Since you already have an Orpheus II, MT-32 and external Roland Sound Canvas, you've basically got the best possible sound options for that era of gaming.

The Covox Speech Thing / Disney Sound Source are mostly novelties. In games with Sound Blaster support, that is the better option.

Tandy sound would be great especially for early Sierra games. But the TNDLPT has unfortunately been out of stock as long as I've been aware of it. There's also a Tandy 3 Voice Sound card project, but there hasn't been any news on if/when they'll be a new batch.

edited to add: Covox clone + TEMU is a valid option. Just tested it myself and I do get correct-sounding music in both Space Quest 2 and King's Quest 3. It's not quite as a good as a real Tandy, but I think that has to do with the dynamics of coming through a Tandy speaker, as opposed to powered speakers.

For other sound options, you might consider a TexElec SAAYM card. It features Game Blaster / CMS compatibility via dual SAA1099 chips. I wouldn't say it's better than an MT-32 or even Adlib if given a choice. But it can provide an interesting alternative that sounds kind of like an NES.

You could also consider additional sound modules like a Yamaha MU-series module. That could provide a different sound palette for General MIDI games. And a Roland CM-32L or CM-64 module would give you the extra sound effects for games that support those modules specifically.

Shponglefan wrote on 2023-07-23, 18:47:

The Covox Speech Thing / Disney Sound Source are more novelties than anything. Sound Blaster support is the better option.

TEMU supports Covox plugs as an output device, though.
That way, emulated Tandy 3-Voice music can be had easily on 386+ PCs (incl. laptops).

That's a nice extra, maybe. The mono autput can be fed into the unused MIC input of sound cards (let's don't forget a capacitor in series to block phantom voltage).

Jo22 wrote on 2023-07-23, 19:30:

TEMU supports Covox plugs as an output device, though.
That way, emulated Tandy 3-Voice music can be had easily on 386+ PCs (incl. laptops).

Interesting, I didn't know that. 😀

Of course curiosity, just gave it a couple quick tests on my 386 system.

With my Covox Speech Thing clone, it does work. Tried both Space Quest 2 and King's Quest 3, and it appears to replicate the Tandy sounds correctly.

It does not work when I set TEMU to output to PC speaker. Result is just a horrible buzzing noise. TEMU also does not work with a Disney Sound Source, as I guess it doesn't recognize it as an output device.

In comparing to a real Tandy 1000, I think I still prefer the real deal. The sound has a certain tonality coming out of a real Tandy speaker that I prefer. In lieu of that, TEMU + Covox does seem a viable option.

Oooo, sounds (groan) like I need to get covox clone(s) made for my sub pentium laptops ASAP.

So, first generation Aztech cards are supposed to do quite a number of modes, I keep hoping I'll dig one out, but only got a 2nd gen PB special so far.

BitWrangler wrote on 2023-07-23, 20:39:

So, first generation Aztech cards are supposed to do quite a number of modes, I keep hoping I'll dig one out, but only got a 2nd gen PB special so far.

I have a few early Aztech cards. While they do offer a lot of purported format support (Covox, DSS, Adlib, SB, SBPro), I found in testing they tended be noisier than I would like. Which is par for the course with a lot of early sound cards.

IMHO, if the quality audio output is desired then there are better, cleaner-sounding options.

To me, the really cool thing about parallel port sound devices from back in the day (most notably the Covox Speech Thing and the Disney Sound Source) is the fact that they work in systems that lack ISA slots, both vintage machines and more modern computers alike, allowing at least some DOS games from back in the day to work on such systems with decent sound support.

That's why I never really understood the added value of Covox or DSS compatibility in an ISA card, since practically every game that supports these devices also supports Sound Blaster for digital audio output. There are only very few exceptions to this, but IMO not enough to make such compatibility desirable in a card that is already Sound Blaster compatible. Looking at it in terms of a Venn diagram, games with Covox and/or DSS support are a nearly perfect (and comparatively very small) subset of the vast number of games that support Sound Blaster.

And it's not like any games actually sounded better or distinctly different with those devices, or either.

On the other hand, a PCI(e) sound card card with an OPL3 FM chip, an Intelligent Mode MPU-401 compatible MIDI interface and Covox and DSS compatibility, now that would be a lot more interesting and fun to play with, since the PCI(e) bus is fundamentally incompatible with ISA DMA, and alternative (albeit limited) legacy DOS game support could be added to such a card in this way. Bonus points if such a card came with an option ROM that would add both DIGPAK (INT 66h) and VBE/AI (INT 10h) sound APIs as a BIOS extension. That would be a fun hobby project, indeed. Perhaps such functionality could be added to a newer revision of the Fortex! 🙂

your sound stuff for DOS is perfect, don't touch it do not add nothing new
what could be improved on that pc would be the mainboard and cpu
instead such compaq 486/66 Id say that a pentium 100 or 133mhz + a good asus motherboard for it will enhance the total experience

NightShadowPT wrote on 2023-07-23, 18:08:

Hi Everyone, […]
Show full quote

Hi Everyone,

As the title says, I am looking to have the most compatibility for sound options in my retro system.

It is a Compaq 486/66, and use it to play PC games from the early 80's to the mid 90's.

I have recently acquired an Orpheus II soundcard (absolute beast of a sound card), giving me compatibility with:

- Adlib
- Sound Blaster Pro
- Gravis Ultrasound
- Midi MPU-401 (to interface with my Roland MT-32 and SC55-MKII)
- Midi through the internal header (I am not using it)

This does an amazing job at covering the majority of the games I want to play, but for the earlier ones, I was considering options that would allow my system to be compatible with a Covox Speech Thing, Disney Sound Source and/or Tandy.

I've been looking into the CVX-4 and TNDLPT, but I'm not sure if these are the best options. How is the tandy compatility if using the CXV-4 and TEMU?

Any other options? Or are these even a good option?

Also, I tend to choose the best available sound option for each game. Would adding compatibility for these systems improve the number of games I can run with a better sound, or does the majority of games that support these also support Adlib/Soundblaster?

Thanks.

Cheers,

I mean look ill tell ya from personal experience my DOS pc has : gravis , mt32 , cm32L , sc55 , mu80 , tandy , gameblaster , awe64 , sb16 and mpu 401 support all crammed into a single system but look after a certain point it becomes a pain in the ass conflict wise plus its a case of diminishing returns not to mention you'll be activating and deactivating stuff so devices don't step on each others toes.

If you wanted every option you'd need also need a OPL2 stereo based card like the sound blaster pro 1 which goes for quite a bit or worse yet the original mediavision pro audio spectrum which goes for stupid amounts.

Then you get into the territory of collecting things like the ad lib gold for just one game or hunting down a SSI 2000 that has the sid chip on it and rare obscurities that fetch eye watering prices... look honestly looking at the setup you have its pretty good id say ya pretty much set , and it should cover you for 90% of games.

Though I mean if you really were desperate you could do what I did and get a DB25 switchbox with enough inputs and load it with DB25 sound cards and usb power bricks then connect it to your pc with a DB25 straight through cable , I probably wouldn't switch it on the fly though only before ya boot as I don't think parallel is hot swappable and I don't want to be responsible for someone's stuff blowing up.

To echo AppleSauce's reply, as someone who has collected and tested a of lot of PC audio hardware from the 80s and 90s, most of it is more novelty than anything. And a lot of earlier sound card suffer from noise issues (interference, audible hiss, etc.).

Once you have SB Pro, GUS, and intelligent mode MPU-401 MIDI support, you've got everything you need for the majority of DOS games. Maybe add in SB16/AWE32 support for some Pentium-era DOS titles and then you're complete.

If the Orpheus II had existed back in the 90s, it would have been the holy grail of sound cards. It's amazing that such a card exists today.

Overall, depending on your needs, no single sound card would give you maximum sound compatibility.

Having been using three ISA sound cards on one computer at the same time, the most relevant ones in my experience to cover most of the DOS era are:

• AdLib: FM synth support.
• SBPro with low-pass filter: Handy for early games that uses digitized sound with lower sample rates.
• SB16 or AWE: For late games, where the limitations of the SBPro (be the real thing or a compatible clone) are noticeable. A suitable alternative is WSS, but it less supported.
• MPU-401 compatible interface with Roland MT-32 and Sound Canvas SC-55: If you want the best MIDI experience, preferably one that has intelligent mode support. Skip this if you're going for the pure nostalgia route.

GUS is entirely optional and is for DOS applications that takes advantage of the hardware mixer it has, such tracker music. Everything else is novelty or niche at best.

Thanks for the feedback!

After reading your comments I'm convinced that I don't "need" any additional sound device on my machine, so I decided to go for the CVX-4 just for kicks 😁

I've been wanting to explore this niche device for some time, and the Tandy "compatibility" through the emulator just sealed the deal for me.

AppleSauce wrote on 2023-07-24, 11:52:

Though I mean if you really were desperate you could do what I did and get a DB25 switchbox with enough inputs and load it with DB25 sound cards and usb power bricks then connect it to your pc with a DB25 straight through cable , I probably wouldn't switch it on the fly though only before ya boot as I don't think parallel is hot swappable and I don't want to be responsible for someone's stuff blowing up.

20230301_171814 (1).jpg

Hat's off to you sir! That is an inventive solution to a problem you didn't need to have 😀

That's what I love about this community. Not everything needs to make sense... sometimes we just do stuff because "why not?"

Just to update you on this topic, I ended up getting a Cvx-4 to complement my options (and give some use to my parallel port 😀).

I have to say the sound quality is quite impressive, much better than I expected (for the games that have support for the Covox).

But truth is that most, if not all of the games that support the Covox also support Sound Blaster or better, and those are usually better options.

Where I am really benefiting from having teh CVX-4 is through the use of the Tandy emulator, that can make a difference for older games.

The only challenge is that many of the older games club the option of using Tandy Sound and Tandy Graphics in a single option, making it impossible to benefit from the Tandy sounds in my system.

As previously discussed in this thread, adding this option to my system was more of a completeness exercise rather than a serious improvement, but for the price I am happy with my purchase and being able to dabble a bit into the Covox and Tandy sounds.