You chose Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro 2.0 (new), 8 voices, Stereo, 22khz?

edit: btw, that arrived fast! that's great 😀

Here is my OPL3SA.INI for reference (it's in the C:\AUDICIAN directory). Note the Bass, Treble and Ymersion values and adjust according to your preferences.

1AutoConfig=OFF
2DetectionMode=AUTO
3AutoPowerSave=OFF
4PowerDown=OFF
5WSSEN=ON
6WSSBase=530
7WSSDMA=DUAL
8WSSPDrq=0
9WSSCDrq=1
10WSSIrq=5
11SBEN=ON
12SBBase=220
13SBIrq=5
14SBDrq=1
15MPU401=ON
16MPUBase=330
17MPUIrq=5
18OPL3=ON
19JoyStick=201
20Adlib=388
21Ctrl=370
22MODEM=0
23ModemIRQ=OFF
24IDE1=0
25IDE2=0
26IDEIRQ=OFF
27SBMixFML=7
28SBMixFMR=7
29SBMixVoiceL=7
30SBMixVoiceR=7
31SBMixCDL=7
32SBMixCDR=7
33SBMixLineL=7
34SBMixLineR=7
35SBMixMainL=7
36SBMixMainR=7
37WSSMixLineL=16
38WSSMixLineR=16
39WSSMixAUX1L=16
40WSSMixAUX1R=16
41WSSMixAUX2L=16
42WSSMixAUX2R=16
43WSSMixVoiceL=16
44WSSMixVoiceR=16
45WSSMixMicL=0
46WSSMixMicR=0
47WSSInputSelL=0
48WSSInputSelR=0
49MasterVolL=5
50MasterVolR=5
51MonoVol=8
52MicVol=0
53Preset=0
54Ymersion=0
55Bass=7
56Treble=0
57YMode=0
58sacdrom=OFF
59Language=0
60ZVPort=0

61CPLMPUBoth=0
62ForceSA2=0
63ForceSA3A=0
64OnlyFM=0
65POTSVideo=0
66PowerMuteTime=150
67HookService=0
68OtherDevice=ON
69Enable3DBox=0
70Level1Partial=0
71DelFM=0
72DelSoftSynth=0
73DelMPU=0
74ModemIO_Disp=ON
75;ModemIO_Strings=
76ModemIRQ_Disp=ON
77;ModemIRQ_Strings=
78IDE1_Disp=ON
79;IDE1_Strings=
80IDE2_Disp=ON
81;IDE2_Strings=
82IDEIRQ_Disp=ON
83;IDEIRQ_Strings=
84IRQ3_Select=ON

clueless1 wrote:

You chose Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro 2.0 (new), 8 voices, Stereo, 22khz?

edit: btw, that arrived fast! that's great 😀

Here is my OPL3SA.INI for reference (it's in the C:\AUDICIAN directory). Note the Bass, Treble and Ymersion values and adjust according to your preferences.

Yeah, it was quick for an overseas ship. 😀 He used a method where there was no tracking # so I was a bit worried.

Anyways, I chose both Sound Blaster and AWE32 (those are the only SB options in Duke 3D setup) - same behavior (although for some reason, the tinny sound is gone). Center is loud, Left and Right are a bit lower, but played on both speakers just like Center. Set to 44 KHz, 16-bit, 8 voices (and even set to General MIDI, no stuttering!).

Although now it seems like digital sound is in mono only. :p

The Dreamblaster X1 sounds like... well... a dream. 😀 MK1 and MK2 working great (although MK1 MIDI music sounds very slow - I think it's just a stupid bug on the software, not hardware). That's ok - MK1 sounds better in FM Synth anyways. I'm surprised MK2's GM and FM Synth doesn't sound that much different (there's definitely a difference, but not as much as I hoped).

Oh, and I love the fact that there's no CONFIG.SYS drivers needed! Just need to run setupsa.exe /s in AUTOEXEC, and it's not a TSR that eats up memory! Because there's no drivers being loaded in CONFIG.SYS, boot up time is much faster, too! I gotta say, I'm liking this card.

In Windows, there's a soft wavetable - doesn't sound as good as the Dreamblaster, but it's a nice option. So in Windows, I have a choice between FM Synth, Soft Wavetable, and MPU401. Very nice. 😀

And to add, so much quieter than the SB16!

Although, just like the SB16, in DOS mode, FM and GM audio is so much lower than digital audio. I tried my best to set it right on the mixer but a no go.

Since I'm using the Windows driver (which also have DOS drivers), the INI file is located in a different place. I heard some people say they had to change the settings in the WIN.INI or SYSTEM.INI, not the OPL3 ini file.

Update: WIndows 98 SE is unstable, though. It randomly locks up hard (like when I was having the issue with the GeForce drivers earlier before).

GuyTechie wrote:

Anyways, I chose both Sound Blaster and AWE32 (those are the only SB options in Duke 3D setup) - same behavior

Make sure, that after you choose Sound Blaster, go down two lines (below where it says "Use These Settings and Continue") and select "Change Sound Card Type". NOW you can choose between the different SB types. I use SB Pro 2.0 (new).

GuyTechie wrote:

Since I'm using the Windows driver (which also have DOS drivers), the INI file is located in a different place. I heard some people say they had to change the settings in the WIN.INI or SYSTEM.INI, not the OPL3 ini file.

I remember Phil talking about that, either in his video review, or maybe a forum post here. I'm just running DOS, so no experience there.

Glad you're liking the card. How was the clearance with the X1?

clueless1 wrote:

Make sure, that after you choose Sound Blaster, go down two lines (below where it says "Use These Settings and Continue") and select "Change Sound Card Type". NOW you can choose between the different SB types. I use SB Pro 2.0 (new).

That did it! Left/Right now working! I didn't even realize there were more choices by doing that. Why did they hide it? :p

On another note, I realized SETUPSA.EXE /S changed my SET BLASTER type to T4 (SB Pro). That should have been a clue...

So going forward, I'm basically telling all my DOS games I have a SB Pro 2.0 (new), not SB16?

clueless1 wrote:

I remember Phil talking about that, either in his video review, or maybe a forum post here. I'm just running DOS, so no experience there.

Glad you're liking the card. How was the clearance with the X1?

It doesn't clear the PCI slot adjacent to it. What I did was install the ISA card first, then plug the Dreamblater X1 in. The bottom part of the DB is resting on the side of the PCI slot. Not big deal. There's a bit of flex/give so it's not a problem. I can't use that PCI slot anyways - they both share the same slot cover.

When I used the X1 on the Audician 32 Plus, I just placed it in-between the slots. On some boards there might be a capacitor, but this worked for me. You can also just get a very cheap angled header (row of pins).

PhilsComputerLab wrote:

When I used the X1 on the Audician 32 Plus, I just placed it in-between the slots. On some boards there might be a capacitor, but this worked for me. You can also just get a very cheap angled header (row of pins).

On the P3B-F, the PCI is too close to put the daughterboard inbetween the slots.

Just ran into another issue - Duke Nukem II - not all digital samples are being played. In the intro, the gun starts firing, then nothing. There is supposed to be a whirring noise when the target comes close to reveal a smiley face, but that's missing. When Duke says "I'm Back", that's there.\\

In game, the gun sounds and explosion noises are missing. Jumping and landing sounds are there though. I made sure to turn off Adlib sounds and music and only leaving Sound Blaster sounds on, so it's digital audio only to test. Not sure why in this game not all is well.

Also when the title comes up, there should be 2 loud slamming sounds. On mine, it sounds much quieter and sounds more like a jaugar sound than slamming.

This is the second card you're having odd issues. Maybe something else is going on?

Do you have another PC to try?

PhilsComputerLab wrote:

This is the second card you're having odd issues. Maybe something else is going on?

Do you have another PC to try?

Yeah, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. I''m spent.

Overall, I'm happy with the card though.

That Duke II thing is a known issue with the OPLSAx cards, nothing you can do about it.

That minor incompatibility + bad DOS software + half height card + PnP is what turned me off them. A decent ES1688 based card gets my vote for a SB pro 2 compatible with a wavetable header: ESS AudioDrive (ES1868) - a surprisingly good ISA sound card

By your suggestion badmojo I picked up the ES1688F to test.

I really like my YMF719 because it has great (if not perfect) sounding OPL3, a working wavetable header which I use with the Dreamblaster S1, and an excellent SB-Pro compatibility.
I wasn't aware of any in-compatibility until you've mentioned DukeII.

I see the ES1688F has a 14.318MHz oscillator on board which is exactly what the original OPL3 (YMF262) uses to generate the 49716Hz sampling rate, unlike the YMF719 which is slightly off by frequency (inaudible).

Jepael wrote:

The original YMF-262 uses 14.318MHz master clock which divided by 288 is the sampling rate, hence 49716Hz. But YMF-719 does not use 14.318MHz at all, it uses both 24.576MHz (48kHz-based) and 33.8688MHz (44.1kHz-based). It might use one of these and divide that with some integer value to get near 49716Hz, but I think it will not match.

Hope ES1688F will do as good as the YMF719 if not better.
Lots of nice jumpers to play with... 😀
* I wonder about the wavetable driver for dos with the ES1688F, but there is a jumper for MPU-401/SBMidi to test.

Is there such a big difference between the compatibility of PNP and non-PNP cards with DOS games?

I picked this one:

badmojo wrote:

That Duke II thing is a known issue with the OPLSAx cards, nothing you can do about it.

Ah, that explains it. You learn something new every day 😀

I admit that I haven't tried many games on this card. But the ones I did, I really liked how quiet the card is. FM sounds great and so do the DreamBlaster modules.

PhilsComputerLab wrote:

Ah, that explains it. You learn something new every day 😀

I admit that I haven't tried many goes on this card. But the ones I did, I really liked how quiet the card is. FM sounds great and so do the DreamBlaster modules.

I agree, I love the YMF719 too.

I'm going to torture test the ES1688F see if it's up to par with the beloved YMF719.
I can post some comparison recordings if anyone interested.

PS.
I think the ES1688F vs YMF719 comparison deserves a thread of its own.

GuyTechie wrote:

So going forward, I'm basically telling all my DOS games I have a SB Pro 2.0 (new), not SB16?

Yep. If there's that option. With older games, SB Pro support might not work right, but it's because of the nature of SB Pro 1 vs SB Pro 2. For example Ultima Underworld will not sound right on the Audician if you set the game to SB Pro. Certain instruments will be too quiet, for example. It's because the original SB Pro had two OPL2 chips while the Pro 2.0 has a single OPL3 chip. Underworld was programmed for two OPL2 chips.
Ultima Underworld SB Pro instrument volume levels inconsistent

So if something sounds off when you set up the game as SB Pro, try switching to vanilla SB or Adblib.

GuyTechie wrote:

Just ran into another issue - Duke Nukem II - not all digital samples are being played. In the intro, the gun starts firing, then nothing. There is supposed to be a whirring noise when the target comes close to reveal a smiley face, but that's missing. When Duke says "I'm Back", that's there.

Actually, that is a symptom of speed sensitivity, at least on my machine. I get exactly what you describe when I play the game on my 200Mhz Pentium Overdrive at full speed. When I disable L1 cache (which drops it to 386DX-33 performance levels), the sounds play normally. 😀

James-F wrote:

By your suggestion badmojo I picked up the ES1688F to test.

I really like my YMF719 because it has great (if not perfect) sounding OPL3, a working wavetable header which I use with the Dreamblaster S1, and an excellent SB-Pro compatibility.
I wasn't aware of any in-compatibility until you've mentioned DukeII.

Nice one I hope you like it! They're not all created equal the AudioDrives - it obviously depends on the implementation - but of the 6 or so I've tried most have been good. I use mine in a PIII with a DB50XG on it (A Voodoo 3, Vortex 2, Slot 1 based Glide machine) and it's been great for late DOS games, which often include an 'AudioDrive' option in their sound setup. The Wavetable header works perfectly and the ESFM is really nice I think.

The YMF719 is fine too don't get me wrong - the OPL3 sounds particularly nice (as it should). The Duke II incompatibility isn't a big deal, slightly more detail here:

The "best" sound card for dos

badmojo wrote:

The Duke II incompatibility isn't a big deal, slightly more detail here:

The "best" sound card for dos

Hmm. I guess the symptoms GuyTechie described aren't related to this incompatibility, because I made them go away by slowing my computer down. Do you happen to know how the incompatibility happens to manifest itself on the Audician? I haven't played Nukem II on a real SB yet. I'll have to fire it up on my 486/SB16 and compare to how it sounds on the P200/Audician.

edit: I dug a little through that link you posted and found this:

Great Hierophant wrote:

The issue does not affect all sound effects. If you blast a door in Episode 1, I recall that the effect is not heard.

So the next thing to try is to disable L1 and try blasting a door in Ep1.

clueless1 wrote:

Hmm. I guess the symptoms GuyTechie described aren't related to this incompatibility, because I made them go away by slowing my […]
Show full quote

badmojo wrote:

The Duke II incompatibility isn't a big deal, slightly more detail here:

The "best" sound card for dos

Hmm. I guess the symptoms GuyTechie described aren't related to this incompatibility, because I made them go away by slowing my computer down. Do you happen to know how the incompatibility happens to manifest itself on the Audician? I haven't played Nukem II on a real SB yet. I'll have to fire it up on my 486/SB16 and compare to how it sounds on the P200/Audician.

edit: I dug a little through that link you posted and found this:

Great Hierophant wrote:

The issue does not affect all sound effects. If you blast a door in Episode 1, I recall that the effect is not heard.

So the next thing to try is to disable L1 and try blasting a door in Ep1.

For me, it was very apparent some sound FX were not being played. In the intro, when Duke shoots his gun at his target, you hear a few shots and then it just goes quiet even though he keeps shooting (the music continues of course). The target moves towards Duke, and that's suppose to make a whirring motor noise (again, quiet for me). But when he says "I'm Back", I hear that loud and clear.

In game, it's hard for me to know what it's supposed to sound like because it's a big jumbled mess (it's supposed to be - that's actually why I love that game, 🤣). But I can already tell not all sounds were being played because it's not as chaotic as it should be.

I'll try slowing the CPU down (disable L1 cache) and try when I get back home. I hope that solves the issue.

The issues with this card is minor, but of all the games I play, there's always something that's not perfect, 🤣. You gotta admit the intro (including the music) for Duke Nukem II is awesome.

GuyTechie wrote:

For me, it was very apparent some sound FX were not being played. In the intro, when Duke shoots his gun at his target, you hear a few shots and then it just goes quiet even though he keeps shooting (the music continues of course). The target moves towards Duke, and that's suppose to make a whirring motor noise (again, quiet for me). But when he says "I'm Back", I hear that loud and clear.

Yep. that's exactly what I didn't hear until I disabled L1 cache. I'm sure you will have the same result. In that case, I think it's not a sound card issue, but rather a game issue. There's lots of games that have weird sound glitches unless you run on a slow cpu or disable caches.
http://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/List_of_C … sensitive_games

It looks like we might need to add Duke2 to that page.

clueless1 wrote:

Yep. that's exactly what I didn't hear until I disabled L1 cache. In that case, I think it's not a sound card issue, but rather a game issue.
It looks like we might need to add Duke2 to that page.

It looks like I've spent 20$ for no apparent reason. 😀
Still, it'll be fun to compare.

James-F wrote:

clueless1 wrote:

Yep. that's exactly what I didn't hear until I disabled L1 cache. In that case, I think it's not a sound card issue, but rather a game issue.
It looks like we might need to add Duke2 to that page.

It looks like I've spent 20$ for no apparent reason. 😀
Still, it'll be fun to compare.

Yes, for sure. I'd like to hear sound comparisons with the YMF and ES1688F 😀

I wonder if it is possible for one sound card to be more susceptible to speed issues than another. So what if you have to disable L1 for the Audician, but not the ES1668F? Maybe you can tell us when you get your card. 😉