As you might already have noticed, one of the most important gameplay mechanics in CS:GO is the sound. The exact knowledge of what is hearable for your enemies and what not, can give you a huge advantage in competitive matches. In this guide we will help you to adjust your sound settings, explain some basic things and give you a handy overview what your enemies can hear ingame.
- My Equalizer Settings For Footsteps Video
- Equalizer Settings To Hear Footsteps
- Best Eq Settings For Footsteps
Ok guys, so I stream Warzone, I was using the astro a40 gen 3 and the footsteps were incredible, I could here people from so far away. I upgraded to the astro a50 gen 4 and I CANNOT find a EQ set up that comes any where close. The result is you'll hear footsteps louder from further away and have more time to respond. That's the biggest tip I can provide, the rest is really up to individual taste. I don't like tinny settings that make my ears bleed just for sound-whoring, so for EQ settings, I keep it simple with 62 @ 1dDB, 125 @ 2dB, 4K @ 2dB, 8K @ 2dB and 16K @ 2dB.
What you see above is the new sound spatialization in CS:GO. The graphic shows you the virtual speaker placement and cross-fading algorithms of the 3 optimized presets for headphones, speakers, and surround-sound setups. From our experience the locational sound algorithms for headphones are pretty good, so we highly recommend you to play with the “headphones” preset (windows_speaker_config “1”).
General advice
You have to understand that there are no “one perfect sound settings for everyone”. Every single headset and every soundchip sounds different, so we can’t give you specific recommendations or exact values to optimize your individual equipment. However, we can explain some basic things and give you more general advices how you could optimize the settings by yourself.
Boost high-fequency sounds (footsteps)
You can use the graphic equalizer of your sound card to boost the volume of footsteps. Please don’t forget to create a custom preset for your tests, so you can delete it anytime if you are unsatisfied with the results. We also highly recommend you to increase the sliders slightly and cautious.
You will find the higher fequencies on the right side of the equalizer (2K, 4K, 8K, 16K etc). The screenshot above shows you completely neutral settings, so don’t take it as a recommendation – we just want to give you an example how the graphic equalizer of your sound card could look like. We also prepared a short video for you, which shows the difference between the default and tweaked settings (+10dB to 2K, 4K, 8K and 16K frequencies):
Use the Audio Test Chamber to test your settings
Recommended Sound Settings
snd_musicvolume '0'
snd_mixahead '0.05'
volume '1'
windows_speaker_config '1'
dsp_enhance_stereo '0'
snd_legacy_surround '0'
snd_mute_losefocus '1'
voice_enable '1'
voice_forcemicrecord '1'
voice_mixer_boost '0'
voice_mixer_mute '0'
voice_mixer_volume '1.0'
voice_modenable '1'
voice_scale '1'
voice_threshold '2000'
snd_ducktovolume '0.55'
Explaination of the config variables
- snd_musicvolume “0”
- snd_mixahead “0.05”
- volume “1”
- windows_speaker_config “1”
- dsp_enhance_stereo “0”
- snd_legacy_surround “0”
- snd_mute_losefocus “1”
- voice_enable “1”
- voice_forcemicrecord “1”
- voice_mixer_boost “0”
- voice_mixer_mute “0”
- voice_mixer_volume “1.0”
- voice_modenable “1”
- voice_scale “1”
- voice_threshold “2000”
- snd_ducktovolume “0.55”
Deactivates the main menu music
Reduces the sound delay to 50ms
General sound volume (adjust it to your personal preference)
Activates the sound preset for headphones
(Default value – No information yet)
(Default value – No information yet)
Mutes ingame sounds while CS:GO is inactive (window mode) or minimized
Activates voice chat
(Default value – No information yet)
Sets your microphone boost to 0%
(Default value – No information yet)
Forces your microphone volume to 100%
Enables voice communication
Controls the volume of incoming voice chat
Sensitivity of your microphone when using voice activation instead of “Push-to-talk”
(Default value – No information yet)
Why you should change snd_mixahead to 0.05
snd_mixahead 0.05 changes the time length of the sound buffer in milliseconds (0.05 is 50 ms and the default value of 0.1 is 100 ms). This means you will reduce the sound delay from 100ms to only 50ms. 0.05 is pretty safe value and shouldn’t cause any crackling noises or sound distortions. Raise it if you experience audio glitches or noticeable sound delays. Generally you can say, the smaller the buffer, the lesser the delay, but also harder for your hardware to not mess up the sound.
There are also a few other config variables, which can change the crossfading values, but you shouldn’t mess with them, if you don’t know what you are doing. snd_debug_panlaw “1” is a interesting cvar, which will give you a visual representation of sound sources on the map along with your speaker placement and your current crossfade algorithm.
My Equalizer Settings For Footsteps Video
What your enemy can hear…
Looking to get the most out of your Arctis headset? Are you trying to hear footsteps a bit better in games like PUBG or Rainbow Six so you can get the drop on someone better? Or what about just wanting a better music listening experience? We asked five of our stream team members what EQ settings they used on their Arctis and why. Check em’ out below:
Punjistick:
I basically use the “Immersion” preset but tweaked slightly to bring out a little more in Rainbow Six: Siege. I also have the compression on low so footsteps are a bit louder and explosions are a bit softer. The settings I’ve screenshotted here have the compression just right for me so it doesn’t come out too muddy.
DJTechLive:
When I first unboxed and set up my SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC I was instantly comparing it to my Arctis 7's in sound quality. I said to myself 'I dont seem to hear a difference', plus the fact that the Arctis 7 were wireless I needed a lot of convincing in the sound department to make me fully switch. Then I found the custom equalizer and my goodness did the sound pour through once I set my custom setting to my liking! I am a fan of good mids, little above average bass boosting and solid mids. When gaming with games such as Fortnite, MMO's, and single player games that have sound play an important role, I wanted to make sure I customized my settings so I can hear the slightest movement in game. Loving this headset and the control base that comes with it is amazing providing sound above my expectations!
ToastmanGames:
Equalizer Settings To Hear Footsteps
I have set the preset to 'Music' as this gives me a good punchy bass and immersion feel at the FPS games I play. By tweaking the EQ manually, I notice that the sounds are a bit more crisp and warm. A low Dynamic Range Compression allows me to filter out those 'peaks' in volume which gives me a nice and even sound in my ears throughout my streaming sessions.
GubbaTV:
When I play Fortnite, the DAC makes it a completely different experience--sounds are individualized for me when I use the 'Smiley' preset. From footsteps to gunshots, sounds are more clear and precise, allowing me to pinpoint exactly where someone is engaging from. I can hear the subtle details in the background, from the nearby water to the birds chirping.
JoshOG:
I use the default EQ settings because they're simply perfect out of the box! In a game like PUBG, I can hear every footstep, gunshot, or blade of grass blowing in the wind!
Tweak your Arctis EQ settings using SteelSeries Engine to find what exactly sounds best for you!
Best Eq Settings For Footsteps
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