Sound markers

CS2 · Visuals. Sound ESP: when an enemy makes a sound (footsteps, a shot, a reload, etc.), a colored ring spreads out on the ground where they are. You can also briefly highlight the model of the player you heard.

Also searched as: sound esp, sound wh, footstep esp, footstep markers, enemy footsteps, sound rings, hear through walls, sound markers, step esp

Where to find it in the menu

Visuals  →  Sound markers

The page has a Model highlight card — highlighting of the player you heard.

How to enable

1. Menu (Insert) → Visuals → Sound markers.
2. The feature is on by default. It is turned on and off with the header toggle of the page.
3. Highlighting of heard players is turned on separately — in the header of the Model highlight card (off by default).

What it does

• When a living enemy (and an ally, if "Teammates" is on) within "Distance" makes a sound, a ring appears on the ground where they are standing. The ring spreads out from the point and fades over "Show time".
• One sound produces up to 3 waves ("Waves"), each slightly later and paler than the previous one.
• A single shot or hit produces several sounds at once — "Combine sounds within" merges one player's sounds within this time into a single marker.
• By default, damage sounds (hits, burning, pain) are not marked — molotov fire can create a huge number of markers. "Damage sounds" turns them on.
• "Hide visible" removes markers for players you can already see. With "Check smoke", a player behind smoke is treated as not visible.
• No more than 12 markers are on screen at the same time: when a new one appears, the oldest is removed.
• Model highlight: for "Flash time" after a sound, the heard enemy's model is colored in the chosen style — even behind a wall. Useful if "Behind walls" highlight is off in Players: then only the players you heard are visible through walls.

Settings

General

Setting	Type	Default	Range / options	What it does
State	Header toggle of the page	On	—	Turns sound markers on
Teammates	Toggle	Off	—	Also mark allies' sounds
Hide visible	Toggle	Off	—	Don't mark players you already see
Check smoke	Toggle	On	—	A player behind smoke is treated as not visible
Damage sounds	Toggle	Off	—	Also mark the sounds of hits, burning and pain
Distance	Slider, m	30	10–500	Mark sounds no farther than this distance
Show time	Slider, s	1.25	0.3–2	How long the ring stays on screen
Combine sounds within	Slider, s	0.15	0–0.5	One player's sounds within this time become one marker
Color	Color	Red	—	Ring color

Sound ring — settings button

Setting	Type	Default	Range / options	What it does
Grow animation	Toggle	On	—	The ring spreads out from the point to full size. Off — full size right away, but it still fades
Waves	Slider	3	1–3	How many waves one sound has. Requires the grow animation; with "Keep previous" always one
Keep previous	Toggle	Off	—	Each ring keeps its color and size until the end of the show time — the player's whole trail is visible
Size	Slider	120	20–400	Maximum ring size
Thickness	Slider	1	1–3	Ring line thickness
Glow	Slider, %	0	0–100	Ring glow brightness

Model highlight — card

Setting	Type	Default	Range / options	What it does
State	Header toggle of the card	Off	—	Highlight an enemy you can hear
Highlight style + Color	Dropdown + color	Rim glow, orange-yellow	Off, Flat, Illumination, Rim glow, Hologram, Latex, Crystal, Metallic	How the highlight looks. Style parameters are the same as in Players
Flash time	Slider, s	1.5	0.3–5	How long a player stays highlighted after a sound
Fade out	Toggle	On	—	The highlight fades smoothly toward the end of the time. Off — it stays at full strength and disappears instantly

FAQ

Too many markers when a molotov is burning. Turn off "Damage sounds" (off by default) or increase "Combine sounds within".

I don't see markers for distant footsteps. By default "Distance" is 30 m. Increase it.

I want to see the player's trail, not just the last ring. Turn on "Keep previous" in the sound ring settings.