Per-game output channels
and how they were measured
Find out how many channels your game outputs.
This collects values measured on real speakers alongside official manufacturer sources. Output channels differ from game to game, and even within a series a sequel has changed them.
The how-to lives in the main guide. This document covers the evidence and the exceptions.
Many games already
output 7.1 channels.
First, find out which side your game falls on.
The table below lists cases verified on real speakers. Even if your game isn't listed, you can check it the same way.
| Game | Output | What to do | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | God of War | 7.1 | Turn on 7.1 |
| Measured | Overwatch | 7.0 | Turn on 7.1 |
| Measured | Apex Legends | 7.1 | Turn on 7.1 |
| Measured | DOOM | 7.1 | Turn on 7.1 |
| Manufacturer | Forza Horizon 5 | Multichannel | Turn on 7.1 · official manufacturer source |
| Manufacturer | Delta Force | Multichannel | Turn on 7.1 · official manufacturer source |
| Measured | Battlefield V | 5.1 | Turn on 5.1 · does not pass through Windows spatial audio |
| Measured | CS2 | 2.0 stereo | EX-STEREO or FPS mode · handles its own 3D Audio (Stereo by HRTF) in a closed way |
| Measured | CS:GO | 7.0 | EX-STEREO or FPS mode · handles its own HRTF in a closed way |
| Check yourself | Valorant | Check settings | Set the speaker setting to Auto-Detect · does not work on the default |
| Check yourself | Call of Duty · PUBG | Check settings | Check the game settings for a 5.1 · 7.1 option |
How to read the tablethe output labels, and Measured vs. Manufacturer vs. Check-yourself
Output — the channel layout the game actually sends. 7.1 is three front, two side, two rear, and one low-frequency subwoofer. 2.0 is two channels, left and right — that is, stereo.
Measured — verified on real speakers, checking which channel each sound came from. Measured with a graphics card's HDMI into an AV receiver on a 7.1.4 speaker layout, with the receiver's virtual surround turned off. Source: PC Gaming Surround Sound Round-up, as of May 2026.
Manufacturer — games the maker's official materials state support multichannel output.
Check yourself — games not yet in the measured data. If the game's audio settings include Home Theater / Surround / 5.1 / 7.1, the game can output multichannel.
More detailhow a game handles sound
A game treats sound like an object
A game engine assigns coordinates to characters and terrain. Sound is no different: footsteps sit where the foot lands, and a car's sound sits where the car is.
It is an object placed in 3D space — you just can't see it. So when a character moves, the sound moves with it, and behind a wall it is muffled.
In other words, the direction is already calculated inside the game. All that is left is how many channels it goes out on.
What 7.1 channels are
A way of sending sound across eight channels: three up front — left · center · right — two at the sides, two at the rear, and one subwoofer for the lows.
Cinemas use this layout. Because a sound from behind really does come from the rear speakers, your body reacts before you even think about direction. That speaker layout is what creates immersion.
Look at the output channels,
not the genre.
For a stereo game, 7.1 does not help.
Games that output stereo → turn 7.1 off and use FPS mode only.
More detailhow to tell the three apart
The fastest way to check
Open the game's audio settings and check for a Home Theater / Surround / 5.1 / 7.1 option. If it is there, the game can output multichannel.
No such option doesn't necessarily mean stereo. To be sure, check the table in section 01.
There are two kinds of stereo game
They look the same on the surface, but they aren't.
One is the case with no directional information to begin with. Only left and right. Applying 7.1 to it creates no information that was not there.
The other is the case where the game has already done its headphone processing. There are two channels, but front-back information is inside the sound. Applying 7.1 here damages the existing direction. Games like CS:GO · CS2 that handle their own 3D Audio (Stereo by HRTF) in a closed way fall here.
In that case, turn 7.1 off and use EX-STEREO or FPS mode only. It lifts the sound out of your head without touching direction.
How to check for double processing
It lays out the settings in all three places — game, Windows, and device — at once.
More detailwhat to turn on and off · stereo-game settings
Why people say it sounds muffled
People often say that once they turned spatial audio on, the sound smeared or moved away. This is what happens when the same processing is applied twice.
Spatial-audio features live in three places: in the game, in Windows, and in the device. Turn all three on and you run the same calculation three times.
The effects don't add up. They interfere with one another and only degrade the sound.
What to turn on and off
Turn on only the 7.1 spatial audio on your NeiSa device, and turn everything else off. A dedicated processing chip handles it, so latency stays low with plenty of headroom.
| Location | Setting | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| NeiSa device | On | Turn on the device's 7.1 spatial audio. This is where the processing happens. |
| Windows spatial audio | Off | Set Sound settings → Spatial audio to Off. This applies to both Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos for Headphones. |
| In-game spatial audio | Off | Turn off anything labeled 3D Audio, Binaural, or HRTF. |
| Sound effects · audio presets | Off | Turn off the game's sound-effect presets and Windows audio enhancements. They pre-alter the signal and throw off the position calculation. |
For stereo sources, turn on FPS mode
Games that output only stereo carry no directional information. In that case, instead of 7.1 spatial audio, turn on the device's FPS mode.
It lifts the sound out of your head without forcing directions that aren't there. Because it invents no new direction, it is safe to enable in any game. Depending on the device, it may be labeled “stereo expansion.”
What to look for in game settings
Menu names differ from game to game. If you see any of the labels below, that's the setting.
| What to check | Example labels | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Game audio output | Audio Output / Speaker Setup / Audio Mix | Home theater · 5.1 · 7.1 not “Headphones” |
| In-game spatial audio | 3D Audio / Spatial Audio / HRTF / Binaural | Off |
| Sound effects | Sound Effect / Audio Preset / Dynamic Range | Off · default |
“Home theater” is not a device choice. It is an instruction: don't merge — send it through as-is.
Games where the direction of footsteps decides the match are a different case. If you mostly play single-player or racing, you can stop here.
Competitive FPS is
a different case.
The setting depends on how the game handles HRTF.
More detailValorant settings · how long adaptation takes
Valorant changed its terms in 2024
The developer added external spatial-audio support in patch 8.0. But it does not work out of the box.
On the default Stereo, it does not apply. You have to change the speaker setting to Auto-Detect for external surround spatial-audio processing to activate.
If the game processes it itself, turn external processing off. If the game passes the signal through, use external processing.
As of July 2026; subject to change with game updates.
Right after switching, judging direction actually gets harder
If you have played competitive FPS for a long time, a sense of direction based on stereo is already locked in — the result of thousands of hours of practice.
Change that reference and you wobble at first, because it takes time to get used to the new one.
It is well established that people re-adapt when the sound reaching their ears changes. In an experiment that reshaped adults' outer ears, direction judgment collapsed at first but recovered to its original level within a few weeks. And after the ears were restored, the earlier sense was still intact.
Try this
- Use it continuously. Toggling it on and off keeps adaptation from starting.
- Use it on the same game and the same map. That pins the comparison to a single condition.
- Early on, don't judge by wins and losses.
- The metric is how often you swing your view to confirm a direction. When that count drops, adaptation is underway.
Even after you adapt, your earlier stereo sense stays intact. But a temporary dip in performance during that window really does happen. If you are climbing rank, it is better to make the switch between seasons.
Glossarychannel · stereo · downmix · FPS mode · HRTF · binaural
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Channel | How many parts the sound is split into. 7.1 is 8, 5.1 is 6, and 2.0 is 2. |
| Multichannel | Output in more than two channels. 5.1 and 7.1 qualify. |
| Stereo | Two channels, left and right. The default format for headphones and earphones. |
| Subwoofer | The channel that carries only low frequencies. It is the “.1” in 7.1. |
| Downmix | Merging many channels into fewer. It happens when 7.1 is reduced to stereo. |
| Spatial audio | Processing that recreates front-back and up-down direction from a headphone's two channels alone. It exists separately in Windows, in a dedicated device, and in the game. |
| 3D Audio | Spatial-audio processing the game performs on its own. It sits inside the game's audio settings. |
| FPS mode | A setting that lifts sound that used to form inside your head out into the open. It invents no new direction, so it suits stereo games. Depending on the device it may be labeled “externalization” or “stereo expansion.” |
| HRTF | Data measured for how sound changes as it passes the head and outer ear. |
| Binaural | A 2-channel signal made exactly as it would arrive at the ears. Directional information is already in it. |
| Auto-Detect | Valorant's speaker-setting option. Leave it on this value so the signal is handed off to external spatial-audio processing. |
2026-07 · Specs may change with game updates.