There is a thread around here with some info on those, but I can't remember the title. Which chips do you have? Off the top of my head, I remember the following:

The ESS1688 is 16 bit, 44kHz (but only in native AudioDrive mode; using its SB Pro compatibility, it acts just like an SB Pro, that's true for all of them AFAIK), doesn't have IDE and is half-duplex.
The ESS1868 is like the 1688, but has IDE and is full-duplex, and is usually on PnP cards.
The ESS1869 is like the 1868, but supports 48kHz sample rates.

There's a bunch of others, but those are the three I see most frequently. They don't have a real OPL3, but IMHO, the ESS OPL clone sounds slightly richer than the real thing.

I have the following:

An Edison Gold 16 ES688F

A noname 1868F that is a less busy card but I have no photo of at the moment.

A Best Union (?) MF-1869 ES1898F that has a very bare PCB and makes me think a lot of things got integrated into the chip at some point

And I don't know if the whole streamlining of the card through time is better or for worse.

Yeah, the later chips do integrate more of the functionality, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Of the three cards you mention, I'd use the 1869-based one. Unless, that is, you need the CD-ROM interfaces or you can't use a PnP card. I did a little looking, and one shortcoming of the ESS688 (not 1868) is that it doesn't have full MPU-401 compatibility.

The 1868 and 1869 are very similar, broadly equivalent for most DOS stuff, though the Windows and OS/2 drivers can make use of the few minor differences between them, if that matters. I've only used the 1688, 1868 and 1869 myself, and I can't say I've had any serious issues with any of them. They're among my top choices for machines that I want to put ISA sound cards in, outside of perhaps the AWE32, AWE64 and GUS, since they sound pretty clean, have good FM synth, are SB Pro and WSS compatible and generally just work.

Well, MIDI equipment is the least of my concerns and I will need the IDE port in a 486 build so I'll probably have to go with the 688 with a shitton of jumpers.. I'm guessing the lack of MP-401 compatibility won't hurt with MIDI in games? It's still SBPro compatible 100%?

If you're just using FM synthesis, then yes, it's fine - that's "Soundblaster" or "Adlib" rather than General MIDI. If you have a Roland MT-32 or SC-55 or similar external MIDI module it might cause some trouble. But yes, as far as I've been able to discern, the ESS chips are entirely SB Pro compatible - however, if the game has an ESS Audiodrive option, go ahead and use that. Most don't, but I've seen it before.

Sometimes, you just come across the weirdest stuff in the oddest places.

I was browsing through the Textfiles when I came across this 1996 Multi-Media CD that seemed to have some strange audio card text and drivers..

And it had some HTML files detailing the different ESS chipsets, so here you are:

ES688: http://cd.textfiles.com/mmcd/ENG/TXT/S5_1A.HTM

ESS688 16-Bit Stereo Sound Card […]
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ESS688 16-Bit Stereo Sound Card

The ES688 chipset provides 16-Bit Stereo sound through FM synthesis. This card was voted PC Magazines 'Editors Choice' for top quality sound and value for money. Ideal for end-users and system assemblers, this is an ideal choice for an entry level budget priced sound card.

Digital Audio Features:
Recording & Playback 16 bits stereo A/D and D/A
Sampling Rate 4KHz to 44.1KHz
Data Compression ADPCM, ESPCM Audio compression
ESFM Synthesizer 20 voices/ 72 Operators
Volume Control 6 bit (64 steps) software master volume control
Wavetable Universal upgrade port

Output Power Amp: 2 watts per channel
Audio Mixer : 5 channel Mixing
Compatibility: Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro, Window Sound System, Window 95's Direct Sound , MPC, MPCII, AdLib
Card Configuration: Embedded Driver in Win 95, Software programmable under DOS and Win 3.x
Audio Utilities WILLOW POND Sound System include: Media Launcher, Presto Arranger MIDI Sequencer, Media Rack, Wave Editor and WinChime

ES1688: http://cd.textfiles.com/mmcd/ENG/TXT/S5_1B.HTM

ESS1688 16-Bit Stereo Sound Card […]
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ESS1688 16-Bit Stereo Sound Card

The ES1688 chipset provides 16-Bit Stereo sound through FM synthesis, using the ESS 'ESFM' synthesis chip, delivery a rich 72 operator sound. This card was voted PC Magazines 'Editors Choice' for top quality sound and value for money. Ideal for end-users and system assemblers, this is an ideal choice for an entry level budget priced sound card.

Digital Audio Features:
Recording & Playback 16 bits stereo A/D and D/A
Sampling Rate 4KHz to 44.1KHz
Data Compression ADPCM, ESPCM Audio compression
ESFM Synthesizer 20 voices/ 72 Operators
Volume Control 6 bit (64 steps) software master volume control
Wavetable Universal upgrade port

Output Power Amp: 2 watts per channel
Audio Mixer : 6 channel Mixing
Compatibility: Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro, Window Sound System, Window 95's Direct Sound , MPC, MPCII, AdLib
Card Configuration: Embedded Driver in Win 95, Software programmable under DOS and Win 3.x
MIDI Interface : MPU401 (UART mode) (ESS1688 only)
Audio Utilities: WILLOW POND
Sound System include: Media Launcher, Presto Arranger MIDI Sequencer, Media Rack, Wave Editor and WinChime
Advanced Power Managemnet: Self-timed power down, auto wake up,Suspend/Resume

ES1868/ES938: http://cd.textfiles.com/mmcd/ENG/TXT/S5_2.HTM

ESS1868 / ESS938 16-Bit Full Duplex Plug & Play Stereo Sound Card with optional on-board 3D Spatializer […]
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ESS1868 / ESS938 16-Bit Full Duplex Plug & Play Stereo Sound Card with optional on-board 3D Spatializer

The ES1868 audio drive chipset features true 16 bit FM Stereo sound with built-in Plug 'n' Play, and Full Duplex capabilities. In addition to this the optional on-board ES938 chipset provides superb 3D Spatializing sound effect (see notes below on 'Spatializing' technology). This product is designed to provide the wavetable-like sound quality by using the latest technology of ESFM Music Synthesizer delivering true 20 voices, and a rich 72 Operators playback, compared to the traditional 36 operators sound quality which most existing sound cards are delivering nowadays.

Digital Audio Features:
Recording & Playback 16 bits stereo A/D and
D/A
Sampling Rate 4KHz to 44.1KHz
Data Compression ADPCM, ESPCM Audio compression
Integrated Codec Full duplex monophonic mode Half duplex stereo mode
ESFM Synthesizer 20 voices/ 72 Operators
Volume Control 6 bit (64 steps) software master volume control
Wavetable Universal upgrade port

3D Sound Effect: Optional on-board ES938 generating the Spatializing 3D sound effect Bass and Treble control
Output Power Amp: 2 watts per channel
Audio Mixer : 6 channel Mixing
Compatibility: Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro, Window Sound System, Window 95's Direct Sound , MPC, MPCII, AdLib
Card Configuration: Plug & Play under Win 95, Software programmable under DOS and Win 3.x
CDROM Interface : ATAPI IDE Interface
MIDI Interface : MPU401 (UART mode) supports DUAL game ports for joysticks or external MIDI
Audio Utilities: WILLOW POND Sound System include: Media Launcher, Presto Arranger MIDI Sequencer, Media Rack, Wave Editor and WinChime
Advanced Power Managemnet: Self-timed power down, auto wake up, Suspend/Resume

3D SPATLIALIZING TECHNOLOGY

Everyone knows what stereo sound is. But how the brain perceives it, is important in order to better understand 3D sound. For example, if a piano sound is played through just the left speaker then we will perceive the sound as coming from the left side. If the same sound (and same level, or volume, of sound) is also passed through the right speaker then it will create the effect of the piano sound coming from the center of the two speakers - in essence from a "phantom" speaker. By manipulating the levels of the audio signals to the left & right speakers, and then adding 'effects' to them, it is possible to create up to two extra "phantom" speakers - thus giving us 3D Sound. Further to this we must then understand two more '3D terminologies' - Sum and Difference...

Sum describes the information of each monophonic audio signal sent to the left & right speakers (in other words - the sound, and to which speaker). Difference is the information we have when we look at the left & right signals in terms of level, timing/delay and frequency. By subtracting the Difference of the right signal from the Difference of the left signal we come out with the all-important 'spatial' information which characterizes stereo program material - and it is this which can be manipulated to produce 3D sound. It is important to note that for the best 3D results you should not add any effect to the Sum signal because this would affect the tone of the sound and result in lost tonal quality, and poor audio quality. This is where other 3D technologies fail. Instead 3D Spatializer concentrates purely on the Difference signal. These Difference signals are passed through a psychoacoustically correct filter which performs three critical functions. First it boosts the portion of the audio spectrum which we rely on most for spatial localization cues. Secondly it adds just enough phase delay, and further delays different parts of the Difference signal so that the sense of "space" and size of the "sweet-spot" is dramatically increased. Finally it has a filter/delay block which will prevent acoustic cancellation at low frequencies, so avoiding a sense of weak bass response. Another area of improvement over its competitors is that 3D Spatializer monitors the incoming signals, and if it senses existing spatial information it will only process this to it's optimum performance level. This is because 3D technology is now often used in the recording and game industry, and as such there is a danger of "over-processing" which can result in poor spatial image and loss of tone. No other 3D technology can offer the user a "set-and-forget" feature like this.

Developed by Desper Products Inc, USA and widely used by the recording and entertainment industry (with credits such as Walt Disney's "The Lion King" movie/soundtrack) the 3D Spatializer technology has leaped from the consumer electronic markets of TV's and Hi-Fi's to the desktop computer, and is fast becoming the '3D' by which others follow..

ES1868 3D Cost Saver: http://cd.textfiles.com/mmcd/ENG/TXT/S5_8.HTM

ESS1868 Cost Saver 3D 16-Bit Full Duplex Plug & Play Stereo Sound Card with on-board 3D Sound […]
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ESS1868 Cost Saver 3D 16-Bit Full Duplex Plug & Play Stereo Sound Card with on-board 3D Sound

The ES1868 audio drive chipset features true 16 bit FM Stereo sound with built-in Plug 'n' Play, and Full Duplex capabilities. In addition to this the on-board Binaura 3D circuitry provides superb 3D sound effect (see notes on 3D Sound in 3D World Page). This product is designed to provide the wavetable-like sound quality by using the latest technology of ESFM Music Synthesizer delivering true 20 voices, and a rich 72 Operators playback, compared to the traditional 36 operators sound quality which most existing sound cards are delivering nowadays.

Digital Audio Features:
Recording & Playback 16 bits stereo A/D and D/A
Sampling Rate 4KHz to 44.1KHz
Data Compression ADPCM, ESPCM Audio compression
Integrated Codec Full duplex monophonic mode Half duplex stereo mode
ESFM Synthesizer 20 voices/ 72 Operators
Volume Control 6 bit (64 steps) software master volume control
Wavetable Universal upgrade port

3D Sound Effect: On-board Binaura circuitry providing 3D sound effect
Output Power Amp: 2 watts per channel
Audio Mixer : 6 channel Mixing
Compatibility: Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro, Window Sound System, Window 95's Direct Sound , MPC, MPCII, AdLib
Card Configuration: Plug & Play under Win 95, Software programmable under DOS and Win 3.x
MIDI Interface : MPU401 (UART mode) supports DUAL game ports for joysticks or external MIDI
Audio Utilities: WILLOW POND Sound System include: Media Launcher, Presto Arranger MIDI Sequencer, Media Rack, Wave Editor and WinChime

Advanced Power Managemnet: Self-timed power down, auto wake up, Suspend/Resume

I have this one in my 386 SX test bench. I quite like it. What is interesting is that this is a PnP card, but on a non PnP machine you can just give the executable some commands to setup everything.

However on a PnP system, this doesn't work! Which is quite annoying. I played around with an Intel tool and that lets you change some resources, but I prefer working with batch files.

I also couldn't get the IDE port to work with an IDE optical drive. I didn't spend to much time though, but I did try all the obvious things.

It has a jumper to select line or speaker out which is nice.

How do you rate its FM synthesis compared to a real OPL3 card? Or does yours have an illegal OPL3 copy on it?

appiah4 wrote:

How do you rate its FM synthesis compared to a real OPL3 card? Or does yours have an illegal OPL3 copy on it?

I'm not an OPL3phile and think it sounds just fine 😀

Did you have luck getting the IDE interface to work?

PhilsComputerLab wrote:

appiah4 wrote:

How do you rate its FM synthesis compared to a real OPL3 card? Or does yours have an illegal OPL3 copy on it?

I'm not an OPL3phile and think it sounds just fine 😀

Did you have luck getting the IDE interface to work?

Yes, when set to Primary via jumpers mine worked on my 486 board but for whatever reason I had no luck running it as secondary once ı added another ISA IDE controller as the primary channel.

EDIT: You need a driver for the IDE controller. See HERE.

I found that I had to complete a drivers installation under Windows just to extract an older DOS program. Buried within 1868W31_41653.zip, in a Microsoft-specific compressed format, is the small DOS driver that simply turns on the IDE interface.

11414  Aug 9 1996  ES1868.COM
2
3    ESS IDE CD-ROM controller ( ES1868 ) enable program V4.4
4    Copyright (C) ESS Technology, Inc. 1995-1996

In CONFIG.SYS:

1    ; DVD-ROM activation, part 1.
2    ; If JEMMEX is used, ES1868.COM must precede JEMMEX.EXE to avoid a crash.
3    DEVICE=C:\ESS\ES1868.COM
4    DEVICE=C:\BIN\XMGR.SYS
5    DEVICE=C:\BIN\UIDE.SYS /S5 /H
6    DOS=HIGH

In AUTOEXEC.BAT:

1    REM DVD-ROM activation, part 2.
2    C:\BIN\SHSUCDX.COM /C /D:UDVD1
3
4    REM Audio and joystick configuration.
5    C:\ESS\ESSCFG.EXE /A:220 /I:5 /D:1 /E:3 /B:330 /J:E
6    C:\ESS\ESSVOL.EXE /V:8 /L:0 /W:8 /M:0 /C:8 /S:8 /A:0 /P:0
7    REM Large card:
8    REM   A = FM & wavetable
9    REM   C = CD audio
10    REM   Voice apparently controlled only by master volume, V
11    REM   /V:5 /L:0 /W:0 /M:0 /C:10 /S:0 /A:14 /P:0
12    SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 P330 T4

Mpxplay –sct says:

1    ESS : soundcard found (type=688B) : SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H0
2    SBP : SB-pro card found : SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4

appiah4 wrote:

Sometimes, you just come across the weirdest stuff in the oddest places. […]
Show full quote

Sometimes, you just come across the weirdest stuff in the oddest places.

I was browsing through the Textfiles when I came across this 1996 Multi-Media CD that seemed to have some strange audio card text and drivers..

And it had some HTML files detailing the different ESS chipsets, so here you are:

ES688: http://cd.textfiles.com/mmcd/ENG/TXT/S5_1A.HTM

ESS688 16-Bit Stereo Sound Card […]
Show full quote

ESS688 16-Bit Stereo Sound Card

The ES688 chipset provides 16-Bit Stereo sound through FM synthesis. This card was voted PC Magazines 'Editors Choice' for top quality sound and value for money. Ideal for end-users and system assemblers, this is an ideal choice for an entry level budget priced sound card.

Digital Audio Features:
Recording & Playback 16 bits stereo A/D and D/A
Sampling Rate 4KHz to 44.1KHz
Data Compression ADPCM, ESPCM Audio compression
ESFM Synthesizer 20 voices/ 72 Operators
Volume Control 6 bit (64 steps) software master volume control
Wavetable Universal upgrade port

Output Power Amp: 2 watts per channel
Audio Mixer : 5 channel Mixing
Compatibility: Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro, Window Sound System, Window 95's Direct Sound , MPC, MPCII, AdLib
Card Configuration: Embedded Driver in Win 95, Software programmable under DOS and Win 3.x
Audio Utilities WILLOW POND Sound System include: Media Launcher, Presto Arranger MIDI Sequencer, Media Rack, Wave Editor and WinChime

WRONG - the ES688 has no internal FM-circuit nor DAC and thus needs to be combined with either a Yamaha OPL3 or a 1:1 copy and its corresponding DAC.
The ES1688 was the first ASIC with the integrated and Yamaha OPL3 compatible ESFM-Synthesis feature.

FGB wrote:

appiah4 wrote:

Sometimes, you just come across the weirdest stuff in the oddest places. […]
Show full quote

Sometimes, you just come across the weirdest stuff in the oddest places.

I was browsing through the Textfiles when I came across this 1996 Multi-Media CD that seemed to have some strange audio card text and drivers..

And it had some HTML files detailing the different ESS chipsets, so here you are:

ES688: http://cd.textfiles.com/mmcd/ENG/TXT/S5_1A.HTM

ESS688 16-Bit Stereo Sound Card […]
Show full quote

ESS688 16-Bit Stereo Sound Card

The ES688 chipset provides 16-Bit Stereo sound through FM synthesis. This card was voted PC Magazines 'Editors Choice' for top quality sound and value for money. Ideal for end-users and system assemblers, this is an ideal choice for an entry level budget priced sound card.

Digital Audio Features:
Recording & Playback 16 bits stereo A/D and D/A
Sampling Rate 4KHz to 44.1KHz
Data Compression ADPCM, ESPCM Audio compression
ESFM Synthesizer 20 voices/ 72 Operators
Volume Control 6 bit (64 steps) software master volume control
Wavetable Universal upgrade port

Output Power Amp: 2 watts per channel
Audio Mixer : 5 channel Mixing
Compatibility: Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro, Window Sound System, Window 95's Direct Sound , MPC, MPCII, AdLib
Card Configuration: Embedded Driver in Win 95, Software programmable under DOS and Win 3.x
Audio Utilities WILLOW POND Sound System include: Media Launcher, Presto Arranger MIDI Sequencer, Media Rack, Wave Editor and WinChime

WRONG - the ES688 has no internal FM-circuit nor DAC and thus needs to be combined with either a Yamaha OPL3 or a 1:1 copy and its corresponding DAC.
The ES1688 was the first ASIC with the integrated and Yamaha OPL3 compatible ESFM-Synthesis feature.

Anectodal, my ES688 card does have 1:1 copies of OPL3 FM Synth and DAC..

jade_angel wrote:

The ESS1868 is like the 1688, but has IDE and is full-duplex, and is usually on PnP cards.
The ESS1869 is like the 1868, but supports 48kHz sample rates.

The 1868 is only full-duplex in mono, the 1869 is full-duplex in stereo. Also, you can get ESS cards with Wavetable synths onboard for cheap. Just have to wait for one to pop up.

BTC makes good ESS cards, and still has all of the drivers and applications listed on their site:
http://www.btc.com.tw/english/3-1-13driver_download.htm

The WDM driver in 98 works pretty well too.

I'm not sure if this of any relevance, but my ESS688 card has a few jumpers.
One set is there to select the kind of DSP (SB 2.0 / SB Pro), while another one is there to configure the MPU.

manbearpig wrote:

BTC makes good ESS cards, and still has all of the drivers and applications listed on their site:
http://www.btc.com.tw/english/3-1-13driver_download.htm

The WDM driver in 98 works pretty well too.

Thanks for that, never heard of them but anything that has drivers and is well documented gets my interest!

I've been looking for a BTC ESS card with onboard wavetable since this:

My Wavetable Sample Thread

There have been a couple on eBay that I've seen, but neither with the wavetable chips.

ESS's site had useful info about their ISA chips once upon a time.

http://web.archive.org/web/20000229113504/htt … io/isaaudio.htm

Didn't realize it turned out so blurry. Small quad pack on the left is the ES690 wavetable synth and the big SOP next to it is the ES981 ROM.

Between ESS688F and ES688FC are there any differences?