The Grand OPL3 Comparison Run!

[Tertz]

I've found the issue in Dune with music in palace. When it plays for the 1st time after intro the music has wrong instrument near 0:10. Such happens if in intro to press space to change the tune or wait until the intro's end where the tune is changed, and then to press ESC.
To get the palace tune played corrrectly needs to switch to other ingame music and then return to palace screen, such the music restarts and plays as should. For example, being on initial games's location, you may enter to the planet's info screen with a book and sworms by sides, with another music, and then return to palace screen.
AWE64 Dune's record on the site was done with this issue. So more correct CQM example is by Vibra CT4180 there.

[SRQ]

Has an Aztech Nova 16 Extra been done? I recently discovered I had one and, wowzors, it has OPL3! Also pretty goddamn clean sound compared to even an AWE64.

Relatedly: Will OSX 10.4 and a Powerbook 1.67 be able to record well? That's... basically my only portable at the moment. I just use an ipad for that sort of thing- but obviously that wouldn't do.

[SaxxonPike]

I was recording digital output from the YMF724 in Windows 2000 using Audacity. In order to get a good clip, I disabled PCM. Here are two recordings, provided in WAV format (stereo 44.1khz):

Jill of the Jungle 1 menu: https://soundcloud.com/saxxonpike/jill- ... -on-ymf724
Doom E1M2: https://soundcloud.com/saxxonpike/doom-e1m2-on-ymf724

This card isn't installed in my system anymore, but if more recordings are needed, I could potentially get it set back up.

[ommadawnyawn]

https://sites.google.com/site/soundcardcomparison/

Is there a new site? All those links are dead.

[t9999clint]

I would also like to know if there's a new site for this.
If there isn't I am offering to host it for free. I have some webspace and bandwidth that I can throw at this, I hate dropbox links so donating a few $/year for this is no big deal.

*edit* looks like SquallStrife offered the same. a .vogonsdrivers.org subdomain would be wicked for this so he'd probably be the better person to ask. *edit*

[MaxWar]

Hey guys, sorry about letting this go to abandon. I will look into the issue of the broken links. I should still have all the files and pictures. Thank you for the offers to host files, I will consider it.

[James-F]

Holly cow you're alive!!
Sega-16 is waiting too you know.

[MaxWar]

Haha damn, I got carried away with other things, I still aim to finish some of my projects eventually. Sorry for ''disappearing'' from the forums. I havent forgotten you guys.

[Kamerat]

I must add that i did not try the SPDIF digital output, a feature that is rather uncommon for cards of this generation but the AV310 has it. Gerwin sure seemed enthusiastic about this feature, maybe i should give it a try!

Maybe this card still has a surprise in store!

I did some recordings from the SPDIF output on the AV310 nearly three years ago, if anyones interested go grab them here. Think I actually recorded them for this thread but never come as far as posting them. Take in account that my AV310 recordings are not normalized.

[skv400]

I will add this soundcards.

NETMAN II BCV90R PCI Sound Card [Rockwell RACC010 RIPTIDE]

Uncharted Waters 2 (Full Soundtrack) - https://youtu.be/OmKTG48ltao
Romance of Three kingdoms 3 - https://youtu.be/k9CDDjnP5KI
Nobunaga no Yabou 4 - Bushou Fuuun Roku - https://youtu.be/qmucnyciNHY
YS 2 Special - https://youtu.be/P_I-0lCHRqY
Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Gray Wolf (Opening) - https://youtu.be/TZbH2U5PV0E
Genpei war (Opening) - https://youtu.be/D4u7n3v_-D4


Terratec Maestro 32/96 ISA Sound Card [Dream SAM9233 + Crystal CS4232]

Uncharted Waters 2 (Full Soundtrack) - https://youtu.be/kR2Z2aH-m9M
Romance of Three kingdoms 3 - https://youtu.be/zzT445yBPpA
Nobunaga no Yabou 4 - Bushou Fuuun Roku - https://youtu.be/KEa2w7lN4ZM
YS 2 Special - https://youtu.be/c86Iq6JFi_Y
Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Gray Wolf (Opening) - https://youtu.be/CTph9Ysxscg
Genpei war (Opening) - https://youtu.be/MFO3jIbyebM
Dokyusei2[NANPA2] - https://youtu.be/imQBBRHn6cc
First Queen4 - https://youtu.be/xFHwfnDjPjQ



AZTech PCI168 Clone PCI Sound Card[AZTech AZT3328]

Uncharted Waters 2 (Full Soundtrack) - https://youtu.be/Fe39BwRT76U
Romance of Three kingdoms 3 - https://youtu.be/GSaSd_59eqA
Nobunaga no Yabou 4 - Bushou Fuuun Roku - https://youtu.be/qaehbhRC-pQ
YS 2 Special - https://youtu.be/ITGfpK0PAl4
Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Gray Wolf (Opening) - https://youtu.be/J2I-PQrRlCg
Genpei war (Opening) - https://youtu.be/_yfHVQQFAbM
Dokyusei2[NANPA2] - https://youtu.be/GxGohO2IGtY
First Queen4 - https://youtu.be/D_EFFht65O0



Gravis Ultrasound PnP 1.0 ISA Sound Card SBOS Mode [AMD Interwave]

Uncharted Waters 2 (Full Soundtrack) - https://youtu.be/l4zHhFjkUZY
Romance of Three kingdoms 3 - https://youtu.be/QO2zU_5CQV0
Nobunaga no Yabou 4 - Bushou Fuuun Roku - https://youtu.be/r8NKvYmKA10
YS 2 Special - https://youtu.be/9jVh461KBCE
The Secret of monkey island - https://youtu.be/sMNIB-VvvEM



Gravis Ultrasound PnP 1.0 ISA Sound Card SBOS Mode [AMD Interwave]

Uncharted Waters 2 (Full Soundtrack) - https://youtu.be/UUKoq5X4rG4
Romance of Three kingdoms 3 - https://youtu.be/Mj0t_fMp1Lg
Nobunaga no Yabou 4 - Bushou Fuuun Roku - https://youtu.be/liFImGRX7Wc
YS 2 Special - https://youtu.be/ITNY1oplmVE
The Secret of monkey island - https://youtu.be/Amx81lka5qI

[Tenorman]

I'm starting to get a good collection going and am thinking about making some recordings.

Does anyone have a copy of the OPL3GameDemos.zip file? The Dropbox link off of https://sites.google.com/site/soundcard ... /the-games is dead.

I'm not sure that I would do all of these or not, but it would be handy to have.

[MaxWar]

All the files are still in my dropbox except the Demo pack for some reason. I still have all the pics, drivers and recordings for this project but damn dropbox changed how their public links are addressed and nothing works anymore. I would need to get a decent hosting to resurrect this projetct.

Regarding the demo pack though, I put it there only for convenience, all the games can should be easy to find on the net.
Thank you everyone for your continued interest. This project still interests me, I am considering getting a better hosting solution.

[Tenorman]

I made a few recordings of my Logitech SoundMan-16 / Pro AudioSpectrum Basic and posted them at http://tenorman.info/pc/pas16ll#recordings. I working on some for other cards and posting them as well.

[Tenorman]

I finished a write up and some recordings of the Ensoniq Soundscape OPUS. I tried to demonstrate the three different modes that the card supports. Decent General MIDI, but the FM Support on this thing is really terrible.

http://www.tenorman.info/pc/soundscapeopus

[Thermalwrong]

One of the archive.org links works for the games demos, it's about 40mb and doesn't download very quickly:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140905021 ... eDemos.zip

edit: listening to the soundscape opus samples; is it getting some notes wrong in Doom E1M2 in GM mode?

[Tenorman]

One of the archive.org links works for the games demos, it's about 40mb and doesn't download very quickly:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140905021 ... eDemos.zip

Thanks for digging that up. I still have a few more sound cards to get around to and might use this.

edit: listening to the soundscape opus samples; is it getting some notes wrong in Doom E1M2 in GM mode?

This is kind of an odd card sometimes. You will hear this in the LSL6 soundtrack quite a bit. The Health Spa song I uploaded has at least a couple places where the instrument that is being played back sounds wrong.

I think this is just how it sounds. This guy made a bunch of recordings (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAWtuXG1mjI), though it isn't as good of quality. His Doom E1M1 and Heretic E1M1 records sound the same as mine. I haven't been able to find anyone else that has recorded Doom E1M2 on an Opus.
This guy recorded Doom E1M2 on a Soundscape Elite however and it doesn't sound too far off (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfm2zGANyy0).

I won't claim that this is a "great" MIDI card, I just claim that for the money it has its charms and it gives you a lot of options to play with. I would be very interested in getting an S-2000 or Elite sometime, but these tend to be very hard to find and expensive.

[Tenorman]

Sound Blaster... more like hiss blaster... OLOL.

I made some recordings of my SB16 CT1770 (DSP 4.12). I actually don't think it is that bad if you just want something to use that is cheap and will work.

http://tenorman.info/pc/ct1770

[Intel486dx33]

I am confused. I just want a good sounding 486 build.
I need to use ISA cards.
What is the minimum chipsets I need ?
Yamaha OPL chipset ?
Sound Blaster chipset ?
Crystal chipset ?

I don't want to use a Roland MT-32 ( to hard to find good parts and I don't have the room for it ).

[gdjacobs]

MT-32 functionality is neither expensive nor overlay large by necessity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvuncHhza5A

As to OPL3 functionality, you have a few different options. These are a few that are well tested, commonly available, and inexpensive:

Crystal Semi cards (CS4232 with real OPL3 or 100% clones, CS/CX4236, CS/CX4237)
- great sound quality and Sound Blaster compatibility, inexpensive, OPL3 compatibility is just okay for the integrated cards
ESS integrated cards (1688/1868/1869)
- sound quality can be really good (although not all cards are made to a high standard), great Sound Blaster compatibility, very good OPL3 quality (although still not genuine Yamaha), drivers are dead easy
YMF-71x cards
- great sound quality and compatibility, genuine OPL3, the only weakness is with a few Apogee games requiring ADPCM (Duke Nukem 2, Major Stryker), drivers are fine but a little more complex than the ESS cards

A couple more options that have been looked at but not so fully fleshed out:
ALS100 based cards with real OPL3 or illegal 100% clone chips
Opti based cards with real OPL3 or illegal 100% clone chips

There are more cards if you want to move slightly upscale in price.

[badmojo]

I am confused. I just want a good sounding 486 build.

Your purpose on this forum seems to be asking the same question in multiple threads, ignoring some very detailed answers, and then dreaming up another question.