Gamers like myself love to obsess over graphics settings, HDR, and frame rates to get the best picture possible. But sound quality is arguably just as important, whether you're looking to be immersed in a cinematic single-player game or gain the upper hand in a competitive esports match. The subtle sound of footsteps can warn you of an enemy homing in on your position, and even the specific sound a gun makes can affect your kill ratio.

Hardware manufacturers know this, which is why they've locked on to "virtual surround sound" headsets, claiming that their solution provides a more immersive experience (à la surround sound in a home theater). But despite marketing terms like "7.1 surround," most of them aren't really providing 7.1 sound at all—after all, headphones only have two drivers. (The rather absurd Razer Tiamat is an exception, with five separate drivers in each earcup.) Instead, most gaming headsets use software processing to try and mimic the more spacious feeling of surround sound. But after years of reviewing audio gear and virtual surround features, I—and many of my peers—have found they fall short of their claims. But if you're intrigued by the potential, I've learned some tips that can help you find the right solution.

First, let's talk about how gaming headsets create this virtual effect. Ideally, the manufacturer is taking the audio from a game and running it through a head-related transfer function (HRTF) algorithm to make different audio cues sound like they're coming from a certain point in space. This is rather challenging, especially since everyone's heads and ears are different—so an HRTF algorithm built for one person may not work well for another. Sony's lead system architect for the PS5, Mark Cerny, explained this well in his Road to PS5 announcement if you're curious to learn more.

Furthermore, different headsets may receive audio from the game in different ways. Take HyperX's lineup, for example—they're widely regarded as some of the best on the market, and they informed me over email that not all of their headsets work the same. Their wired Cloud II, for example, merely takes two-channel stereo output and passes the content through an HRTF algorithm to produce a surround-like effect. The Cloud II Wireless, however, can accept 7.1 signals on a PC—provided you configure it as such in Windows' sound settings. Since many games support 7.1 surround, that multichannel signal has more information about where those sounds are supposed to come from than a stereo signal. As a result, it's more likely to produce a convincing result when run through the HRTF algorithm. And then you have HyperX's top-end Cloud Orbit headsets, which not only use the full 7.1 audio to create the surround effect but also allow you to fine-tune certain parameters like head size to try to improve the accuracy.

Other companies may split up their product line a little differently. The Cooler Master MH751, for example, is a stereo headset, while the more expensive MH752 is identical except for the included USB surround dongle, allowing you to choose whether that feature is worth an extra $20 to you. You can see how there are a lot of variables at play, and your experience can vary depending on how well a headset implements virtual surround, and how close your ear is to their HRTF tuning.

Some headsets are certainly better than others. But far too many fail to deliver on their virtual surround promises. Instead of improving the positional accuracy, many just sound like they've added a pronounced echo or reverb effect, making sound effects muddier than in the standard mix. Some algorithms even make certain sounds (like background music, ambient noises, or your character's footsteps) louder than they should be. When that happens, it's actually harder to hear your enemies sneaking up behind you. The folks at Linus Tech Tips tested this with a few of their staff members, and they found that while virtual surround did have the potential to improve positional accuracy for certain users, it was more often a downgrade from the regular stereo mix.