Stereo vs surround sound: What’s the difference?

Stereo vs surround sound. Generally speaking, these are the two different ‘styles’ of audio available in gaming headset and headphones.

Unfortunately, these days both stereo and surround sound are such common phrases that the actual definitions have been muddied. This means that it’s understandable to have some confusion about them, and even to confuse them with each other.

So, let’s set the record straight, and explain which one does what, and how it relates to the complete range of CORSAIR gaming headsets.

Stereo is a very basic way of reproducing 3-dimensional sound via the use of two speakers. For this example, we’re going to be using pan stereo, which is the version of stereo used in today’s headphones and headsets. Additionally, there will be some considerable simplifications too, as audio science is a super complex field.

How can you replicate 3D audio with just two speakers, though? Well, if each speaker is positioned on either side of you, one being louder than the other will essentially trick your brain into thinking that the source of the sound you are hearing is on that side of you. If they’re both at the same volume, then the source is either directly in front, or behind you. A great example of a headset like this is the HS55 WIRELESS CORE, the ultimate bang-for-buck wireless stereo experience.

Given that human ears point forwards slightly, both speakers being the same volume typically signifies that the source is in front of you. As you can begin to understand, this then means that any combination of volumes can give the user a rough idea of where the source of the sound is.

That word ‘rough’, is the limiting factor of stereo-style audio. Now, if we’re just talking about music, stereo is fine. In fact, if a studio mastered a song in mono and simply split it equally between the left and right channel, most people wouldn’t notice any difference.

However, we’re concerned with gaming here at CORSAIR, and when it comes to gaming, knowing exactly where any given sound is coming from is essential. It provides more immersion in story-driven games, and a significant edge in competitive titles. This means that stereo sound can provide a decent experience, but there is better to be had, which is where surround sound comes in.

Surround sound refers to a style of sound that can make it seem like sound is coming from all around you. This sensation is created either from literally having multiple speakers surrounding the user, or virtually, with audio signal processing.

The first example is what’s used in cinemas and expensive home theatre setups. This is what people mean when they say ‘5.1’ or ‘7.1’. The first number is how many speakers there are, and the 1 after the decimal point denotes the subwoofer which is typically non-positional. These configurations fire sound at you from different angles and are generally agreed upon to provide the best audio experience.

However, cramming multiple speakers into a headset is prohibitively expensive and creates a very heavy set of headphones. This means that most headsets and headphones use virtual surround sound, which utilizes that audio signal processing we mentioned. Our gaming headsets, such as the HS80 MAX and the VIRTUOSO RGB WIRELESS XT, use Dolby Atmos to drive their virtual surround sound, so we’ll explain how that works today.

Dolby Atmos uses a unique closely guarded algorithm to process the sound into a binaural audio effect, which gives the sensation of multiple speakers, despite headsets and headphones only using one driver per earcup.

True binaural audio is created by recording the sound in question using a special microphone setup consisting of two mics spaced apart as if they were ears. These mics are often positioned inside anatomically correct fake ears within a fake human head to recreate the natural audio “shadow” produced by the human skull. This shadow refers to how your head gets in the way of sound waves getting to the left ear if they’re coming from the right, and verse vica.

As these mics are in slightly different locations to each other, they each “hear” the sound slightly differently, replicating the natural discrepancy in real-world sound. This discrepancy is vital for humans, as it allows us to discern where sounds are coming from. This was useful to avoid an incoming sabretooth squirrel a million years ago, but now we use it to get the upper hand in Counter-Strike 2. Ahh, how times change.

Speaking of Counter-Strike 2, or any games, movies or TV shows, really, true binaural recording is very rarely used. It’s just not practical to record audio with one of these heads, realism notwithstanding.

Remember that realism is not always the goal, sometimes you want as much detail as possible, or you need to record multiple audio sources from one location. There are a lot of applications where true binaural audio simply isn’t suitable, but we’re getting off topic.

For the vast majority of applications, you’ll be fine with stereo, to be honest most games are perfect with just a stereo headset, like our budget-conscious HS35. However, if you’re into competitive gaming, there is a genuine advantage to having a proper surround sound gaming headset.

Luckily for you, dear reader, we make a wide variety of gaming headsets, providing for all budgets. Whether you’re looking for the ultimate in auditory experience with the VIRTUOSO RGB WIRELESS XT, or need a solid workhouse without fear of the battery dying with the HS65 SURROUND Wired Gaming Headset, we’ve got your back. Or your ears?

Those of you eager for audio info should take a look at our open-back vs closed back page, too.