Big sound for $50
Written: Oct 14 '02 (Updated Oct 14 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Low price, great sound quality, excellent control panel software, PowerDVD included.
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: I'm amazed that a fully featured card like the Fortissimo II can be had for $60. This is a hard deal to beat.
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| like_gear's Full Review: Guillemot Hercules Gamesurround Fortissimo II Soun... |
While sulking around Tokyo after finding that the one store that sells English software didn't have PowerDVD, the logo caught my eye; it was a badge on the Hercules Gamesurround Fortissimo II sound card box. I had been thinking about buying a new sound card anyway, and this one offered 5.1 sound, support for all the major audio processing technologies, and had PowerDVD included - all for ¥5,700 (~US$50). I hadn't heard of the sound card, but figuring that a retail copy of PowerDVD would cost this much, I decided it was too good of a deal to pass up.
Installation didn't deviate from the norm, with the minor exception of connecting the "dongle." The dongle is basically several cables about 4 inches long that merge into one, with the merged point plugged into the soundcard's backplate. The speakers, headphone, and mic are plugged into the labeled extensions of the dongle, thus allowing for greater flexibility in working with cables. I often use headphones with my computer and appreciate being able to access the connection via a dongle cable that sits on the side of my computer case, rather than having to feel around the back of my case for the connection.
Setting up the Fortissimo II's drivers is easy. After running the setup program, you'll find the Fortissimo II's icon in your system tray. Clicking on this icon brings up a very user-friendly control panel that allows you to configure the sound card in many different ways. You can remove the icon from the system tray if you don't need to regularly adjust your settings, but I leave the icon there so I can easily switch between speaker and headphone output (once again, this is a great sound card for headphone users).
As I said before, PowerDVD is bundled with the card. PowerDVD gives me better playback than I've had with any other software player. As I said above, PowerDVD by itself is worth the price of the card.
I was quite happy with the Philips Rhythmic Edge (PSC702) I had in my system before getting the Fortissimo II. In fact, I was so much a Philips Edge fan that I was at first disappointed when the Fortissimo II blew away my Rhythmic Edge from the first note. Mp3 files and CD's sounded fuller and more dynamic, DVD's sound effects were more convincing, and in games I heard effects that I'd entirely missed with my Rhythmic Edge. In all respects, the Fortissimo II is a winner. I'm planning to build a new PC soon, and the Fortissimo II and hard disk are the only components that won't be upgraded.
In retrospect, I guess we could say that I got my DVD playback software with an excellent sound card bundled. I wish all my purchased turned out this good.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 50
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Epinions.com ID:
like_gear
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Location: Pennsylvania
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 0 members
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