Acer Magic S23 (Crystal CS4232 + OPL3 + Midi WT Header + EEPROM with PnP presets)

YMF719 and ES1869

Both does everything the more popular Sound Blasters do for a fraction of the price.

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2022-11-17, 19:46:

4) Turtle beach Santa Cruz ( A.K.A. - KY2-Pro16 )
Pros: Easy to setup, Clear sound
Cons: Basic Audio Programs

I think you meant "Turtle Beach Monte Carlo".
Santa Cruz is a PCI card.

gerwin wrote on 2022-11-18, 16:52:

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2022-11-17, 19:46:

4) Turtle beach Santa Cruz ( A.K.A. - KY2-Pro16 )
Pros: Easy to setup, Clear sound
Cons: Basic Audio Programs

I think you meant "Turtle Beach Monte Carlo".
Santa Cruz is a PCI card.

Oh yeah, you’re right. Thanks for the correction. 😀

MarkP wrote on 2022-11-18, 15:31:

Aren't sound cards supposed to make noise?

We use the word "sound" to describe the sound that sound cards are supposed to make, and "noise" for sounds that come from a sound card, although they are not intended by the software. This is mostly due to the card being susceptible to interference from neighbouring cards (like the early Sound Blaster [Pro] cards), or due to poor voltage stabilization.

gerwin wrote on 2022-11-18, 16:52:

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2022-11-17, 19:46:

4) Turtle beach Santa Cruz ( A.K.A. - KY2-Pro16 )
Pros: Easy to setup, Clear sound
Cons: Basic Audio Programs

I think you meant "Turtle Beach Monte Carlo".
Santa Cruz is a PCI card.

Monte Carlo's audio programs aren't bad. They let you make MIDIs and play a keyboard and their fake hi-fi deck feels like one with knobs!!!

the real con's the drivers and amplification issues. Win95 friendly this isn't.

gerwin wrote on 2022-11-18, 16:26:

Acer Magic S23 (Crystal CS4232 + OPL3 + Midi WT Header + EEPROM with PnP presets)

This is a great card, very hard to find though in my experience.

I also like the PAS16. Still have mine. It was the first 16-bit sound card I purchased after my SB Pro, back in the day. The main reason that I choose it over SB16 is that it has far less noise, and much better frequency response. I also liked the OPL3 synthesis. The downsides are that PAS DOS drivers consume large amounts of DOS memory, and needs EMS as well. I never did purchase an AWE64, a GUS, or a Turtle Beach Multisound, but the GUS would be an interesting card to look for today. Too expensive, but I'd like to be able *finally* be able to see what all the hype was about. Its DOS compatibility is good, especially with nearly every tracker / MOD player out there supporting it! Game compatibilty for the GUS, and especially Turtle Beach was very poor to non-existant.

zyzzle wrote on 2022-11-19, 02:11:

the GUS would be an interesting card to look for today. Too expensive, but I'd like to be able *finally* be able to see what all the hype was about. Its DOS compatibility is good, especially with nearly every tracker / MOD player out there supporting it! Game compatibilty for the GUS, and especially Turtle Beach was very poor to non-existant.

I've found game support for the GUS Classic to be pretty good at least for games from the mid 90s. Epic Megagames games especially make good use of it thanks to their tracker music soundtracks (Jazz Jackrabbit, Epic Pinball, OMF 2097...). I find it generally works well for a lot of other games including classic ID Software, LucasArts, and 3D Realms games from that era.

In fact, just looking up on Mobygames they list over 500 games with GUS support: https://www.mobygames.com/attribute/sheet/attributeId,20/

Interwave based GUS cards (e.g. GUS PnP) is going to be a different story. That card is notorious for compatibility issues especially for DOS games.

Jo22 wrote on 2022-11-18, 06:56:

SB16 CT17xx, because a) it has the old DSP (no hanging-note bug) b) uses jumpers/needs no Creative software c) has that fat, ba […]
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SB16 CT17xx, because
a) it has the old DSP (no hanging-note bug)
b) uses jumpers/needs no Creative software
c) has that fat, bassy Noise Blaster sound (like old Genesis/Mega Drive) 🥲

^this
the "fat" sound is really enjoyable, I'll take that over less noise on newer cards any day.

and for OPL2 I really enjoy the original Adlib, Lemmings just sounds delightful on that.

anything more modern than SB16 I don't really have a favorite there's lots of great cards, but I enjoy the Terratec cards.

Cyberdyne wrote on 2022-11-18, 06:11:

ESS 1869. Perfect Sound Blaster PRO comp. ESFM is OPL3 sounding. No fuss drivers. No midi bugs. Nice aditional 3d effects, that you can control even in dos.

Yea, I just installed one in a 486 build, and was surprised as to how good it sounds overall. Dead simple to setup with ESSCFG

Not bad for an $8 find.