Comparison of Game Consoles by Sound Capabilities

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The purpose of this article is to categorize video game consoles according to their supported audio formats, and to consolidate advice on optimizing sound reproduction for each of those consoles.

Exclamation-triangle-fill.svgDRAFT (WORK IN PROGRESS ARTICLE - PLEASE DO NOT RELY ON THE INFORMATION BELOW UNTIL MARKED AS COMPLETED)


[1][2][3][4][5][6][7].

Explanation of Terms

If you’re getting started with optimizing a console setup for audio, there are some numbers that you’ll notice like 2.1, 5.1, 7.2.2 and so on. These numbers represent speaker channels, and they follow a specific format. The first number defines how many main speakers there are in the setup, at ear level. The second number stands for the number of subwoofer speakers in the setup, which are dedicated to low-frequency bass sounds. The subwoofers are commonly placed at floor level. In more modern home theatre setups (e.g., 7.2.2) there is a third number, which defines how many “Dolby Atmos” in-ceiling speakers there are to provide overhead sound.

Sound System Year Introduced to Home Market Explanation Use in Retro-Gaming context
Mono 1899 Mono signals are recorded and played back using a single audio channel, while stereo sounds are recorded and played back using two audio channels. As a listener, the most noticeable difference is that stereo sounds are capable of producing the perception of width, whereas mono sounds are not. Prior to the Turbo-Grafx16, all home video game consoles (citation) either sent a mono audio signal to the television, or (in the 1st gen) utilised beepers and built-in speakers to produce simple action sounds. In some instances, stereo mods are available. (e.g. Atari 2600) citation needed.
Stereo 1958
Dolby Surround 1982 Dolby Surround was the first multi-channel surround-sound decoding technology to be widely available for use with analogue movie formats and to a lesser extent, home video game consoles. By the early 1980s, home users were able to make use of “matrixed surround”. This means that your source could send four audio channels across the existing two stereo (red and white) RCA cables that were already in use with a lot of consumer audio equipment – although it wouldn’t be until the late 80s/early 90s until most fourth-gen gaming consoles came with these cables as standard. To access 4.0 surround (i.e., four channels), the user would need an AV amplifier capable of decoding and separating the regular stereo outputs to produce a pseudo-surround sound effect. The Left and Right front channels behave normally, but one of them is now used to carry a rear channel on its inverted phase, and the other is used to carry a centre channel. If the user’s amplifier could send audio signals below a certain frequency to a subwoofer, the user also could access 4.1 surround. A setup like this would also be backwards-compatible with older formats – if the user had a regular 2.0 stereo setup, the Left and Right signals would play as normal, and if the console was plugged into an older CRT with a mono speaker, all the audio would be routed into that single channel.
Dolby Pro Logic 1987
QSound 1991 According to Andrew Elmore (medium.com), QSound is utilised on several Playstation games and is the only 3D audio option employed on the Sega Mega CD, Saturn, and Dreamcast. No official multi-channel surround sound options available on Sega platforms, with the exception of the NHL 2K games on Dreamcast. (citation needed).
Roland Surround Space 1991 A 3D "sound space" technology created by Roland Corporation, which attempts to create a "3D sound" using regular stereo speakers. It does not use speakers which "surround" the user, but attempts to direct sound around the room to give the illusion of depth. RSS was used in some video games of the early 1990s, but failed to match the support of QSound or Dolby Surround (which in turn were only supported by a small fraction of the market). From a Sega perspective, it was mainly seen in Mega LD games. (citation needed)
DTS 1993
Dolby Pro Logic 2 2000
DTS:HD 2006 -
Dolby Atmos 2012 -
Dolby TrueHD 2012 -
DTS:X 2016 - -
Polarity
Connector - -
External Brick - -
Internal Power Supply - -
World Plug Types - -
Power Strip - -
Power Distribution Unit - -
Step-Down Transformer - -

First generation of consoles

Console Pictures Year of Release TBC TBC TBC TBC Supported Audio Formats Supported Speaker Layouts Notes
Magnavox Odyssey Magnavox Odyssey.png 1972 ? ? ? ? N/A N/A The console cannot generate audio.
Magnavox Odyssey 100 S-l1600.jpg 1975 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 The console didn't send audio to the tv, instead using an internal piezzo beeper which emitted primitive action sounds through a built-in speaker - for example, a "blip" when the tennis ball is hit by a player's paddle, or when the hockey puck hits the borders of the playing area.
Magnavox Odyssey 200 S-l1600 (1).jpg 1975 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 The console's piezzo beeper operated in the same manner as the Odyssey 100. The Odyssey 200 added an extra game called SMASH (i.e. squash); the buzzer would bleep whenever the ball hit the front "wall".
Magnavox Odyssey 300 Odyssey-300.jpg 1976 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 As before, the game audio (little more than a few bleeps and bloops) emanates from a speaker in the Odyssey itself, rendering it uncapturable via conventional means.
Magnavox Odyssey 400 S-l1600 (2).jpg 1976 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 Console is powered by either six "C" batteries or a 9 volt AC adapter.
Magnavox Odyssey 500 Odyssey500.jpg 1976 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 Console is powered by either six "C" batteries or a 9 volt AC adapter.
Magnavox Odyssey 4305 Odyssey 4305 (1 of 8).JPG 1976/1977 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 The Odyssey 4305 is a 19” television (based on the chassis of the Magnavox T991 television) but with a built-in Odyssey. As with most CRTs of this era, the sound was an analog signal produced from small speakers installed inside the chassis. It produced sound in mono and action sounds were similar to other Odyssey series consoles.
Magnavox Odyssey 2000 Magnavox-Odyssey-2000-FL.jpg 1977 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 Console is powered by either six "C" batteries or a 9 volt AC adapter.
Magnavox Odyssey 3000 Magnavox Odyssey 3000.jpg 1977 78mA ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Magnavox Odyssey 4000 Magnavox Odyssey 4000.jpg 1977 100 mA ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Philips Odyssey 200 Philips ODYSSEY200 Konsole.jpg 1976 (released concurrently with U.S. Odyssey 200) ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Philips Odyssey 2001 Philips Odyssey 2001.png 1977 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Philips Odyssey 2100 Philips Odyssey 2100.jpg 1978 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
TV Tennis Electrotennis (Epoch) TV Tennis Electrotennis.jpg 1975 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Atari Home Pong (Model C-100) S-l1600 (3).jpg 1976 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Atari Super Pong (Model C-140) S-l1600 (4).jpg 1976 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 The console had a speaker built into the main unit, that could output a simple "bloop" noise every time the ball was hit.
Coleco Telstar ColecoTelstar.jpg 1976 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Coleco Telstar Classic Coleco Telstar Classic (1976) 2.jpg 1976 ? ? ? ? Mono. 1.0 ?
Coleco Telstar Deluxe (AKA World of Sports) Coleco Telstar Deluxe.jpg 1977 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Coleco Telstar Ranger S-l1600 (5).jpg 1977 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Coleco Telstar Alpha Coleco Telstar Alpha.jpg 1977 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Coleco Telstar Colormatic Coleco Telstar Colormatic.jpg 1977 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Coleco Telstar Regent Coleco Telstar Regent.jpg 1977 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Coleco Telstar Sportsman TBC 1978 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Coleco Telstar Combat! Telstar Combat.jpg 1977 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Coleco Telstar Colortron Coleco-Telstar-Colortron.jpg 1978 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Coleco Telstar Marksman Coleco Telstar Marksman Tietokonemuseo.jpg 1978 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Coleco Telstar Galaxy Coleco-Telstar-Gemini-power.jpeg 1977 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Coleco Telstar Gemini Coleco-Telstar-Gemini-power.jpeg 1977 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Coleco Telstar Arcade Coleco-Telstar-Arcade-Pongside-L.jpg 1977 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Nintendo Color TV - Game 6 Nintendo-Color-TV-Game-Blockbreaker-FL.jpg 1977 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?

Second generation of consoles

Console Pictures Year of Release TBC TBC TBC TBC Supported Audio Formats Supported Speaker Layouts Notes
Atari 2600 Atari-2600.png 1977 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 "Stereo" mods exist which split the TIA's two audio channels into left and right audio
Magnavox Odyssey 2 Magnavox-Odyssey-2-Console-Set.jpg 1978 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Philips Videopac G7000 (European release of Odyssey 2) Videopac-pete-screen-800px.jpg 1978 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Mattel Intellivision File:Intellivision-Console-Set.jpg 1979 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Mattel Intellivision II File:Intellivision-II-Console-Set.jpg 1983 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Coleco ColecoVision ColecoVision-wController-L.jpg 1982 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Atari 5200 (Four controller port model) * Atari-5200.png 1982 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Atari 5200 (Two controller port model) * Atari-5200.png 1983 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
GCE/MB Vectrex Vectrex-Console-Set.jpg 1982 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?


Third generation of consoles

Console Pictures Year of Release TBC TBC TBC TBC Supported Audio Formats Supported Speaker Layouts Notes
Nintendo Entertainment System (US) * NES.png 1985 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 "Stereo" mods exist, but these simply divide some of the 2A03's audio channels between left and right.
Nintendo Entertainment System (PAL) * Neseuropean version.jpg 1986 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 "Stereo" mods exist, but these simply divide some of the 2A03's audio channels between left and right.
Famicom * Famicom.png 1983 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 "Stereo" mods exist, but these simply divide some of the 2A03's audio channels between left and right.
Famicom Disk System * DiskSystem.png 1986 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 The Famicom Disk System generates an extra wavetable audio channel which is mixed in with the Famicom's internal audio
Twin Famicom * TurboTwinFamicom.png 1986 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Sega SG-1000 * SG-1000.png 1983 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Sega Mark III * MarkIII.png 1985 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Sega Master System * SMS.png 1986 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Atari 7800 Atari-7800.png 1986 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 "Stereo" mods exist which split the TIA's two audio channels between left and right audio
Casio PV-1000 * Casio-PV1000-Console-Set.jpg 1983 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Epoch Super Cassette Vision * File:Super-Cassette-Vision-Console-L.jpg 1984 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?
Amstrad GX4000 * Amstrad-GX4000-Console-Set.jpg 1990 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 ?

Fourth generation of consoles

Console Pictures Year of Release TBC TBC TBC TBC Supported Audio Formats Supported Speaker Layouts Notes
NEC TurboGrafx 16 * TurboGrafx16.png 1989 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 Stereo audio is available from the expansion port but it must be amplified
PC Engine * PC-Engine.png 1987 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 Stereo audio is available from the expansion port but it must be amplified
NEC PC Engine CD * PCEngineCDROM.jpg 1988 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 ?
NEC TurboGrafx-CD * TurboGrafxCD.png 1989 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 ?
NEC SuperGrafx SuperGrafx.png 1989 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 ?
NEC TurboExpress/PC Engine GT TurboExpress.png 1990 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 The system only has a single speaker but stereo out is available from the headphone jack
NEC TurboDuo/PC Engine Duo TurboDuo.png 1991 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 ?
NEC Super CD-ROM2 SuperCDROM2.jpg 1991 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 ?
NEC PC Engine LT PC Engine LT.jpg 1991 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 The system only has a single speaker but stereo out is available from the headphone jack
NEC PC Engine Duo-R/Duo-RX DuoR.png 1993 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 ?
Sega Genesis (model 1) * Genesismodel1.jpg 1989 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 The AV connector only has mono out but stereo out is available from the headphone jack
Sega Mega Drive (model 1) * Genesis Model 1.png 1988 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 The AV connector only has mono out but stereo out is available from the headphone jack
Sega Genesis (model 2) Genesis Model 2.png 1994 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 ?
Sega Genesis 3 Genesis Model 3.png 1998 ? ? ? ? Mono 1.0 Can be modified for stereo sound
Sega Mega Jet Sega mega jet.jpg 1994 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 ?
Sega Genesis Nomad Sega Nomad.png 1995 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 The system only has a single speaker but stereo out is available from the headphone jack and AV out
Sega 32X Sega 32X.png 1994 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 ?
Sega/Victor Wondermega RG-M1 Wondermega.jpg 1992 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 ?
Sega CDX Sega CDX.png 1994 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 ?
JVC X'Eye/Victor Wondermega RG-M2 Wondermega rG-M2.jpg 1993 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 ?
Sega Game Gear * Game Gear.png 1990 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 The system only has a single speaker but stereo out is available from the headphone jack
Nintendo Game Boy Game Boy.png 1989 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 The system only has a single speaker but stereo out is available from the headphone jack
Nintendo Game Boy Pocket Game Boy Pocket.png 1996 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 The system only has a single speaker but stereo out is available from the headphone jack
Super Nintendo (US) SNES.png 1991 ? ? ? ? Dolby Surround

1.0

2.0

4.0

Super Famicom * Super Famicom.png 1990 ? ? ? ? Dolby Surround

1.0

2.0

4.0

?
Super Nintendo (PAL) * File:SNES Pal region.jpg 1992 ? ? ? ? Dolby Surround

1.0

2.0

4.0

?
SNK Neo Geo AES * Neo-Geo-AES-Console-Set.png 1990 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 The AV connector only has mono out but stereo out is available from the headphone jack
SNK Neo Geo CD Neo-Geo-CD-TopLoader-wController-FL.png 1994 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 ?
Pioneer LaserActive LaserActive.png 1993 ? ? ? ? Stereo 2.0 ?

Fifth generation of consoles

Console Pictures Year of Release TBC TBC TBC TBC Supported Audio Formats Supported Speaker Layouts Notes
Commodore Amiga CD32 Amiga-CD32-wController-L.jpg 1993 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Panasonic 3DO Panasonic 3DO FZ-1.png 1993 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Atari Jaguar * Atari-Jaguar.png 1993 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Atari Jaguar CD * Atari-Jaguar-CD-wPro-Controller.jpg 1995 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Bandai Playdia * Bandai-Playdia-Set-R.jpg 1994 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Sega Saturn Saturn Model 1.png 1994 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Sony PlayStation PS1.png 1994 ? ? ? ? Dolby Surround ? ?
Sony PSone PSOne.png 2000 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
NEC PC-FX PC-FX-Console-Set.jpg 1994 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Casio Loopy Casio-Loopy-Console-Set.jpg 1995 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Apple Pippin Bandai-Apple-Pippin-Console-FL.jpg 1996 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Nintendo 64 N64.png 1996 ? ? ? ? Dolby Surround ? TBC - Dolby surround confirmed with Ocarina of Time and unreleased Dinosaur Planet http://archive.thegia.com/n64/dino/dino.html

Sixth generation of consoles

Console Pictures Year of Release TBC TBC TBC TBC Supported Audio Formats Supported Speaker Layouts Notes
Game Boy Advance Game Boy Advance.png 2001 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Game Boy Advance SP Game Boy Advance SP.png 2003 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Game Boy Micro Game Boy Micro.png 2005 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Sega Dreamcast Dreamcast.png 1998 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Sony PlayStation 2 (original) PS2.png 2000 ? ? ? ? Dolby Pro Logic 2 ? ?
Sony PlayStation 2 (slim, SCPH-7xxxx) PS2 Slim.png 2004 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Sony PlayStation 2 (slim, SCPH-9000x) PS2 Slim 2.png 2007 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
VM Labs Nuon File:Nuon-N2000-wController-L.jpg 2000 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Microsoft Xbox Xbox.png 2001 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Nintendo GameCube GameCube.png File:Panasonic-Q-Console-Set.jpg 2001 ? ? ? ? Dolby Pro Logic 2 ? Panasonic Q version of the Gamecube may have been the first console in history to support the native use of subwoofers, mainly for DVD playback as opposed to in-game use.

Seventh generation of consoles

Console Pictures Year of Release TBC TBC TBC TBC Supported Audio Formats Supported Speaker Layouts Notes
Nintendo DS DS.png 2004 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Nintendo DS Lite DS-Lite.png 2006 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Nintendo DSi series DSi XL.png 2008 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Sony PSP (except N1000/Go) PSP.png 2004 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Sony PSP-N1000 series (Go) File:PSP Go (N1000).jpg 2009 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Nintendo Wii Wii.png 2006 ? ? ? ? Dolby Pro Logic 2 ? ?
Microsoft Xbox 360 (Xenon/Zephyr) Xbox 360.png 2005 ? ? ? ?
  • Analog stereo
  • Stereo LPCM (TOSLINK and HDMI)
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 (TOSLINK and HDMI)
  • Dolby Digital with WMA pro (TOSLINK and HDMI)

5.1

?
Microsoft Xbox 360 (Falcon/Opus) TBC ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Microsoft Xbox 360 (Jasper/Kronos) TBC ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Microsoft Xbox 360 S Xbox 360 S.png 2010 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Microsoft Xbox 360 E Xbox 360 E.png 2013 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Sony PlayStation 3 PS3-Fat.png 2006 ? ? ? ? ? ? Audio output formats

A/V-Multi Analog stereo TOSLINK LPCM 2ch 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88 kHz, 176.4 kHz Dolby Digital 5.1 DTS 5.1 AAC HDMI LPCM 2ch, 5.1ch, 7.1ch 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 192 kHz DTS-HD Master Audio Bitstream (slim models only)* Dolby TrueHD Bitstream (slim models only)* Dolby Digital 5.1 DTS 5.1 AAC

  • All models can decode Dolby TrueHD and as of firmware 2.30 DTS-HD Master Audio, to be output as LPCM. Output of the raw undecoded stream is limited to slim models.[6]

Eighth generation of consoles

Console Pictures Year of Release TBC TBC TBC TBC Supported Audio Formats Supported Speaker Layouts Notes
Nintendo 3DS/2DS Series incl. New TBC 2013 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Sony PS Vita Vita.png 2011 ? ? ? ?
  • Stereo speakers
  • Microphone
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack,
  • Bluetooth
? ?
Sony PS Vita TV PSTV.png 2013 ? ? ? ? 2 channel LPCM ? ?
Nintendo Wii U Wii U.png 2012 ? ? ? ?
  • 5.1 linear PCM
  • Analog stereo
? ?
Sony PlayStation 4 (original) PS4.png 2013 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Sony PlayStation 4 (slim) PS4 Slim.png 2016 ? ? ? ? ? ? The optical audio port was removed on the PS4 slim models.
Sony PlayStation 4 Pro PS4 Pro.png 2016 ? ? ? ?
  • Dolby Digital
  • DTS

5.1

7.1

When setting your console up, as you’ll need to change it to set your sound from the standard PCM to bitstreaming Dolby Digital or DTS. The PS4 Pro also only supports Dolby Atmos for compatible Blu-ray movies, it does not support Atmos for games.
Microsoft Xbox One Xbox One.png 2013 ? ? ? ?
  • 7.1 surround sound
  • Dolby Atmos
  • DTS:X
7.1
Microsoft Xbox One S Xbox One S.png 2016 ? ? ? ?
  • 7.1 surround sound
  • Dolby Atmos
  • DTS:X
?
Microsoft Xbox One X Xbox One X.png 2017 ? ? ? ?
  • 7.1 surround sound
  • Dolby Atmos
  • DTS:X
?
Nintendo Switch File:Nintendo-Switch-Console-Docked-wJoyConRB.jpg 2017 ? ? ? ?
  • Undocked: Linear PCM 2.0 ch stereo speakers (with pseudo-surround)
  • Docked: Linear PCM 5.1 ch

1.0

2.0

2.1

5.1

?

Ninth generation of consoles

Console Pictures Year of Release TBC TBC TBC TBC Supported Audio Formats Supported Speaker Layouts Notes
Sony PlayStation 5 File:Immagine Playstation 5.jpg 2020 ? ? ? ?
  • Custom Tempest Engine 3D Audio
  • Dolby Atmos & DTS:X (Blu-ray video & UHD Blu-ray video)
  • 7.1 surround sound

5.1

7.1

The PS5 does not support Dolby Atmos, instead using Sony's tempest engine, which does not support high channel speakers.
Microsoft Xbox Series S File:Xbox Series S with controller.jpg 2020 ? ? ? ?
  • Custom Project Acoustics 3D Audio
  • Dolby Atmos
  • DTS:X
  • 7.1 surround sound

5.1

7.1

7.1.2

The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the first consoles ever to enable gaming in both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.
Microsoft Xbox Series X File:Xbox series X (50648118708).jpg 2020 ? ? ? ?
  • Custom Project Acoustics 3D Audio
  • Dolby Atmos
  • DTS:X
  • 7.1 surround sound

5.1

7.1

7.1.2

The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the first consoles ever to enable gaming in both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

References