One thing I have not yet addressed is sound. So I’ve started doing a bit of research on speakers but I think the more important question is … how important is sound to the MSFS experience? I’ve seen some expensive home cockpit rigs with just about all the bells and whistles but using Logitech Z200 budget range speakers. As I am starting to approach the limits of the budget I don’t want to go overboard by paying for premium speakers that don’t really make much difference in MSFS. Conversely I don’t want to cheap out and then not get the most out of what is otherwise a dream setup.
Would value advice from experienced users on how MSFS handles sound … and what are some optimal options for sound hardware.
My PC is set up with a Logitech S-220 speaker system. It’s nothing special and is small enough for all 3 speakers to sit on my desk. But looks can be deceiving as the subwoofer packs a punch!
Certain aircraft devs have done very well with their product’s sounds—Fenix Sim’s A320 being my favourite.
The low bass rumble when starting up the CFM56s is highly immersive and certainly only possible through a separate sound system with subwoofer, rather than through my gaming monitor’s integrated speakers.
Whether you need a separate sound card for your PC depends on if your gaming includes FPS-style games and if sound is very important to you.
I’m plenty happy on my average Realtek ALC1200 sound chip that sits on my MSI X570 Tomahawk mainboard in combination with my basic, but punchy Logitech speakers.
I’m using a combination of headset and the Logitech Z906, the full 5.1 audio from the Z906 is awesome taking off with a 737.
I’m using the z906 for longer flights since I turn down the sound after take off while sitting at cruise. Can do some reading haha.
For GA flight is use both headset and z906, but more often the headset.
G432.
If you consider a headset I can highly recommend that one, quality you get for that little amount of money is great!
Yep it’s wired but because of that ( I think) it’s not heavy and sits comfortable for hours.
I have the z906 set now for a year and I’m still amazed by the sound, for me it has a big positive impact on the whole experience. Only my girlfriend doesn’t like the sound of a 737 blasting through the whole house.
-bram
Edit: the g432 has a mic great for the vatsim flights.
I just read some reviews that compare them with my secondary speakers Creative Pebble and they say the Pebble is better, if so that’s horrible, the Pebble sounds so bad next to my Creative GigaWorks T40 Series II 2.0 … I also use Creative AE-5+ soundcard, great card.
Interesting, thanks. This is why the question is important - probably talking 8x the cost with the Z906 compared to the basic option, so interested if it really adds to the immersion.
Just for flight sim I would say your fine, but again it’s all personal.
The main difference with the 5.1 you’ll have compared with the 2.1 is when your looking around the effect will change more, I have FS realistic and I think that’s where you gonna notice the biggest difference.
But this is strange, your set is at 299 dollars. Check my local webshop for the z906!!?!
Sound is very important to me for immersion but I also have pretty undiscerning ears. I recently got a set of Logitech Z623 speakers and they’re enough to shake things on my desk and around the room to bring some of that old plane rattle to life. The biggest thing I did was turn on the “spatial sound” option in MSFS settings. Like I said, I have pretty uncultured ears, but it filled up the space a lot better using the same 2.1 set up.
I have a 2.1 sound bar/woofer and it works great with MSFS. I also did not want to spend a lot of money on speakers so I purchased a very inexpensive soundbar on Amazon for ~$50 and it sounds great (see link below). There are many other sound bars that are much less than the PC specific speakers mentioned above that would sound better. I think you will get much more bang for your buck with a sound bar as they are much higher volume items than PC speakers and there is a much wider selection to choose from.
It can make a huge difference, as long as the developer creates the appropriate sounds. For example, for aircraft with radial engines, you really miss out if you listen with an acme-cheapo-stereo-speaker set. F737NG is spot-on with the comment:
You don’t need a spend a fortune, but you absolutely need a subwoofer. I do not find that headsets provide the best sound experience - the ones I have tried do not provide the really low-frequency sounds that I find are essential to “sound-immersion” in flight.
I’ll leave recommendations of specific models to others, as I use a very old, but very good, speaker system that is no longer on the market.
I have the 623s and I like them. I also added a set of usb speakers attached to the back of my chair with the volume set abit lower than the front speakers and it gives me good sound sound experience. The 5.1 speakers are just to expensive for me and I think what I have now is perfect.
Sound is critical to me. After all, all we are doing in the sim is sitting in a chair, watching flashing lights, and listening to engine sounds. And pushing buttons. Don’t forget those.
I fly VR exclusively, and having to jump in and out of the settings menu to adjust the sound volume, or switch between headphone sim and back, is very annoying. Having a way to adjust volume without breaking immersion is important. My 2 cents.
The sound is of utmost importance to me. The Avro Vulcan from Just Flight is absolutely superb and the noise coming from my system is fanastic, really have to applaud JF for this.
I used to build all my own audio equipment so have a few items under the desk and hooked up to the PC. Everything on the rack is home built with the exception of the Topping DAC, some are semi commercial kits (the Nelson Pass amp and the O2 headphone amp), the rest are completely my own. I did have a set of my own home made speakers but they didn’t survive my kids.
I have 3 keys on my Windows keyboard on the top row for mute, lower volume and increase volume. I think about every PC keyboard has these keys - don’t they work while in VR? I use them all the time while in MSFS and any other app I’m running on Windows.
