Hercules Muse 5.1 DVD

With my pc good overall (2.1 Ghz, 256 MB RAM, 60 GB, ATI Radeon 9600 Pro) it was frankly impossible to keep the NForce 2 for audio (it does not even line- Stereo correct!) so I went to see if I could find no better and I found a cheap sound card (30 €!), with good technical characteristics (48 kHz/16 bit), a line input, the sound 5.1 (when it is not bad I did not care) and software provided with good. For video games well enough and my minidisc recordings interposed is not bad at all. As I have nothing against minijack (all my devices using this connector cheap), I install it, I plug in my microphone on the minidisc definitely used to everything including the preamp, I connect all this and OOOH miracle j 'I sound exactly like the output of my mindisc (by ear) registered then I say this card, considering its price, for the pro audio is not too great

UTILIZATION

The installation is fairly simple whether in windows 98 or XP. The driver has a friendly interface, easy to use and configure. It does not seem to be any incompatibilities. The manual gives very little information but still finds it through an intuitive interface.

GETTING STARTED

Under Windows XP, for obscure reasons, it happens that after a few redémarragesle driver will not start and the only solution is to reinstall the system (!). The manual gives no information for troubleshooting apart from the technical support phone numbers. This problem seems to have solved all the latest drivers for Hercules ... updates, however, are rare. I use Audacity, audio Krystal Acid XPress engine, or often, and GoldWave and the Windows Sound Recorder. Latency I get is enough to record the stereo 16 bit 48Khz with no slowdowns. As I only records the stereo, very well managed, I do not know if we can do more

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for over a year and, apart from the buggy driver, the sound card is good. I have not tried other models but I judge the quality / price excellent. With experience, I may turn to a sound card a bit more pro anyway because this is a sound card sound card video game ...