I only have one Aztech Sound Galaxy card in my collection that a friend of mine had since 1993: NX Pro, I've had the card for over a year, and Windows 98SE seemed to detect the card as a Sound Blaster Pro card, which in theory, the sound was echoing, and there was no MIDI whatsoever.

I now have it in my Packard Bell Pack-Mate 28 Plus, installed the drivers for both MS-DOS 6.22 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11, along side with my Music Quest MPU-401 clone card for my Roland MT-32, a Tandy 3-Voice compatible sound card, and the infamous PC "squeaker." Apparently, Windows decided to have issues with the sound card saying "Incorrect IRQ or port address," so installing MS-DOS 6.0, upgrading to 6.22, and later installing Windows for Workgroups 3.11 on a 2GB CF card (was 428.1MB HDD, then 1GB CF Card), and copying everything to the new card I installed from the old one made the card work successfully in both MS-DOS 6.22 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11

I have to say, I LOVE that sound card for the following reasons:

1. Genuine Yamaha YMF262-M OPL3 chipset
2. Sound Blaster Pro compatible
3. Covox Speech Things
4. Disney Sound Source

And the lack of the MPU-401, but I have an intelligent MPU-401 card installed in my computer, which is worth every penny I spent on it last October. I'm getting another Sound Galaxy card that I purchased on Amibay.com in the mail sometime: an Aztech Sound Galaxy WaveRider 32-3D for my K6-2 300 machine that has a Sound Blaster 16 WavEffects CT4170 (predecessor of the AWE64 series) and both the AWE64 and 16 WavEffects have one thing in common: the WavEffects MIDI only works with either a Pentium 80, or K5 @ 80MHz, and 8MB RAM or higher for Windows 3.11, 95, 98/98SE to have that MIDI support, also shitty OPL3, and the card I purchased has a genuine OPL3 chipset on it, like its predecessor the NX Pro I have.

bjwil1991 wrote:

.I'm getting another Sound Galaxy card that I purchased on Amibay.com in the mail sometime: an Aztech Sound Galaxy WaveRider 32-3D for my K6-2 300 machine that has a Sound Blaster 16 WavEffects CT4170 (predecessor of the AWE64 series) and both the AWE64 and 16 WavEffects have one thing in common: the WavEffects MIDI only works with either a Pentium 80, or K5 @ 80MHz, and 8MB RAM or higher for Windows 3.11, 95, 98/98SE to have that MIDI support, also shitty OPL3, and the card I purchased has a genuine OPL3 chipset on it, like its predecessor the NX Pro I have.

The CT4170 (WavEffects) actually "evolved" from the AWE64 as a low cost alternative to the latter.
You can, however, still use the 1MB on-board ROM sample set of the AWE64 under DOS.
Not to discourage you, but the sample quality of the wavetable synthesis of the Aztech Sound Galaxy WaveRider 32-3D is much to be desired and not the best sample set (I would say that the original iteration of the Aztech Sound Galaxy WaveRider 32+ (I38-MMSN826) had a much better sample set).
One plus point is that the newer version requires no special tsr, whereas the earlier model required quite a large tsr to function under DOS.
Take note, the Aztech Sound Galaxy WaveRider 32-3D is also a Plug 'n Play card.

Some information I gleaned from shopping and practical experiences:

- Grabbed an MMSN855 thinking the PnP software would work in DOS. It's been a huge pain in the ass, and I still can't use the thing. I do not recommend anything based on the AZT2320 chipset for strictly DOS use. It's probably okay in Windows. I tried many different versions of AZTPNP without success. The AZT2320 has the OPL logo on it, which would indicate the synth is integrated.

- MMSN853 is another card I own, with the same issue as above due to the AZT2320. It's pretty much the same card, but fewer ICs on it- probably due to the lack of modem compared to the MMSN855.

- MMSN852 appears to be the highest numbered model based on the AZT2316 chipset. These cards have onboard wavetable support, and do not contain a Waveblaster header. I have not obtained one of these to test yet.

- MMSN850 appears to be the highest numbered model that contains a usable Waveblaster header, but does not have onboard wavetable support. I have not obtained one of these.

- I've purchased an MMSN824, which contains three different headers for CD ROM interfaces, PC Speaker header, Waveblaster header, AZT2316-S, and discrete OPL3. Will follow up when I have the chance to test this card.

What I don't know is the difference between the MMSD and MMSN identifier.

SaxxonPike wrote:

Some information I gleaned from shopping and practical experiences: […]
Show full quote

Some information I gleaned from shopping and practical experiences:

- Grabbed an MMSN855 thinking the PnP software would work in DOS. It's been a huge pain in the ass, and I still can't use the thing. I do not recommend anything based on the AZT2320 chipset for strictly DOS use. It's probably okay in Windows. I tried many different versions of AZTPNP without success. The AZT2320 has the OPL logo on it, which would indicate the synth is integrated.

- MMSN853 is another card I own, with the same issue as above due to the AZT2320. It's pretty much the same card, but fewer ICs on it- probably due to the lack of modem compared to the MMSN855.

- MMSN852 appears to be the highest numbered model based on the AZT2316 chipset. These cards have onboard wavetable support, and do not contain a Waveblaster header. I have not obtained one of these to test yet.

- MMSN850 appears to be the highest numbered model that contains a usable Waveblaster header, but does not have onboard wavetable support. I have not obtained one of these.

- I've purchased an MMSN824, which contains three different headers for CD ROM interfaces, PC Speaker header, Waveblaster header, AZT2316-S, and discrete OPL3. Will follow up when I have the chance to test this card.

What I don't know is the difference between the MMSD and MMSN identifier.

You will want the Intel ISA ICU utility for DOS.

jesolo wrote:

The CT4170 (WavEffects) actually "evolved" from the AWE64 as a low cost alternative to the latter. You can, however, still use […]
Show full quote

bjwil1991 wrote:

.I'm getting another Sound Galaxy card that I purchased on Amibay.com in the mail sometime: an Aztech Sound Galaxy WaveRider 32-3D for my K6-2 300 machine that has a Sound Blaster 16 WavEffects CT4170 (predecessor of the AWE64 series) and both the AWE64 and 16 WavEffects have one thing in common: the WavEffects MIDI only works with either a Pentium 80, or K5 @ 80MHz, and 8MB RAM or higher for Windows 3.11, 95, 98/98SE to have that MIDI support, also shitty OPL3, and the card I purchased has a genuine OPL3 chipset on it, like its predecessor the NX Pro I have.

The CT4170 (WavEffects) actually "evolved" from the AWE64 as a low cost alternative to the latter.
You can, however, still use the 1MB on-board ROM sample set of the AWE64 under DOS.
Not to discourage you, but the sample quality of the wavetable synthesis of the Aztech Sound Galaxy WaveRider 32-3D is much to be desired and not the best sample set (I would say that the original iteration of the Aztech Sound Galaxy WaveRider 32+ (I38-MMSN826) had a much better sample set).
One plus point is that the newer version requires no special tsr, whereas the earlier model required quite a large tsr to function under DOS.
Take note, the Aztech Sound Galaxy WaveRider 32-3D is also a Plug 'n Play card.

Do I need the AWE64 drivers for DOS to get that WavEffects synth on my CT4170?

gdjacobs wrote:

You will want the Intel ISA ICU utility for DOS.

Is that separate from the driver that must be installed in config.sys? The Windows 3.1 ICU utility that comes with the card drivers isn't even finding it. I couldn't for the life of me get either of my two PnP Aztech cards working last night.

I did get the MMSN824 working, but only after finding the very specific version of CONFIG.EXE that would actually find the thing. The card does not work very well on IRQ 7, but works as expected on IRQ 5.

I've got the correct drivers for I38-MMSN824. I'll post them later.

bjwil1991 wrote:

jesolo wrote:

The CT4170 (WavEffects) actually "evolved" from the AWE64 as a low cost alternative to the latter. You can, however, still use […]
Show full quote

bjwil1991 wrote:

.I'm getting another Sound Galaxy card that I purchased on Amibay.com in the mail sometime: an Aztech Sound Galaxy WaveRider 32-3D for my K6-2 300 machine that has a Sound Blaster 16 WavEffects CT4170 (predecessor of the AWE64 series) and both the AWE64 and 16 WavEffects have one thing in common: the WavEffects MIDI only works with either a Pentium 80, or K5 @ 80MHz, and 8MB RAM or higher for Windows 3.11, 95, 98/98SE to have that MIDI support, also shitty OPL3, and the card I purchased has a genuine OPL3 chipset on it, like its predecessor the NX Pro I have.

The CT4170 (WavEffects) actually "evolved" from the AWE64 as a low cost alternative to the latter.
You can, however, still use the 1MB on-board ROM sample set of the AWE64 under DOS.
Not to discourage you, but the sample quality of the wavetable synthesis of the Aztech Sound Galaxy WaveRider 32-3D is much to be desired and not the best sample set (I would say that the original iteration of the Aztech Sound Galaxy WaveRider 32+ (I38-MMSN826) had a much better sample set).
One plus point is that the newer version requires no special tsr, whereas the earlier model required quite a large tsr to function under DOS.
Take note, the Aztech Sound Galaxy WaveRider 32-3D is also a Plug 'n Play card.

Do I need the AWE64 drivers for DOS to get that WavEffects synth on my CT4170?

Wavesynth/Waveguide is only supported under Windows. You can, however, run a DOS game from a DOS command prompt (within Windows) and then enjoy those samples (provided your DOS game does want to run from within Windows).

Ah. Didn't know that. Thanks.

Edit: my computer locks up when setting the parameters for the sound card in the DOS games itself...

jesolo wrote:

I've got the correct drivers for I38-MMSN824. I'll post them later.

Did you mean this one? (atleast correct filenames for further files searching).
Seems like STE6X110.ZIP contains all necessary DOS components.

aleksej wrote:

jesolo wrote:

I've got the correct drivers for I38-MMSN824. I'll post them later.

Did you mean this one? (atleast correct filenames for further files searching).
Seems like STE6X110.ZIP contains all necessary DOS components.

Yes, this one should work, but I have the installation disks from the Voyager Multimedia Kit (this card was normally bundled with that kit) which consists of three disks.
Basically, you then get some additional software (mostly for Windows 3.1).
EDIT: Attached the 3 installation disks from the Voyager Multimedia Kit

All of the information in this thread is a fantastic guide. I am working on compiling as much as I can into a single post:

https://blog.purplepa.ws/aztech-sound-cards/

I'm also including OEM cards. Any help, especially to fill in some of the missing information or clarify, is greatly appreciated! It's a living document, so edits are never too late.

There is a ton of info to add to this guide 😀

SaxxonPike wrote:

All of the information in this thread is a fantastic guide. I am working on compiling as much as I can into a single post:

https://ilovepa.ws/2017/06/08/aztech-sound-cards/

I'm also including OEM cards. Any help, especially to fill in some of the missing information or clarify, is greatly appreciated! It's a living document, so edits are never too late.

Nice page.

On your guide, you omitted ones that were supposedly never manufactured.

The I38-MMSN808 is one of those omitted. I personally have one and will post pics this evening. I would have posted pics earlier, but I have not had a chance to mess with it since I got it.

cyclone3d wrote:

The I38-MMSN808 is one of those omitted. I personally have one and will post pics this evening. I would have posted pics earlier, but I have not had a chance to mess with it since I got it.

Excellent! I would greatly appreciate it. This particular model gave me some trouble- there was some evidence it was around on some foreign sites, but I could not find photos, forum posts or anything else about it.

SaxxonPike wrote:

cyclone3d wrote:

The I38-MMSN808 is one of those omitted. I personally have one and will post pics this evening. I would have posted pics earlier, but I have not had a chance to mess with it since I got it.

Excellent! I would greatly appreciate it. This particular model gave me some trouble- there was some evidence it was around on some foreign sites, but I could not find photos, forum posts or anything else about it.

When I purchased it, I could not find any info or pictures about it either. The CDROM interface is for a super proprietary and rare phillips unit.

This picture was taken using a Microtek Scanmaker 9800XL scanner. CCD scanners are awesome for this sort of thing. Not having to worry about focusing, depth of field, reflections or bad lighting is sweet.

You can click on the picture or the link to view the full-size picture.

Aztech I38-MMSN808

cyclone3d wrote:

This picture was taken using a Microtek Scanmaker 9800XL scanner. CCD scanners are awesome for this sort of thing. Not having to worry about focusing, depth of field, reflections or bad lighting is sweet.

Fantastic photos! Thank you so much. I've updated the article with the information I could gather based on them.

jesolo wrote:

Practically all of the 1st generation sound cards supports Adlib, Sound Blaster Pro II, Windows Sound System, Disney Sound Source & Covox Speech Thing.
The Sound Galaxy NXPro, NXPro16 & Pro16/Basic16 definitely supports all of the above standards, but I'm not 100 % sure of the BXII, NXII & later models listed under the first generation sound cards.

I'm playing with a Sound Galaxy NX Pro Extra (I think it's "Extra", as it has the 50-pin SCSI connector and socket for SCSI chipset) card at this moment, and it doesn't support Windows Sound System - I've tried with Inertia Player, and it can't detect WSS.
And I can't believe *any* card with just 8-bit sampling can possibly support WSS - after all, WSS is based on AD1848, which offers 16-bit sampling.

WSS works on purely 8bit bus so having only 8bit slot doesn't preclude it.

I don't think the 8bit only Aztech cards support WSS though, they don't have the codec chip that all the other cards have on it which do support WSS. The 8bit Aztech card I have certainly supports OPL2 + SBpro only with mono recording support.

Tiido wrote:

WSS works on purely 8bit bus so having only 8bit slot doesn't preclude it.

I mean 8-bit DAC/ADC, not 8-bit bus.
WSS may only use 8-bit bus, but it surely supports 16-bit DAC/ADC.
Which means the table in this post is wrong about WSS support, at least for those cards with no 16-bit sampling.