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Reply 62 of 232, by James-F

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Here are a few things I "found":

The Dreamblaster X2 is very similar to Miditemp DS-48 Cleanwave 32 (also the Terratec MiniWaveSystem WT64) mainly because all uses variations of the Cleanwave sound banks by Dream.

The previous Dreamblaster X1 (SAM2000 series) can load two types of banks, 8MB CleanWave which is completely new to the SAM2000 series, and 4MB CleanWave which is EXACTLY Cleanwave32.
The Dreamblaster X2 (SAM5000 series) can also load two types of banks, 16MB CleanWave which is new to the SAM5000 series, and 8MB Clean wave which is also is a CleanWave32 according to documents.
http://www.dream.fr/other-documents.html

BUT, the big 16MB SAM5000 bank on the X2 sounds remarkably close to the CleanWave32 much more so than the big 8MB SAM2000 bank on the X1.
I compared the samples uploaded by Phil of the Dreamblaster X2 with CleanWave32 samples from AmoRetro.de and wavetable.nl, they sound the same, but the X1 sounds completely different, especially the electric guitars in Doom.
Maybe the Dreamblaster X2 Phil sampled was actually loaded with the 8MB CleanWave32 variation for the SAM5000?

Anyway, I find the CleanWave32 sound bank family by Dream very similar sounding to the Dreamblaster X2 and that is a good thing.
We can find wavetable daughterboards from back in the 90s that have the CleanWave32 and even earlier CleanWaves variation that sound very close to the CleanWave32 bank.


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Reply 63 of 232, by PhilsComputerLab

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James-F wrote:

I compared the samples uploaded by Phil of the Dreamblaster X2 with CleanWave32 samples from AmoRetro.de and wavetable.nl, they sound the same

They do indeed sound the same.

The binary file of the bank is ~ 13 MB, though the filename is indeed GMBK5X128. I'll ask the engineer for clarification 😁

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Reply 64 of 232, by James-F

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They all basically sound like CleanWave32 including WT64 which is actually CleanWave8, except the X1 which has some strong EQ applied to the guitars but the drums are the same (with slight EQ).
I can only assume that Dream compressed the basic samples to various bank sizes (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 Mb) but fundamentally they are pretty much the same CleanWave samples.

Yes, that includes the S1 (SAM2195) with 0.5MB ROM which is nothing more than a sample-rate truncated and super compressed CleanWave bank according to its documents.
The S1 actually sounds very similar to the X2.

The samples are level matched and they sound remarkably similar to one another (except the X1 which is heavily Equalized), obviously because they are all CleanWave with various compression degrees.

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Reply 65 of 232, by dreamblaster

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Hello,

the default loaded bank on X2 is this bank : http://dream.fr/pdf/Serie5000/Soundbanks/GMBK5X128.pdf
It is called the 16Mbyte bank by dream (it fits into 16Mbyte flash), but actual file size is around 13Mbyte.
Dream keeps improving the banks, but I don't think they started all over for the new bank, it just builds on previous.
If you look at the copyright notice of this datasheet it list sample data (c) 1996-2015, so you may be very right some sounds are based on the same original recordings/samples.
Another difference may be : The 5000 series engine is all 16bit, where previous generations may have used 8 bit versions of the samples.

For X1, the bank used is this one : http://dream.fr/pdf/Serie2000/Soundbanks/GMBK9764.pdf

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Reply 66 of 232, by James-F

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dreamblaster wrote:

but I don't think they started all over for the new bank, it just builds on previous.

Indeed.

CleanWave8 Origin from 1996/1997.
CleanWave32 Origin from 1996/1997.
CleanWave64 (SAM2000 in X1), from 2013.
CleanWave128 (SAM5000 in X2), from 2015.

Original CleanWave32 document from 1997: http://www.miditemp-forum.de/downloads/DS48_S … e_Midichart.pdf

In the CleanWave64 document you can see that Dream updated with new instruments marked in bold from CleanWave32.
But in CleanWave128 some of the updated instruments went back to the original CW32 sound, as we can clearly hear on the overdrive guitar in Doom.

Anyway, it is fantastic that we can buy a brand new Dream based wavetable daughterboard in 2016.

EDIT:
Crystal CS9233 (Dream SAM9233) 1995.
This is actually one of the first Dream/Crystal sound banks before 1996 and before the CleanWave banks, it sounds a lot like the Roland SC-55. 😀
Dream/Crystal got sued by Roland in 1995/6, stopped ripping the Roland samples, hence creating the CleanWave samples in 1996/7.


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Reply 68 of 232, by dreamblaster

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elod wrote:

Bit the bullet and placed an order for the bundle and some accessories 😀

Thanks !! 😊

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Reply 69 of 232, by dreamblaster

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News from the assembly factory on S1 and X2 :
I will receive the complete batch of S1 and 40 pieces of X2 by the end of next week,
so some delay compared to the original forecast.

Here's the detail :

S1 Black : went OK, next week they will place the connectors. They will ship together with X2.
X2 Black : They noticed they need to order a new stencil to be able to solder accurately, could not start SMD assembly today.
As I definitely want to ship out the pre-order X2's asap,I have requested for the first 40 boards, to be produced ASAP, as there is a method to do so :
using the more expensive pasta jetter process + visual inspection. Afterwards they will also place the connectors.
So this way, I expect the shipping could start in the week after december 10th (I need time to test and pack the boards as well).
Currently 30 X2 were pre-ordered. This means only 10 more X2 will be available in short term. First ordered is first shipped.

The remaining X2 boards will be available a few weeks later, production will be scheduled when they have the new stencil.
I will extend the black friday pre-order bundle offer until the boards are in.

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Reply 70 of 232, by brostenen

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dreamblaster wrote:

some delay compared to the original forecast.

Not a problem to me, as the S1 is my x-mass gift to my self.

Don't eat stuff off a 15 year old never cleaned cpu cooler.
Those cakes make you sick....

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Reply 71 of 232, by snorg

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Well I received a pleasant surprise the other day in the form of a small windfall. Before I pull the trigger, I just want to confirm: the DreamBlaster X2 and S1 should work with an SB16, AWE 32/AWE 64 or SB Live, correct?

Reply 72 of 232, by stamasd

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I don't mind a delay in receiving the X2 if that means it was assembled by a more reliable and less bad-solder-joint-prone procedure.

I/O, I/O,
It's off to disk I go,
With a bit and a byte
And a read and a write,
I/O, I/O

Reply 73 of 232, by James-F

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@snorg
The dreamblaster series are wavetable daughterboards with a special connector that plugs into a sound card that has a special connector for it.
It can be used externally with an adapter as a standalone midi module connected with regular midi cable.
The sound blaster Live, AWE64 and some AWE32 do NOT have a wavetable connector, but the SB16 has.

You better research that.
You should at least know where to connect the wavetable daughterboard, what are its uses, and what sound cards supported.
A wavetable daughterboard is a very specific item and you should know very specifically what to do with it.


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Reply 74 of 232, by stamasd

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James-F wrote:
@snorg The dreamblaster series are wavetable daughterboards with a special connector that plugs into a sound card that has a spe […]
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@snorg
The dreamblaster series are wavetable daughterboards with a special connector that plugs into a sound card that has a special connector for it.
It can be used externally with an adapter as a standalone midi module connected with regular midi cable.
The sound blaster Live, AWE64 and some AWE32 do NOT have a wavetable connector, but the SB16 has.

You better research that.
You should at least know where to connect the wavetable daughterboard, what are its uses, and what sound cards supported.
A wavetable daughterboard is a very specific item and you should know very specifically what to do with it.

While it's true that the AWE64 and Live don't have waveblaster connectors, they do have an external MIDI port. Certain wavetable daughtercards can be attached to that by using an adapter like this one: http://www.serdashop.com/CHiLLandPhilAdapter AFAIK daughterboards that don't require special voltages can be used with that, and I expect the X2 to be compatible (lest @dreamblaster state otherwise)

I/O, I/O,
It's off to disk I go,
With a bit and a byte
And a read and a write,
I/O, I/O

Reply 75 of 232, by elod

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stamasd wrote:

I don't mind a delay in receiving the X2 if that means it was assembled by a more reliable and less bad-solder-joint-prone procedure.

I was thinking along the same line. But I think it's mainly an issue with yield. Visual inspection should catch joined or rough edged traces.
Hope the issues can be mitigated by the measures suggested by dreamblaster.

Reply 77 of 232, by snorg

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Well I went ahead and ordered one, I should have at least one sound card that will work with it.
As to what I plan on doing with it, I always wanted a Roland or a GUS but missed my chance to get one at a reasonable price, this seems like it will be a close substitute. I guess here is my chance to play Herbie Hancock.

Reply 78 of 232, by dreamblaster

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stamasd wrote:

While it's true that the AWE64 and Live don't have waveblaster connectors, they do have an external MIDI port. Certain wavetable daughtercards can be attached to that by using an adapter like this one: http://www.serdashop.com/CHiLLandPhilAdapter AFAIK daughterboards that don't require special voltages can be used with that, and I expect the X2 to be compatible (lest @dreamblaster state otherwise)

Yes the Chill And Phil Adapter works with any DreamBlaster (X2, X1, S1). (DreamBlaster boards require only 5V, not +12V/-12V like the old cards.)

stamasd wrote:

But I think it's mainly an issue with yield. Visual inspection should catch joined or rough edged traces.

Yes. The process for the first 40 boards, will be using the pasta jetter to apply solder paste instead of a stencil.
We will have camera inspection of each board afterwards to be 100% sure there are no shorts in the finest pitch (0.4mm pitch of the Dream DSP).
They will be perfectly done, for sure, it is just more expensive per piece, than the stencil process.
But I think it is worth it, getting the pre-order boards to you ASAP, instead of having a delay.
I hope to start shipping next weekend.

The pasta jetter (the factory (http://page.be/bestukking/machines) uses the MY500 from MyData) is like an inkjet printer for solder paste.
It is mostly used for fast prototyping / small series, and special applications (for example combining different thicknesses of solder paste).
I found some information here : http://www.mysmtnews.eu/news/EN863_Faster+pro … for+Thales.aspx
http://dcamfg.com/new-solder-jet-printer/

By the way, the 5 X2 prototype boards were also done using pasta jetter, without any problem.

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
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Thanks for your support !