Yamaha Audio Chipsets/Cards


Single Chip Audio OPL3SA / OPL3 SAC-2 / OPL3SA-3

Yamaha, long noted as "The Standard" for music synthesis in PC applications has developed a series of single-chip audio solutions. These devices combine Yamaha's patented FM Synthesis technologies with Windows Sound System (WSS) and full games compatibility in a single device. Their features include:


Yamaha OPL3SA (YMF701)

The OPL3SA was designed as a Plug-and-Play device for PC95 requirements. It is currently found on motherboard solutions by various manufacturers as well as on add-in cards.

Yamaha OPL3SA2 (YMF711)

The OPL3SA2 was designed as a Plug-and-Play device for PC95a requirements and beyond. In addition to the features of the original OPL3SA, The OPL3SA2 adds address decoding for the full 16-bit address space. Any logical device of this part may be located within the full 64K of I/O address space. More flexible DMA and IRQ capabilities are also built into this device. Nine pins are of flexible use, allowing for both motherboard solutions and add-in cards. It is the first Yamaha single-chip device suitable for PC-97 requirements.

Yamaha OPL3SA3 (YMF715)

The OPL3SA3 is a drop-in replacement for the OPL3SA2, with all of the features of the 'SA2. This device has enhanced power-management capabilities, making it suitable for portable PCs. It also includes Yamaha's exclusive "YMersion" 3D Stereo Enhancement Technology.

Drivers available for OPL3SA / OPL3 SAC-2 / OPL3SA-3

Each of the major x86 Operating Systems requires a different driver. We have developed drivers for each of these Operating Systems. Each driver supports all three devices, so there's no need to keep track of which Yamaha device is installed in a system. Drivers supporting all three Microsoft products, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, and Windows NT, as well as IBM's OS/2 are available. These drivers are made available at no cost, and are available in the download area.

Industry-standard MIDI

As one of the originators of General MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), Yamaha has years of experience. The Yamaha OPL4ML and Software Wave table products all follow General MIDI guidelines in meeting or surpassing all requirements. One hundred twenty-eight instruments, a minimum of 24 voices, and other requirements are all easily met by these products.

Software Wave table Synthesis

The Windows 3.x and Windows 95 drivers can also support MIDI by Software Wave table Synthesis. Wave table Synthesis uses digital samples of actual musical instruments to create the waveforms produced by those instruments. Software Wave table Synthesis uses the power of the CPU to fetch and manipulate this data. While this does require the use of some processing power, it means that no additional hardware is required to obtain higher-quality sound than would normally be expected from a PC.

Hardware Wave table Synthesis

For the highest-quality music generation, Wave table Synthesis is available at a reasonable price. Yamaha's OPL4ML (YMF704) is a hardware Wave table synthesizer that integrates OPL4, General MIDI processor, and Wave table ROM into one device. It complies with General MIDI (GM) system level 1, and has an MPU-401 compatible interface. A 3-wire input interface for OPL3SA-series parts makes a games-compatible Wave table problem a 2-chip solution!

Audio Codec 97: Industry Standard for the future

Yamaha is always working on something new and wonderful. Yamaha, in conjunction with other industry leaders in the field of PC audio, have established a standard for PC audio in the near future. This standard allows for higher-quality audio to be available on the home PC. Stay tuned for beneficiaries of PCI's greater bandwidths and clock speeds, including our AC97 devices.

The AC97 Specifications can be downloaded from the Intel Web page. For more information on other YST products, see Yamaha System Technology's Web page, or contact us directly at (408) 467 2300. For information on other Yamaha technologies, see Yamaha Strategic Business Alliance, or contact Yamaha Corporation of America directly at (714) 522 9011.

 


Download Drivers

Yamaha sells audio integrated circuits to companies that manufacture Personal Computers or PC peripherals. We do not sell these products directly to consumers, and are therefore not staffed to be able to provide support to end users of our customers' products. We therefore urge you to contact the manufacturer of your audio card or computer system to obtain the latest driver version for your current Operating System or to receive appropriate Technical Support.
Note that the drivers below MAY NOT BE APPROVED by the manufacturer of your card, and that they MAY NOT WORK with your specific card or system configuration.

 

Win95/Real Dos ... Win 3.x and DOS 6.0 ... Win 95 ...Win NT ... OS/2

IMPORTANT!!
Due to differences in peripheral circuits, these drivers may not work in all systems. Contact your board supplier if you encounter difficulties.


Copyright (C) 1996 Yamaha Systems Technology, Inc.
*All products mentioned are trademarks of their respective companies. [3/16/97]