A New Immersive Gaming Speaker Set-Up: OXS's Thunder Pro Max System

Speakers have gone through multiple form factors and arrangements in the past hundred years. In the 1920s, we had radio cabinets with a single speaker.

In the 1950s, Hi-Fi cabinets, with left and right speakers.

In the 1980s Dolby Surround Sound became a thing, requiring four speakers—two in front, two behind—and a separate subwoofer.

By the 2000s, things began to shrink. Flatscreen TVs became ubiquitous, leading to the soundbar.

In the 2010s, as we all had smartphones loaded up with music, portable Bluetooth speakers became a thing.

Here in the 2020s, computer gaming is now wildly popular. This, too, has brought about an evolution in speaker arrangements. Gaming audio company OXS has rolled out this Thunder Pro Max system, and at first glance it might not be clear what all of the components are.

The low, flat thing is the soundbar. It's got drivers that fire forward, to the sides and upward, to bounce sound off of the ceiling.

The cylindrical thing is the 80W subwoofer, which goes on the floor.

Then we get to this bean-shaped thing, which is upholstered and cushioned. It's the "Satellite Neck Speaker," which is meant to be strapped to a gaming chair's headrest. It's got drivers that fire left and right, behind your head.

The arrangement produces Dolby Atmos audio, which can position individual sounds in three dimensional space. This is highly desirable to gamers seeking full immersion; with Dolby Atmos they can hear a racecar coming up behind them on their right, a helicopter passing above them, distant gunfire coming from the left, etc.

And of course, you could just use it to watch movies.

Setting up the Thunder Pro system is easier than placing speakers in the room behind you, as the Satellite Neck Speaker operates wirelessly (you have to periodically charge it through USB-C). OXS says the neck speaker is the first of its kind to be integrated into a gaming set-up.

The entire system runs $750, and is still relatively new; I'd wait for enough positive reviews to pop up before ponying up.