THX Spatial Audio is an audio solution that aims to deliver a more immersive, 360-degree audio experiences to your games, movies and music.
THX launched it in 2018, with a focus on gaming audio - and while it has expanded to other areas, gaming is still arguably its main focus. For most people it can be experienced in one of two ways - by being built into devices likeheadphonesorgaming headsets, laptops or soundbars, or through the THX Spatial Audio app, which we’ll talk about here.
The THX Spatial Audio app, much likeDolby Atmos for gaming, is an additional purchase that can be installed on Windows 10 only. Instead of THX Spatial Audio being built into your headphones, it adds software-level tweaks to your audio to add “a realistic and immersive 360-degree audio-scape” to any headphones or headset you already own.
In games, this means you get a more accurate and rich sound that allows you to hear the footsteps of enemies, position of your teammates or just lose yourself in the gaming world around you.
How does the THX Spatial Audio app work?
TheTHX Spatial Audio Appis designed to deliver advanced 7.1 surround sound to your ears to give you “pinpoint positional accuracy” while you play.
The promise here is greater immersion and superior audio accuracy to hear approaching enemy footsteps and notice nearby threats before they become a problem. Perfect for anyone who needs the edge in a first-person shooter orbattle royale game.
How does this work? Well, you need to download theTHX Spatial Audio Appand use it with yourfavourite gaming headsetor headphones.
As you might expect, the app works best with Razer headsets (THX is owned by Razer), and there are specific app profiles designed to work with popular Razer headsets including the Razer BlackShark V2, Razer Kraken Tournament Edition, Razer Kraken Ultimate, Razer Nari Essential, Razer Nari and Razer Nari Ultimate. But it will also work with non-Razer gear too -
THX Spatial Audio works with 3.5mm headphones, Bluetooth and USB headsets.
Like Dolby Atmos, THX Spatial Audio can transform any content into a wider, more 360-degree experience, but it sounds best when game developers integrate the compatibility into games. When certified by the game developers, THX Spatial Audio claims to allow gamers to “enjoy their games the way they were truly meant to sound”.
Types of THX audio profiles
There are two main profiles for THX Spatial Audio in games. This includes:
Which games support THX Spatial Audio?
Though THX Spatial Audio will technically work with all games, and offers THX tuned sound and 7.1 audio to even stereo headsets, you’ll get the best experience by playing certified games.
Thelist of THX Spatial Audio certified gamescurrently includes:
How to use the THX Spatial Audio app
The first step to tryTHX Spatial Audio is to download it. You can download the app and install it on your Windows 10 PC to try it out for 15 days or purchase for $19.99/£19.99.
Once downloaded you’ll go through the installation process and login to the app using yourRazer ID.
The app then tells you then in order to use THX Spatial Audio you’ll need to set it as your default audio playback device from Windows sound settings.
Within the app, you simply then select the output device as the headset or headphones you’re using. You can then choose between various spatilisation and EQ modes as well as adjusting bass boost, sound normalisation and voice clarity - and you set this for different types of content too. The THX Spatial Audio also allows you to tweak the calibration to adjust the spatial audio if you feel it’s off slightly.
Once that’s done, boot up your favourite game and enjoy!
