1. Introduction

Similar to graphics, sound has become a factor of major importance in the PC world. PC users who are avid gamers, collect MP3s or watch DVDs need a good sound card and an equally good sound system. The arrival of Klipsch and Videologic on the high power and sound quality scene has opened a significant breach that other more well-known manufacturers have rushed into without looking back. Let's not forget the undeniable contribution of Creative Labs and Altec Lansing who imposed the 4.2 and 5.1 sound standards for games. And it is indeed undeniable that PC sound has made enormous progress. Nowadays, we would never consider doing without all the latest developments that immerse us into the gaming world as never before.

Selection Criteria

No benchmark could ever provide a definitive evaluation system for surround sound. So in the end it is up to your ears to be the final judge. The trouble is that the perception of sound and its quality is far too subjective to allow someone else to decide in your stead. Still, there are one or two important, standard factors that help you ascertain whether a system sounds good or not.

The quality of high, medium and low frequencies: The high frequencies must be crystal clear and, above all, not saturated, even at the highest volume. Medium frequencies must be quite discernible, not muffled, and the low ones deep and percussive. So you should avoid any subwoofers that are so muted the sound comes out as a mush, devoid of any acoustic detail. Then there's the balance. The high frequencies shouldn't crowd out the low ones and vice versa. To improve this, you can always use the settings provided, that is, if they are actually provided. And be careful of the power ratio between the subwoofer and the speakers, which should not be to too high or too low. A good range is from one/two to one/four.

Separation: Instruments should be well separated for music listening. You should be able to distinguish all the sounds clearly and tell the difference immediately between, say, a double bass and a viola. This is where crossover comes into its own - it is the meeting point of frequencies from the subwoofer and the speakers. If it is too low, a bass sound is likely to come out of the subwoofer and the speakers at the same time, or out of the speakers alone, which is not good for quality sound reproduction.

Power: A flood of watts is not necessarily what music lovers need most. So don't be overwhelmed by the figures the manufacturers announce. Power should be given in RMS watts (Root Mean Square) and you have to take account of the ratio between diaphragm size and the number of watts. Generally speaking, at least for multimedia systems, the bigger the speaker, the more power it needs. This is not necessarily true for hi-fi, which sometimes uses very big, powerful drivers (at the back of the speaker), powering less than ten watts.

Connections: As with sound cards, the quality and format of a system's inputs are decisive factors for its use and performance. A 2 or 3.1 system can be quite happy with a single mini-jack stereo input and a headphone output, whereas a 4.1 system, and even more so a 5.1, should have a range of several analog and digital connections. An AC-3 decoder for instance, must have an S/PDIF input in RCA or Toslink format. Users will obviously be very happy if there are both. Other major points are the controls, which should be as numerous and accurate as possible, element shields, overall size and ergonomics of the system and, of course, the design.