Ace wrote:There is really no one true "best" sound card for DOS, but I would honestly have the following in a DOS PC: […]
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There is really no one true "best" sound card for DOS, but I would honestly have the following in a DOS PC:
-SoundBlaster Pro 2.0 CT1600 or AWE32 CT3900 (someone tell me if the AWE32 CT3900 has as much low-pass filtering in the OPL3 output as the SoundBlaster Pro 2.0 CT1600?)
-Roland MPU-401
That's it. I don't like the Gravis Ultrasound, so I won't even consider it.
For me it will all come down to how nice and pleasant the FM output of the CT1600 is.
I very recently acquired a CT1600 😁
Did not have a chance to try it yet but im looking forward to it. It may change my views but from what i tried so far here's what i would consider.
For the older Dos machine (286 to slow 486) I consider the following
-Mpu-401 interface with intelligent mode.
-OPL2 compatible sound card with CMS support ( Likely that badass and stellar sounding ATI stereo F/X, first generation sound blasters would be also considered as they offer better compatibility than the Stereo FX but the Stereo FX ( when it works) sounds better than any SB thank you.)
For the Later dos machine ( fast 486 to P2)
-A good OPL3 based card with bug free MPU-401 support. ( Ymf719 ? )
- Possibly a second Wavetable based card.
Now for a possible alternative to the Ymf719,
I have a card named "rock16" , has a genuine OPL3 and looks like its Media chip based. Its my favorite sounding opl3 sound card so far. Its warm, crisp and clean, and the compatibility is pretty good, its the closest thing i have so far to being nearly as good sounding as the stereo F/X FM sound wise. Problem is that it does not have MPU-401 support.
I have spotted some similar cards that are potentially more advanced and offer midi compatibility, will be featured eventually on the Grand OPL3 comparison run, stay tuned 😁
FM sound card comparison on a Grand Scale!!
The Grand OPL3 Comparison Run.