Audio quality and why it matters

Sometimes we underestimate or overlook the importance of good quality audio in gaming. If you're playing through a game for a second or third time, chances are you'll stick on a podcast, audiobook or your own choice of music to listen to while you mindlessly plug away at those last few achievements or gather collectables.

On mobile, you might even do this the first time you load the game up for the first time. In many cases, that's understandable, particularly with more casual titles that often play the same chirpy tune on loop while you play. But sometimes, you might be missing out on some excellent audio that further enhances the experience in many ways. Today, we will discuss why audio matters in gaming and why audio quality is equally important.

Single-player

In a single-player game, good audio can immerse you even deeper into the experience than if you played with the sound on mute. Music is capable of stirring our emotions, appropriately setting a melancholy tone for sadder moments or providing an adrenaline-pumping beat when the action intensifies.

Naturally, sound effects also play a vital role in making everything feel more immersive. If the sound of bullets firing from a gun isn't suitably chunky, it takes you out of the moment. But stellar sound effects can make the gameplay more satisfying, whether that's appropriately ethereal sounds for spells or even something as seemingly simple as well-recorded rainfall. Excellent sound effects add layers to games and can make them more enjoyable.

Multiplayer

All of the above is also true for multiplayer gaming. But in some cases, good audio can also give you an edge over an opponent who is either playing the game while listening to music or doesn't own a great pair of headphones to take advantage of directional sound. You see, spatial awareness in some games, predominately FPS', can help you figure out when your enemies are based entirely on the sound of their footsteps.

With a good pair of headphones, you can visualise their location and get the drop on them, allowing for a quick and easy kill at times. But it can be useful in other genres too. For instance, in a racing game, you might be able to tell if the car behind you is getting closer and looking to overtake. Meanwhile, in MOBAs or fighting games, you can pick out audio cues characters make before they unleash specific attacks, which might help you counter them.

Headphones and audio quality

But all of this means very little if you don't have a good quality pair of headphones. If you're playing games through your phone's speaker, some of the magic will be lost since the quality is usually not that impressive. Similarly, poor quality headphones might mean emotional moments miss the mark, or you can't hear your enemy's footsteps approaching.

So it's useful to acquire a good pair, and Razer provides two excellent options with the Razer Hammerhead True Wireless Pro and Opus. Both come with noise-cancelling technology that allows you to immerse yourself in whichever game you're playing. However, you should stay aware of your surroundings, particularly when playing mobile games on the go. So, both sets of cans feature a quick attention mode that you can activate to amplify ambient noise whenever you need to pay more attention to your surroundings. Immersion is important, but so is staying safe when you're out and about.