Does Hercules’ Fortissimo 4 Deliver at 24 Bits?

OK, yes the Fortissimo 4 is a really nice sound card. You will not get any arguments there. But one has to wonder what real advantages the Fortissimo 4 offers that previous versions did not. The answer to this will actually surprise you. I know I was sort of taken back a bit.

The Fortissimo 4 represents Hercules’ latest attempt to deliver a mid-tier sound card for less than $100 for gamers and those that want great sound to go with their multimedia apps.

Like the earlier Fortissimo versions, it’s a PCI-format card. Compared to the Fortissimo 3, it offers 7.1 sound and looks a lot like its predecessor. However, the Fortissimo 4 is a 24 bit card, which means we should be able expect significantly better performance and new capabilities.

Needless to say, applications that make use of 24 bit sound and 96 or 192 kHz sampling frequencies will require at lot of muscle from your computer and an up-to-date operating system. However, one of the upsides of the Fortissimo 4 is its ability to deliver on not-so-powerful PCs that also don’t have the most recent Windows versions and updates. This capability should interest sound enthusiasts who want to improve the audio capabilities of their not-so-cutting-edge PCs.