A question on gaming and sound.

[Jihadjoe]

Hey there folks. Just a simple question for you folks...

How much do you use directional sound to help you when playing FPS games? How helpful do you find it in terms of improving your awareness?

The reason I ask, is that due to being deaf in one ear (nerve damage), I find it difficult to determine sound direction.

There is a method I could use, which involves running the 7.1 surround output from a game, through a few different FX units to give each channel a distinctive tone, then mix it all down into mono and fire it at my own face... I can then learn the way things in the 3d environment sound when they are behind, infront, left right, etc, according to their differing sound qualities... But this is a pretty massive time investment for each game I play, and a lot of effort to set up.

I'm not looking for people to give possible solutions - I already have one of those, and the knowhow to implement it... What I want to know is how useful you find 3d sound when playing games - first person shooters in particular. This will help me determine whether or not its actually worth investing the time in setting this up and then re-learning how it works for each game

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