darry wrote on 2020-07-04, 19:01:

Oetker wrote on 2020-07-04, 18:57:

I bought a crappy one with moulded plastic shells. It contained a PCB but completely wrong resistors. Adding proper resistors to yours should work, you don't need an opto coupler for output and a buffer isn't necessary either.

I stand corrected . One should never underestimate the bottom feeders .

Oetker, was yours branded ?

No it wasn't. But I misunderstood, it's a generic plastic shell, not moulded.

Anyone have any experience/thoughts on this one?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124234303493

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-04, 21:07:

Anyone have any experience/thoughts on this one?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124234303493

I have seen that ad and almost bought one at the time . Considering the seller's has a great rating and has been at it for a while, it's a good sign .

But unless you need MIDI IN, the Serdaco one is more practical because it has 2 MIDI outs, which makes it perfect for adding a second module down the road .

Price wise, the Serdaco one is less expensive
too .

Remember that whichever you chose, you will need to buy at least one DIN MIDI cable (Serdaco sells one as an option).

darry wrote on 2020-07-04, 21:43:

But unless you need MIDI IN, the Serdaco one is more practical because it has 2 MIDI outs, which makes it perfect for adding a s […]
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Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-04, 21:07:

Anyone have any experience/thoughts on this one?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124234303493

But unless you need MIDI IN, the Serdaco one is more practical because it has 2 MIDI outs, which makes it perfect for adding a second module down the road .

Price wise, the Serdaco one is less expensive
too .

Remember that whichever you chose, you will need to buy at least one DIN MIDI cable (Serdaco sells one as an option).

Good point 😉

Ok, ordered the Serdaco interface. Next question, what's the best solution for adding in a gameport (as this interface doesn't have passthru for a joystick).

Dedicated gameport card?
2nd soundcard (had my eye on some OPL based cards) - any issues running 2 soundcards at once?

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-04, 22:05:

Ok, ordered the Serdaco interface. Next question, what's the best solution for adding in a gameport (as this interface doesn't have passthru for a joystick).

Dedicated gameport card?
2nd soundcard (had my eye on some OPL based cards) - any issues running 2 soundcards at once?

I run three sound cards. If resources do not conflict, there are no issues . A gameport card is another option, but I would go with another sound card .

Is that a Quad amp under the headphones ?

darry wrote on 2020-07-04, 22:10:

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-04, 22:05:

Ok, ordered the Serdaco interface. Next question, what's the best solution for adding in a gameport (as this interface doesn't have passthru for a joystick).

Dedicated gameport card?
2nd soundcard (had my eye on some OPL based cards) - any issues running 2 soundcards at once?

I run three sound cards. If resources do not conflict, there are no issues . A gameport card is another option, but I would go with another sound card .

Is that a Quad amp under the headphones ?

Well spotted. It's one of a pair of 303s. I run a pair of B&Ws with one amp per side and then bi-wired so there's an independent channel for the woofer and tweeter for each speaker.

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-05, 00:00:

darry wrote on 2020-07-04, 22:10:

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-04, 22:05:

Ok, ordered the Serdaco interface. Next question, what's the best solution for adding in a gameport (as this interface doesn't have passthru for a joystick).

Dedicated gameport card?
2nd soundcard (had my eye on some OPL based cards) - any issues running 2 soundcards at once?

I run three sound cards. If resources do not conflict, there are no issues . A gameport card is another option, but I would go with another sound card .

Is that a Quad amp under the headphones ?

Well spotted. It's one of a pair of 303s. I run a pair of B&Ws with one amp per side and then bi-wired so there's an independent channel for the woofer and tweeter for each speaker.

Interesting. Do you use an active crossover or a software-defined one or something else entirely ? I hope you don't mind me asking, I am curious but know very little about this stuff .

darry wrote on 2020-07-05, 00:28:

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-05, 00:00:

darry wrote on 2020-07-04, 22:10:

I run three sound cards. If resources do not conflict, there are no issues . A gameport card is another option, but I would go with another sound card .

Is that a Quad amp under the headphones ?

Well spotted. It's one of a pair of 303s. I run a pair of B&Ws with one amp per side and then bi-wired so there's an independent channel for the woofer and tweeter for each speaker.

Interesting. Do you use an active crossover or a software-defined one or something else entirely ? I hope you don't mind me asking, I am curious but know very little about this stuff .

Nope, just amping straight out of the 303s into the speakers. I use a small passive preamp (fancy way of saying a stepped attenuator in a nice case with a rosewood bezel...) to control the volume as the 303s have no volume control of their own.

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-05, 05:59:

darry wrote on 2020-07-05, 00:28:

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-05, 00:00:

Well spotted. It's one of a pair of 303s. I run a pair of B&Ws with one amp per side and then bi-wired so there's an independent channel for the woofer and tweeter for each speaker.

Interesting. Do you use an active crossover or a software-defined one or something else entirely ? I hope you don't mind me asking, I am curious but know very little about this stuff .

Nope, just amping straight out of the 303s into the speakers. I use a small passive preamp (fancy way of saying a stepped attenuator in a nice case with a rosewood bezel...) to control the volume as the 303s have no volume control of their own.

Thank you. I am likely misunderstanding something, but doesn't that mean both woofer and tweeter receive full frequency range audio ?

darry wrote on 2020-07-05, 07:36:

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-05, 05:59:

darry wrote on 2020-07-05, 00:28:

Interesting. Do you use an active crossover or a software-defined one or something else entirely ? I hope you don't mind me asking, I am curious but know very little about this stuff .

Nope, just amping straight out of the 303s into the speakers. I use a small passive preamp (fancy way of saying a stepped attenuator in a nice case with a rosewood bezel...) to control the volume as the 303s have no volume control of their own.

Thank you. I am likely misunderstanding something, but doesn't that mean both woofer and tweeter receive full frequency range audio ?

No as there are crossovers built into the speakers themselves.

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-04, 21:07:

Anyone have any experience/thoughts on this one?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124234303493

I think Darry's advice to go with the Serdaco one is good (and I see you went that way) but for what it's worth, I can vouch for the quality of this cable and the good service too.

darry wrote on 2020-07-04, 22:10:

I run three sound cards. If resources do not conflict, there are no issues . A gameport card is another option, but I would go with another sound card .

Is that a Quad amp under the headphones ?

Had my eye on an OPL3 based Addonics/Labway card for a while and just picked one up for £16 delivered.

Feels very odd working with ISA slots again after all these years. I cut my teeth (and knuckles) building 386 and 486 machines back in the day. I've forgotten so much DOS magic...

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-05, 18:15:

darry wrote on 2020-07-04, 22:10:

I run three sound cards. If resources do not conflict, there are no issues . A gameport card is another option, but I would go with another sound card .

Is that a Quad amp under the headphones ?

Had my eye on an OPL3 based Addonics/Labway card for a while and just picked one up for £16 delivered.

Feels very odd working with ISA slots again after all these years. I cut my teeth (and knuckles) building 386 and 486 machines back in the day. I've forgotten so much DOS magic...

Is the card YMF71x based ?

darry wrote on 2020-07-05, 18:20:

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-05, 18:15:

darry wrote on 2020-07-04, 22:10:

I run three sound cards. If resources do not conflict, there are no issues . A gameport card is another option, but I would go with another sound card .

Is that a Quad amp under the headphones ?

Had my eye on an OPL3 based Addonics/Labway card for a while and just picked one up for £16 delivered.

Feels very odd working with ISA slots again after all these years. I cut my teeth (and knuckles) building 386 and 486 machines back in the day. I've forgotten so much DOS magic...

Is the card YMF71x based ?

A151-A00 YAMAHA YMF719E-S

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-05, 19:31:

darry wrote on 2020-07-05, 18:20:

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-05, 18:15:

Had my eye on an OPL3 based Addonics/Labway card for a while and just picked one up for £16 delivered.

Feels very odd working with ISA slots again after all these years. I cut my teeth (and knuckles) building 386 and 486 machines back in the day. I've forgotten so much DOS magic...

Is the card YMF71x based ?

A151-A00 YAMAHA YMF719E-S

Great choice . OPL3 , SB Pro, WSS .

I recommend using Tiido's SETYMF (which I use) or trying JazeFox's UNISOUND (which I have not tried yet) to configure the card. Yamaha's SETUPSA is not great, IMHO, and currently doesn't even work in my multi-card setup .

darry wrote on 2020-07-05, 19:39:

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-05, 19:31:

darry wrote on 2020-07-05, 18:20:

Is the card YMF71x based ?

A151-A00 YAMAHA YMF719E-S

Great choice . OPL3 , SB Pro, WSS .

I recommend using Tiido's SETYMF (which I use) or trying JazeFox's UNISOUND (which I have not tried yet) to configure the card. Yamaha's SETUPSA is not great, IMHO, and currently doesn't even work in my multi-card setup .

Anything in particular that I need to do to prevent it from conflicting with the ESS card on 220/5/1 ?

Both the ESS and Yamaha are SB Pro compatible .
I would set one to A220 I7 D1 T4 and the other to A240 I5 D0 T4 .
My preference would be to set the Yamaha to A220 etc . because of its OPL3 and some older games not suporting anything else than A220 .

You can use 2 small batch files to set blaster variable to the card you want to use and possibly re-run that cards init utility .

Alternatively, you could set up 2 batch files to swap resources between the 2 cards and always be able to switch to the one you want while always using A220 etc .

I would choose to stick to one card for the MPU401 and set at port 330h, for compatibility and to avoid swapping cables .

The ESS might be better on 220/7/1 due to ADPCM support. Helpful if you play DN2, Major Stryker, and Monster Bash, although in all honesty they might support alternate I/O addresses.

darry wrote on 2020-07-05, 19:39:

Lostdotfish wrote on 2020-07-05, 19:31:

darry wrote on 2020-07-05, 18:20:

Is the card YMF71x based ?

A151-A00 YAMAHA YMF719E-S

Great choice . OPL3 , SB Pro, WSS .

I recommend using Tiido's SETYMF (which I use) or trying JazeFox's UNISOUND (which I have not tried yet) to configure the card. Yamaha's SETUPSA is not great, IMHO, and currently doesn't even work in my multi-card setup .

Thanks for the software lead. I'll check that out when the card arrives.

What's your 3rd soundcard out of interest? Gravis?