How important is a good sound system to you?

[noiseredux]

I have surround sound, and I actually sort of hate it. I find it distracting a lot of times. I end up shutting it off.

If I play console games, then the tv speakers are fine.

If I play handheld games, then the volume's off because I'm probably watching (er, listening) to the TV or something else.

[Metalcrack]

Gaming...not so much. I usually use my Grados at nighttime, and when my munchkin is running around, the sound is usually turned way down.

In a car....that's totally another story

[d123456]

Very important. always through a good stereo amp and dedicated speakers.
For older consoles (even with emulation) try to feed the audio through an effects processor and put a little reverb on the sound; AWESOME results.
Good luck!
Surprise your friends. They'll be like, wtf how come it sounds so awesome here?....

[fast]

I love quality Surround Sound, but dont mind most standard speakers. Even tinny ones are ok in certain situations.

[DuManchu]

A 5.1 setup with a nice sub makes Half Life 2 (and tons of other games, even retro stuff) infinitely more enjoyable. Smoking the Combine with a shotgun is a very satisfying experience when you feel the shot in your chest.

[Jrecee]

It's a must for movies. I can do with or without it for games. Stuff like Gears of War is cool with a big tv and a movie like setting. I tried it with my snes, I was playing turtles in time. The bass when you smack soldiers was awesome, it gave it an arcade like feel, It made me think about buying a subwoofer or a cheap system for my old tv that I play older games on most of the time.

I don't really care on my computer since I don't really play games on it, other than ones I make, I have some decent speakers on my mac since I mess around with garageband and stuff.

I use it sometimes when I watch certain tv shows, it's definitely not necessary for wheel of fortune unless you want to be deafened by clapping.

But no I'm not one of those people who spends hours analyzing sound levels or measuring how many millimeters my speakers are from the center of the room, if it's loud and it's in front and behind me it's good enough.

And I hate loud soundsystems on cars. I've sat in cars with subwoofers and even when you turn the bass down into the negatives as low as it goes it's still too loud.

[Niode]

I'm a sound engineer so yes, sound plays a very important role for me. I game on my old £300 (each) Mackie studio monitors. I don't need a sub with these speakers. 16hz-21khz frequency range.

I have four other speakers set up for surround but I don't tend to use them that often because I don't have anywhere to permanently mount them.

[Droid party]

I don't need a sub with these speakers. 16hz-21khz frequency range.

Nice range. I think they may just go lower than my sub itself.

[Niode]

Yeah they go lower than normal hearing range. It makes you feel ill if you put a low frequency sine wave through them. It feels like being on a boat but you aren't moving. Very strange sensation. 17hz just feels like being punched repeatedly when played at high sound pressure levels.