The Verdict.
Auzentch continues to prove they are a considerable force in the PC gaming audio market and PC audio market as a whole. Their latest offering the X-fi Forte 7.1 quickly reminded us why Auzentech rocketed to PC audio fame so quickly. The X-fi Forte 7.1 is not meant as the next flagship product from Auzentech. This card is aimed at a different market, targeting users who require the feature set the Forte 7.1 provides such as small form factor, PCI-E, digital surround output or any of the other features this card has.
The driver installation for the Forte 7.1 quick and easy and the installed driver panel feel light and responsive when loading up for configuration of the review unit. We noted no driver anomalies during testing and the driver set was quite simply rock solid during our testing regimen. The Forte 7.1 offered exceptional audio reproduction across all of our tests. The forte Produces a balanced frequency response, tight articulate bass, warm mid range and extensive high range.
This new offering hold true to it's heritage offering the tried and true opamp socket for the front left and right channel which offers some great upgrade possibilities for the Forte 7.1. Users can easily install a higher quality opamp to improve the sonic signature or insert a favorite opamp unit, modifying the cards output to provide a more personal sonic response.
We tested out some Auzentech units for those that are not tech savvy offering users some insight into the upgrade units easily available from Auzentech for use on Forte 7.1.
The Gaming audio, the Forte's strong suit provided spectacular immersive audio in both EAX/OpenAL effect game and games with internal effect engines.
The CMSS-3D headphone routine offered spot on surround sound virtualization for those who prefer to game with headphones or love gaming late at night. The Forte offered exceptionaly accurate directional cues and impressive immersion that had this reviewer instinctively turning his head a few times to see what that sound was behind me.
We at the Guru3D Audio Lab highly recommend this card for those looking for a new hardware gaming card or just a new sound card as the Forte offers impressive audio no matter what audio task your doing, no matter if your gaming, rocking out to music or enjoying some movies the Forte 7.1 has you covered.
After enjoying the Forte 7.1 during our review, we are excited to see or rather hear what Auzentech has in store for the audio community next. Until next time audio fans, this is Robscix coming to you from the Guru3D audio lab. Over and out...
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