Comment 39 for bug 344588

(In reply to comment #36)
>
> -older games that rely much on multichannel to inform the player of the
> position of things all around like: Counter Strike, Star Trek Armada II,
> Homeworld 1 2, Giants - Citizen Kabuto, Command and Conquer 1 2 3

Those 3D game work best work with headphone when your sound card support Head Related Transfer Function , Interaural time-delay and interaural level difference

The sound signal arrive at slightly different time/level at your left and right ear when your are wearing a headphone since your left and right ears can determine the location of the sound source from the delay and level difference

if your are using 4 speakers , it will depend on whether the speakers are placed at the desired position (same distance ) and angle ( cross-talk between the speakers ) for your ear to get the same delay/level as same as in the game environment ,

Those 3D game usually use surround40 instead of surround51 unless your sound card (e.g. SB Live! emu10k1) has a treble/base control to boost the bass and specical control reverb , echo using FX chip