Tom's Hardware > All Reviews > Special > Miscellaneous > Entry-level Multi-channel Sound Card: Hercules Gamesurround Muse 5.1 DVD

Entry-level Multi-channel Sound Card: Hercules Gamesurround Muse 5.1 DVD

07:00 - Monday 29 July 2002 by Philippe Ramelet

The Gamesurround Muse 5.1 DVD is built upon the same chip as the Muse XL, which is used to process the six-channel LX. This means that its gaming and music capabilities are the same as for the previous versions of Muse. The CMI8738-6ch component incorporates 5.1 sound for decoding output from DVD videos. Sound decompression is not handled by the card itself, however, but rather, by the central processor. On the other hand, the card contains all the components and outputs needed to distribute sound correctly over the six channels. We discovered that the Muse 5.1 DVD only decodes Dolby Digital tracks, but not DTS. It is interesting to note that the CMI8738-6Ch chip is used as the only sound chipset in this motherboard and many others, for instance, in the Asus A7V333.

Hercules Gamesurround Muse 5.1 DVD
Manufacturer	Hercules
Interface	PCI
DSP/Chip	C-Media CMI8738-6ch-LX
Sound quality	16-bit - 48 KHz
Inputs/Outputs
Card inputs	Line In, Mic In
Internal inputs	Aux In, CD In 2X
Card outputs	Minijack Front, Back, LFE + Central, Joystick
3D Features
Standards supported	DS3D, A3D 1.x, EAX 1.0/2.0
3D sound management	2.1, 4.1 and 5.1
Number of hard-wired/software voices	16/16
Music Features
Midi characteristics	FM synthesis
Capacity	NA
Hard-wired voices Software voices	064
AD signal/noise ratio	n.c dB
DA signal/noise ratio	n.c dB
Price	$29.99