Last Updated on
No matter what games you play, sound plays a huge part in both immersion and competitive advantage. Surround sound can make the difference between being clueless and afraid when under fire versus knowing with pinpoint accuracy where your opponent is. When it comes to RPGs, the right speakers can draw out the beauty of a game’s soundtrack and the ambient soundscapes of the game. After all, Surround Sound is good for way more than just getting a drop on foes.
If you’re ready to reap the benefits of purpose-built gaming products, then stick around to see our top ten picks for the best gaming speakers of 2019. We’ve also included a short guide on what to look for when getting ready to spend your hard earned money.
How to Pick the Best Gaming Speakers For Your Needs
Whether you’re planning to spend hundreds of dollars or just a few bucks, it’s always best to make an informed decision before checking out. In order to arm you with the knowledge you need to make the best purchase possible, we’re going to look at a handful of key terms and then choose some of the best of the best from a few categories.
Key Terms
- Frequency Response: Frequency response is the range of frequencies that a given set of speakers can reach. Typically, the average range of human hearing ranges from 20Hz to 20,000Hz. This means that if a speaker has a narrower range than this some of either the higher or lower spectrum of hearing may be left out. Speakers that go wider than this range use the excess as a kind of “operating overhead” which allows them to produce the sounds within the range of human hearing with greater accuracy and less distortion. That being said, many of the best speakers don’t have this “overhead”, so it’s not required.
- Watts: Watts is a measurement of electrical power draw, and in the context of speakers gives a good indicator of how loud and powerful a set of speakers will be. While 12 watt speakers can easily fill a small room or even 1 bedroom apartment they will be far from impressive, while speakers with 80+ watts will be loud enough to startle people if you start playing something abruptly at high volume.
- 3.5mm jack: While there are more connectors for audio equipment than we can get into here, the one most people will be familiar with (even if the technical name for it isn’t familiar) is the 3.5mm jack. This is more commonly referred to as an “aux cable” connector and is what is found on most phones– or at least used to… I’m looking at you, Apple– and computers.
Top Picks
- Sound Quality: Of course, when shopping for speakers the first question on most people’s mind is “how does it sound?” When it comes to pure audio quality the Razer Nommo Pro comes out on top. Its subwoofer offers exceptional bass while the dual driver satellites bring crisp highs and round the sound out with excellent and clear mids. These speakers are fantastic for gaming and just as good for movies or music.
- Surround Sound: This category ended up being a bit of a toss-up, so we have narrowed it down to two options. For those who want the luxury and competitive advantage of surround sound without the messy setup that requires running tons of cables around the room, the Razer Leviathan is a great choice. On the other hand, if you’re ready to embrace the full power of 5.1 surround sound and have no qualms with setting up speakers in every corner of your gamer cave, then the Genius GX-Gaming offers 5 satellite speakers and a subwoofer for true 5.1.
- Loudness: This one was no contest, the Logitech G560s are by far the loudest speakers on our list. They consume a whopping 240 watts of power to push out a wall of sound that measures in at 97 decibels.