Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-17, 13:39
retro games 100 wrote: Thanks! 😀 Just be patient as him doesn't seem to reply too fast.
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-17, 15:48
FM vs MIDI: The only reason FM is arguably inferior to MIDI in most DOS games is because most game developers composed DOS game soundtracks for MIDI synthesizers (MT-32 or GM/SC-55 usually) and then wrote OPL/Adlib/SoundBlaster drivers to play those MIDI tracks via FM, thereby limiting the FM synths …
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-17, 17:37
Bah! Where is my USB OPL2/3? :D I somehow doubt Yamaha even produces them anymore. [Edit] Hmm... I've been thinking about this for a while, what about writing a driver either for Windows or a kernel module on linux for direct access to the OPL hardware? Then, applications such as Dosbox could be …
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-18, 21:43
There are many larger soundfonts. Once you get to a Live! you can load huge soundfonts that are hundreds of MB. Say, is there a driver for the SoundBlaster Live!(model CT4780) that allows you to load SF2 soundfonts and also has the SoundBlaster 16 emulation driver? I found two different sets of …
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-18, 22:23
The only way to use soundfonts with DOS games with a Live! or Audigy is by using DOSBox or VDMSound to remap the MIDI to the Windows MIDI interface. The SBLive! DOS emulation uses the AudioPCI driver and the ecw wavesets. This is the same in both pure DOS and Windows DOS box.
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-18, 22:55
Lame! Looks like it's time to hunt down a SoundBlaster AWE32 or build an adapter to use SIMMs on the AWE64(or directly solder a SIMM to the AWE64). Question: does the AWE32 daughterboard have hanging notes when used in conjunction with a SoundBlaster 16? Or is that problem just limited to MIDI …
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-18, 23:16
AWE32 daughterboard?
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-18, 23:21
I found several AWE32 boards that are meant to work alongside a SoundBlaster 16(they will not work by themselves). Here's an eBay listing for one such AWE32 daughter card(it's actually a daughter card): http://cgi.ebay.ca/Vintage-Creative-CT1920-AWE32-16-Bit-ISA-Daughter-Card-/310216994792?pt=LH_ …
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-18, 23:33
Interesting. It's a CT1920 "Goldfinch" card - never heard of those before.
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-19, 00:24
Would the notes hang on this card if used with a SoundBlaster 16 containing a buggy DSP?
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-19, 03:21
From my experience, I would avoid the SB16 and even the entire Sound Blaster line all together.** You cannot unhear the stuck notes and that shiny new daughterboard will be useless until you find another card. ** Cookie to anyone who is thinking what I'm thinking
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-19, 10:50
Would the notes hang on this card if used with a SoundBlaster 16 containing a buggy DSP? No, the hanging notes issue does not occur with the EMU8000 AWE synth on either the full AWE cards or the CT1920 AWE upgrade, it goes only for the MPU-401 either on the WB header or the Gameport. Gameport midi …
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-19, 10:55
Agreed, and SB16 is not even SBPro Compatible too. But AFAIK this only affects Stereo digital sound effects. And when I asked this question here and on queststudio there seem no games that have Stereo digital sound effects but don't support the SB 16 anyway... I see this argument brought up all the …
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-19, 14:12
Considering that, one should also ask oneself, is there a dos game with actual 16-Bits digitized sounds? (thus 16 bit WAV files instead of 8 bit).
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-19, 14:52
That seems to be another one of these "Retro myths" that people use to justify one card over the other 🤣 and when you look closer you actually don't find any games supporting this feature... AFAIK most DOS games use rather low quality recording. Definitely not CD quality at all...
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-19, 16:04
Well I have a SoundBlaster Pro 2.0 and many other SoundBlaster Pro clones, so I'm covered on that end. If you take the best out of all these many creative cards, you just end up a little short from what you could do with a good SB clone card Agreed. I noticed inferior sound quality from my …
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-19, 16:27
I have a few ESS AudioDrive cards. They have a wavetableheader, I found compatibility excellent (every game I tried worked) and although the are PnP, they "just work" even without any drivers or initialization. The on board amp is also very very loud I noticed. This might be of interest if you are …
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-19, 16:40
I'm curious, what sound card would you guys choose to directly replace a SB Pro 2? When I say "directly", I mean a replacement card doesn't have to have anything more than what is already on the SB Pro 2 card. So, no wavetable header, 16-bits, PCI, etc. Just a "like for like" replacement, that has …
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-19, 16:44
IMO one of the better cards regarding SNR is the AWE64 Gold. Has nice RCA outputs and even SPDIF if you like but it's not a direct replacement as per your definition... There are plenty of SB Pro clones I believe, but no idea which one has a better SNR. The ESS AudioDrives I have are excellent SB …
Re: Christmas closing in, wich parts should I get?
Posted on 2010-11-19, 19:18
OK, thanks a lot. I have an AWE64, and I like its clean sounding output. Actually, I think I could have worded my question better. Rather than saying "no" to things like wavetable header, 16 bits etc, I should have said "I don't mind if the replacement card has this or does not have this". So, that …
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