seamlessly flowing the sound straight to the Stage Pro.
Coming complete with a remote control (2x AAA batteries not included) for ease of operation for sofa set-up gamers making the most of the SuperWide soundstage, the Creative Stage Pro is a very versatile 2.1-channel audio upgrade at an excellent price, bringing both affordability and aural immersion to gamers of all types the globe over.
Specs
Buy now £129.99, Amazon
Mixx StreamQ TV
Best for: Seamless sound streaming
For those who play in the presence of non-gamers, say students in shred gigs, or those who game late at night but don’t want to disturb others nearby, there’s a new wireless wonder on the market that delivers 3D surround sound right to eardrums, using a unique marriage of over-ear cans and audio transmitter, the MIXX StreamQ TV.
On the headphone side, you get nicely padded ear cups and headband, plus nicely large 40mm drivers with a frequency range of 20Hz – 20KHz, Bluetooth 5.3 and support for A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HS profiles, which, basically, means you get advanced audio plus remote control (via the headphones) to ensure that the sound being streamed from the StreamPort TV Audio Transmitter is at its optimum and you’re in complete control of it.
As to that StreamPort transmitter, this is a little black box of tricks that comes with Optical Out, Optical In, 3.5mm Out, 3.5mm Audio In ports and a USB-C power input, so connect it up with wherever you source your gaming sound and retire 1o up to 10m away and let that all that gaming action audio come cleanly and crisply to you, safe in the knowledge that the stable Bluetooth 5.3 will keep connected come whatever with no drop off of quality.
A neat, practical solution to getting the most out of games without awakening the ire of others around you, the MIXX StreamQ Surround headphones and StreamPort are a match made in high-quality audio heaven.
Specs
Buy now £95.00, Amazon
TRIBIT StormBox Blast 2
Best for: Glorious alfresco audio
Okay, hear me out. The British weather is about as predictable as Chaos Theory, but this year – at the time of writing – has seen an improbable number of decent days, meaning gaming in the garden has been a possibility. However, this generally means that you have to abandon all thoughts of acceptable audio to the indoors, while you strain and struggle with the sound under the sun.
But it doesn’t have to be this way – imagine if you could outsource your portable gaming console of choice’s audio to a device that comes packing dual 45W mid-range drivers, a devastating 80W subwoofer with diamond reinforcement ribs, and two 15W silk dome tweeters, for sensational 2.1-channel outdoor sound that will blow you (and everyone else around you) away in the great outdoors. Now stop imagining, and behold the TRIBIT StormBox Blast 2.
Very much a modern boombox, while the somewhat epic weight may see you not wanting to have to carry it too far, once you’ve downloaded the TRIBIT app and paired your device with the bulky beast over the latest, fastest and most stable Bluetooth 5.4, you’re off, with up to 200W of power at your fingertips.
Featuring TRIBIT’s X-3D algorithm, you can let the audio embrace you, hitting the XBass button to add even more low-end, or turning that and the pulse-timed, multicoloured dynamic light display off to enjoy up to 30 hours of playback from a single charge. Or, if you want the light display – as many gamers do – flip it back on and customise the colours on the app.
Sound quality is mighty. Bass-heavy but clear too, things may get a little muddy at the highest volume, but below that, everything sings smoothly and sweetly, adding an exciting audio dimension to alfresco Mario Kart World.
With an IP67 water-resistance rating, sudden summer showers aren’t an issue, so if you’re not going to let a bit of water spoil your fun, pop up an umbrella and play on.
Coming complete with an Aux port for wired connectivity, plus the nice addition of a USB-A port so you can charge your portable gaming console from the TRIBIT while you play, the StormBox Blast 2 wasn’t created with gaming in mind, but by god can it deliver. The only possible downside is the patience of your neighbours… or, rather, the lack of it.
Specs
Buy now £279.99, Amazon
Sennheiser HD 550
Best for: The Devil in the detail
When it comes to some games, having absolute clarity in the audio is paramount.
From the sneaking footstep of an online opponent nearby, to the distant moan of some undead nightmare possibly lurking ahead, to the echoes that convey a sense of the size of space you’re in, all this audio feedback adds to the realism and immersive nature of the game.
To capitalise on all that audible data, you’ll need a set of cans designed by audio experts to enhance every nuanced note. And, if you happen to have £250 spare, those cans should be Sennheiser’s HD 550.
Okay, microphone-free, these are not over-ears for the Chatty Cathy and Cuthberts of the gaming universe, but with 38mm transducers producing perfectly balanced neutral sound with thunderously tight bass married to excruciatingly detailed mids and treble, every last important audio element, no matter how diminutive, is eked out to create the atmosphere, allow for smooth transitions, create clear audio cues, and give you the tactical advantage on the battlefield.
Featuring an open-back design that allows for air flow, combined with a weight of just 237g, a deeply padded headband and synthetic velour ear pads, the HD 550s are also remarkably comfortable to use over long periods without fatigue setting in.
Wired, with a lengthy 1.8m cable running to a 3.5mm jack (with 6.35mm screw-on adaptor), zero latency keeps you in the moment and at the heart of the action at all times, so if you still find yourself getting eliminated almost immediately after respawning, well, that’s all down to your own shoddy gameplay. Be better.
Cool-looking in black with equally inky metal grilles, the Sennheiser HD 550 may be expensive, but the sound they bring to your eardrums is utterly immersive.
Specs
Buy now £249.00, Amazon
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xSTS-USB StreamSet
Best for: Wired audio wonderment
For those without sufficient funds for the Sennheiser’s, or, indeed, those who want wired audio immersion but also the ability to trash-talk other players, Audio-Technica has the ideal solution: the ATH-M50xSTS-USB StreamSet.
Firstly, I must point out that there is also an XLR/Analogue variant available, but for testing purposes, we had the USB/Digital unit, which I suspect will appeal to more players due to there being no need for an additional audio interface to bridge the gap between headphones and computer.
Available in black with a choice of mesh and leatherette ear pads included in the box, and wired for your low latency pleasure with a generous 2m cable, these closed-back cans feature whopping 45mm transducers that pump powerful yet perfectly balanced audio into your ears, placing you in a soundscape that brings every whisper, rustle, tinkle and breath into immediate perspective, while the low-end booms and bangs of explosions are the stuff of lughole legend.
Then there’s the team/trash talk element of truly immersive gaming, and this is where the M50x StreamSet ups the ante. Featuring A-T’s renowned 20 Series unidirectional back-electret condenser microphone, the clarity of your chaff-chat will never have been more clearly received, the ears of those around you in that virtual arena of combat shocked by the lucency of your, frankly, potty mouth.
Comfortable and snug without being skull-crushing, a flip-to-mute boom arm lets you leap in and out of the battle-banter instantly, so any sudden interruptions from partners or parents can easily be kept from the prying shell-likes of others online.
The Audio-Technica ATH-M50xSTS-USB offer exceptional value for money and delivers sound both to your ears and from your lips that has all the clarity of a crystal bell.
Spec
Buy now £166.00, Amazon
Cable Guy Deadpool 3 'Bringing up the Rear' Holder
Best for: Maximum effort cable control
Life is too short for unruly cables. Face it, with great gaming audio often comes a great tangled mess that can ruin the aesthetic of an otherwise lovingly laid out gaming desk/area. But cable tidies are boring, yes? Well, yes… except the range on offer from Cable Guys, whose epic cable/controller/phone holders cover a vast amount of characters from the sprawling worlds of gaming and TV and film, including animation classics and anime.
Take this little (8.5 inch) fella for instance, this is the ‘Bring up the Rear’ edition of everyone’s favourite merc with a mouth, Deadpool. Officially licensed from Marvel, who better to hold your errant audio leads in position or, indeed, handle your phone or keep charge of your controller on those rare occasions you step away from the screens? Well, given that – to date – he appears in over 20 different video games, no one.
Sculpted from high-quality ABS and PVC plastic and imbued with a well-weighted bottom to keep it sturdy, many other, less offensive, superheroes are available… but none quite so cool.
Buy now £12.99, Amazon
iFi ZEN DAC 3
Best for: Enhancing audio to the Nth degree
Now, there’s enhanced audio for gaming, and there’s ENHANCED audio for gaming, and this, the ZEN DAC 3 from iFi, is most definitely the latter.
A Digital-to-Analogue Converter, basically a DAC takes all the bitty 0s and 1s of digital and transforms them into the magic of analogue audio, but the ZEN DAC 3 is more than that, factoring in a 390mW headphone amplifier with both balanced 4.4mm and SE 6.3mm outputs, compatible with the vast majority of headphones, making it the perfect vehicle to wring every last drop of obtainable even audio at the absolute threshold of human hearing Naturally, you can already see how this might be good for gaming.
With no DAC delay, the ZEN DAC 3 works beautifully for gaming. And for those eagle-eyed readers who’ve already spotted it, yes, you can hit the XBass+ button to bring an even deeper and punchier epic edge to in-game explosions, making it all the more dramatic and compelling.
Compatible with Hi-Res Audio, while game-makers have still to pull their collective thumb out when it comes to Hi-Res in games, combined with Hi-Res Audio certified headset the iFi makes for a massive, easily marked improvement in overall game audio.
Already a multi-award-winner amongst those who matter in the music press, stepping up your gaming sound with the iFi Zen Dec 3 is a simple matter of USB plug and play.
Spec
Buy now £229.00, Amazon
Oakywood Headphones Stand
Best for: I mean, what do you think?
After all the heavy tech spec of the iFi ZEN DAC 3 above, time for some light relief in the fine form of an absolute essential when it comes to taking the best possible care of your gaming over-ear gear, the Oakywood Headphones Stand.
Chosen because not every gamer wants RGB lights distracting in every direction, this minimalist offering from Oakywood offers a respite from all the pulsing and flashing and blinking and winking and twinkling and… well, you get the idea.
A fusion of real wood, be that natural American walnut, natural Polish oak or black Polish oak and a powder-coated steel rack, each geometrical base is cut to highlight the natural grain and coated in an eco wax oil, while the powder coating of the steel rack makes the stand durable and resistant to corrosion.
Understated and undeniably useful, for every stand sold, Oakywood promises to plant a tree, so rather than all that RGB, this headphone stand is just reassuringly G.
Specs
Buy now £40.80, Amazon
X Rocker Veleno 2.1 eSports RGB
Best for: Sitting in the seat of sound
In absolute contrast to the ocularly serene headphone stand above, for those who relish RGB light displays and who want 2.1 channel audio right on their person but without the help of headphones, X Rocker presents this: the Veleno 2.1 eSports RGB.
Ergonomically comfortable and created solely for gamers, if you want a chair with X Rocker’s Neo Motion LED tech at the very heart of its design, then bathe your eyes in up to 30 different colour options and illuminating effects that run across the entire RGB rainbow.
But it doesn’t stop at lumiere: there are two stereo speakers nestled in the headrest and a subwoofer built into the back, plug your sound stuff into it via the 3.5mm port and immerse yourself in a sensory sea of sound and colour spectrum.
Capable of coping with people up to 15 stone (100kg/220lbs) the X Rocker Veleno 2.1 eSports RGB Gaming Chair, to give it its full title, is better suited to kids or those of a shorter stature, but also on a size-obsessed front, foldable too, it’s compact enough to grace smaller scale gamer’s bedrooms.
Specs
Buy now £170.00, X Rocker
Netgear Orbi 870 Series Tri-Band WiFi 7 Mesh 3-Pack
Best for: Uncompromising audio connection, everywhere, for all
When it comes to perfection in online game audio, the whole shebang hinges on having a Wi-Fi connection that’s swifter than an electric cheetah, stronger than a concrete elephant, and more stable than a gravity-defiant mountain goat. To achieve this, you need a mesh system… and not just any mesh system, but a top-of-the-line mesh system that comes heavily endowed with the very latest and greatest WiFi7, that – in this 3-Pack iteration – can straddle up to a staggering 7500sq.ft. of space, and fuel up to 150 separate devices with wireless speed up to a ludicrous 21Gbps. That mesh system is the remarkable, the unstoppable, the utterly unprecedented Orbi 870 Series Tri-Band WiFi7 from Netgear and, yes, I’ve had the pleasure.
So, as long as you have a high-speed internet connection, all you have to do is download the Orbi app and follow the on-screen instructions, connecting your modem to Orbi when told, then dish out your two wireless satellites where you wish, unify the trio back on the app and – boom! You’re now the proud owner of an advanced, whole-house, The Flash-fast, Wi-Fi setup.
The whole process of set-up takes around 10 minutes, although those of you with modem/router combos may need to disarm your router to allow the Orbi to step in and take over household distribution handling, otherwise things might get a little muddled with two routers vying with each other.
Other than that, follow the app instructions and you’ll be good to game in next to no time, and game like you’ve never gamed before with no ping, no lag, and no issues with household hogs.
Expensive maybe, but for those who want the purest, most pain-free audio/visual game play, worth every last penny.
Specs
Buy now £1199.99, Amazon
Audio-Technica AT-SP3X
Best for: Superior sound and style
Loudspeakers for gaming come in many shapes and sizes, from those designed to look like they belong on the bridge of a spaceship in a particularly acid-drenched 70s TV Sci-Fi, to those that merely seek to sit unobtrusively by and simply emit audio excellence; and what we have here from Audio-Technica is an exceptional example of the latter.
The AT-SP3X, first available in black, now available in the – for my money, far more handsome – white depicted here, is a pair of bookshelf and/or desktop speakers that, what they lack in size, they more than make up for with absolute dynamic performance.
Measuring just 20 x 11.3 x 14.5cm and connecting by RCA and/or Bluetooth 5.3, the mains-powered mini-marvels can still deliver a colossal 30W of punch, but punch that’s beautifully balanced, controlled by a built-in DSP. The results are a real ear-opener, subtle and soft or brutal and booming with bass, but always clean and clear regardless of volume. If you’re a gamer who appreciates superior sound and easy-on-the-eye aesthetics, you’ve met your perfect match.
Featuring 2x 76mm full-range speakers and 2x 27mm tweeters, the whole set-up is a simple matter of plug and play, whether you’re going wired or not, and having lived with these beauts for about a month, I’ve become so taken with the look and the epic performance that I’m sorely tempted to fork out the very reasonable £170 required to keep them – and me offering to open my wallet is high praise indeed, believe me!
Specs
Buy now £169.00, Amazon
