VOGONS


First post, by m5215tx

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

Anyone have any experience with this card to comment on its compatibility and performance in DOS? I am considering getting one.

Roland MT-32 (old), CM-32LN, SC-55, SC-88VL, MT-120, SD-35, SD-20, SD-80, SD-90
Yamaha TG100, TG300, MDF2, MU15, MU100, MU2000EX + PLG150-DR + PLG150-PF + PLG150-VL
KORG NS5R, X5DR
AKAI SG01k
KAWAI GMega
KETRON SD2

Reply 1 of 4, by jesolo

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

The FCC ID on the card should be I38-MMSN830. I have exactly the same card, but mine was known as the Trust Sound Expert Deluxe 16+.
This is actually just a rebranded variant of a third generation Sound Galaxy sound card that utilised the AZT-2316 chipset (Aztech Labs licensed their sound cards to Reveal, Trust & HP, to name a few).

In my opinion, probably one of the best range of sound cards that Aztech Labs released.
Very good Sound Blaster Pro II compatibility (is also Windows Sound System compatible), real OPL3 FM synthesis chip, Wave Blaster header, no MIDI hanging note bug and has both an IDE & proprietary (Sony, Mitsumi & Panasonic) CD-ROM headers.
Under Windows, this card is a full 16-bit 44.1 KHz sound card (only Sound Blaster Pro 8-bit 22.05 KHz under DOS, unfortunately). Although, very few clone cards supported the Sound Blaster 16 under DOS.
This sound card is not Plug 'n Play, but is configured entirely in software and the settings are stored in EEPROM. Works very well under Windows 95 as well (despite not being Plug 'n Play).

If you do decide to buy the card, then you can find the drivers here: Need Help Configuring Aztech Sound Card

Reply 2 of 4, by m5215tx

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

The FCC ID is I38-MMSN811 on this one. Same card you are referring to? Do you think those drivers you suggested would work?

Roland MT-32 (old), CM-32LN, SC-55, SC-88VL, MT-120, SD-35, SD-20, SD-80, SD-90
Yamaha TG100, TG300, MDF2, MU15, MU100, MU2000EX + PLG150-DR + PLG150-PF + PLG150-VL
KORG NS5R, X5DR
AKAI SG01k
KAWAI GMega
KETRON SD2

Reply 3 of 4, by jesolo

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

After searching online, I see now that it is actually the Reveal SC 400 Rev.4 that has an FCC ID of I38-MMSN830.

To answer your first question. No, I38-MMSN811 is just a rebranded Sound Galaxy Nova 16 Extra, utilising the older AZT-1605 chipset (I've attached a picture of the sound card for you to confirm).

Aztech_2nd Generation_199x_Sound Galaxy Nova 16 Extra_I38-MMSN811_V1-1Y_1.jpg
Filename
Aztech_2nd Generation_199x_Sound Galaxy Nova 16 Extra_I38-MMSN811_V1-1Y_1.jpg
File size
1.42 MiB
Views
5482 views
File comment
Aztech Sound Galaxy Nova 16 Extra
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception

Unfortunately, despite claiming to be Sound Blaster Pro compatible, it isn't really (at least, the digital sound playback). It does have an OPL3 FM synthesis chip, so you will get stereo sound music playback with games that supports it, but digital sound playback will only be mono (i.e., it would then behave just like your Sound Blaster 2.0 mono sound card).

I would rather look out for one that has an AZT-2316 chipset.
The drivers for this one is available on Vogons Drivers (together with a couple of other Sound Galaxy models).
Alternatively, you can go to Aztech's FTP site (ftp://ftp.aztech.com/support/DOWNLOAD/sg/) and download it from there - refer to the "index.txt" file to identify which folder has the correct drivers for your sound card.

Reply 4 of 4, by shamino

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

I have the Reveal SC400 Rev.3 (just looked at it and that's what's printed on the sticker over one of the ICs). It is a rebranded Nova 16 as said above, and uses those drivers.

I tried it out about a year ago on a Win98 super7 machine and had some trouble with it in DOS mode, but maybe I didn't know what I was doing. All my past experience has been with real Sound Blasters.

NASCAR Racing MIDI works as a Sound Blaster, but PCM sound does not work as any type of Sound Blaster, not even a plain 8-bit model. PCM only worked when set as Microsoft Sound System.
DOOM worked fine as a Sound Blaster.
Ultima Underworld didn't recognize the card at all. I couldn't get any sound with it.
Ultima 6 music came out as an explosion of loud noises. Maybe it's a speed issue, I didn't try any other cards. The CPU I was using was either a P200-233MMX. I think I tried disabling caches but it was a long time ago.
Ultima 8 worked fine.
Win98 worked fine, and it has a real OPL3.

On boot the card had a lot of background hiss, but Win98 quieted it way down and sounded clear. I didn't figure out how to fix that in DOS. The Aztech mixer program didn't help.
I don't know much about these cards so I could have been doing things wrong.