Hercules did a bit of false advertising here....
Written: Aug 11 '02 (Updated Aug 22 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Decent four speaker sound. SPDIF ports for connecting to the latest amplifiers
Cons: Digital sound not available for all output, only power DVD DTS stereo for movies
The Bottom Line: Hercules misleads you about the 5.1 support, analog mode is 4.1 only. Digital outputs currently function for DVD movie DTS stereo only and not for any other output.
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| suemccartin's Full Review: Guillemot Hercules Gamesurround Fortissimo II Soun... |
I was looking for a 6 channel sound card for my backup system. I have a early version of the Hercules Muse which is a decent card but doesn't have all the bells and whistles that some sound cards have. This card uses the Cirrus Logic Sound Fusion CS4624 chip. It should be noted that there is no native support for this card in windows xp you must use the drivers off the site or the driver disk.
Installation:
This is a pci card. As with most cards the installation is fairly straightforward. Turn off the system, crack the case, find a open pci slot (other than the one right next to the video card for resource reasons), install the card, hook up your cd/dvd/cdr drive audio output cable(s), screw it down to the slot, close the case, boot the os and load the drivers....easy right???? Of course at some point you should be sure that you have completely uninstalled your old soundcard drivers so that they don't cause any issues with the new card.
The reality......
The box does a good job of misleading you into believe that this is a 5.1 standard sound card??? Maybe I'm wrong but I was under the impression that 5.1 was six channel not four---4 channel is 4.1 specification and in analog mode (what your computer uses)that is all you get; four channel output. Fortunately my expensive 5.1 speakers can be switched from 6 channel mode to 4 channel speaker mode so that one didn't cause too much annoyance. These days the color coding for speaker leads (at least on four speaker/subwoofer equipped system)seems to have been standardized, green for front speakers and black for rear, simply connect your speaker leads to the correct colored jack from the custom connector hanging out of the back of the card.
Digital output....yeah right.....
SPDIF connectors. Of course it says nowhere on the box that the digital outputs on this card function in only one instance, when using power dvd (provided with the card) to output DTS stereo from a DVD movie to your home amplifier.
There are a lot of complaints on the Hercules forum about this issue, whether or not it's something that could be cured in a future driver update is unknown. As I don't have an amplifier equipped with SPDIF digital ports, I can't speak on how well those work. Those on the forums who do have that type of equipment seem to think it functions just fine but they are annoyed that other types of output besides dvd movies can't be put out over those jacks and I tend to agree that this would seem to be a major flaw in the card.
In addition to the speaker jacks there is a headphone jack and a microphone jack (that attach via a special mini-din cable that plugs into the back of the card). The card also has a mini-stereo plug for auxilliary input from a device such as a tv card or usb tv tuner.
What's it sound like......
The box professes to support many of the common sound standards that pc games use these days. EAX is a common one and most games output sound in this mode at the very least. I think this card sounds very nice although I did find it necessary to turn up the volume on my speakers because I found the sound a bit soft when compared to my old card and the settings I used for it. It does a excellent job of reproducing correctly positioned audio and the lack of the center channel that my speakers support really isn't even noticeable.
Software.....
They provide you several useful utilities on the driver disk, as I already have the programs I prefer on my system I really haven't investigated them very much. The driver contains a control panel that allows you to adjust the analog sound output to your computer speakers to your taste. The Equalizer function works very well and does a good job of allowing you to customize the card output. The utility also allows you to test your speakers and even allows you to individually adjust the volume of each of the four speakers. It also includes the controls for the microphone if one is attached. Very simple and clean utility for controlling the card.
Overall.....
Overall I think that the fifty bucks I paid for this was probably not wasted....I only wish that Hercules hadn't been so dishonest about this card on the outside of the box. They advertise 5.1 all over the box and then don't even bother to admit "well only for DVD movie output...you get 4.1 for everything else." It sounds ok but I now kind of wish I'd grabbed the Muse that was half the price of this or the Maddog Multimedia soundcard that says "6 channel output" on the outside of the box. It may end up going back to the store, haven't decided yet.
update 8-18-02: After playing with my games a bit more I noticed an unacceptable amount of echoes in many games, this card has zero echo cancelation in the software apparently. Took it back, spent another thirty bucks and got the well regarded turtle beach Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz also does not include the dolby decoder that is necessary to a true 5.1 soundcard but it does a fair job of emulating it with 4 speakers and a subwoofer connection (which they openly admit on the outside of the box). You really have to read up on the card you have chosen before you get to the store, most of the boxes are extremely misleading, caveat emptor with sound cards.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 50.00
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suemccartin
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Location: Florida, USA
Reviews written: 289
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About Me:
Been building computers for 10+ years. I work to support my computer habit.
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