Yeah, it's pretty easy. Install the live first, then disable the SB emulation components in device manager. Then look in autoexec.bat and config.sys and remove anything that the SB live put there (you won't need it for Windows).
After that, just install the sb16 as normal.

And wether it makes sense is entirely up to you.
I have a PC with 3 sound cards in it 🤣

Well, I guess 2 cards are enough then 🤣
Is there any recommendation on the SB16 model I should be looking for?

When SBLive drivers detect a PnP ISA card made by Creative in the same PC, the DOS emulation features of the Live will be automatically disabled.

This doesn't occur with ISA cards from other manufacturers such as ESS.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-03-19, 08:21:

When SBLive drivers detect a PnP ISA card made by Creative in the same PC, the DOS emulation features of the Live will be automatically disabled.

This doesn't occur with ISA cards from other manufacturers such as ESS.

That's interesting, didn't know that, always good to learn something new. I suppose I've only ever done this with non SB PnP cards.

Harlock wrote on 2022-03-19, 08:08:

Is there any recommendation on the SB16 model I should be looking for?

It really depends on what you want out of it, it's a rabbit hole to be sure. You may want to also consider an AWE32 or 64, if you're set on SB16 support.

RockstarRunner wrote on 2022-03-19, 08:54:

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-03-19, 08:21:

When SBLive drivers detect a PnP ISA card made by Creative in the same PC, the DOS emulation features of the Live will be automatically disabled.

This doesn't occur with ISA cards from other manufacturers such as ESS.

That's interesting, didn't know that, always good to learn something new. I suppose I've only ever done this with non SB PnP cards.

Indeed, didn't know about that either!
Yes AWE32/64 could be an option, although they are more pricey, but I'm keeping an eye on those a well
How about SB16 ct2960, is it PNP?

You could pick up an CT4500 or Ct4520 for not so much, gives you SB16 and AWE support without the midi bugs, and so long as you're playing in Windows, will be easy to use.
Then you can improve the midi by either adding a Simmcon for loading bigger sound banks, or a Chill adapter to connect a wave table module.
Like I said, it's a rabbit hole, and hard to offer a suggestion unless you tell what you want out of the card.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-03-19, 08:21:

When SBLive drivers detect a PnP ISA card made by Creative in the same PC, the DOS emulation features of the Live will be automatically disabled.

If that's the case it could be a reason to go for a non-PnP SB16, so that you get to choose rather than the drivers automatically doing it for you.

If your just wanting a SB16 (or the AWE which is just a SB16 with a EMU chip)
I'd say any Vibra or SB16 you can get at a good starting point.

Typical complaints of SB16's
OPL vs CQM
Personally I think people make this out to be a bigger problem then it really is but CQM does sound different to OPL. If your happy enough with how the SBLive is sounding in dos, I don't think you have to worry about this though.

Hanging note bug.
This only matters if your going to plug in an external midi device into the gameport or add on card like a dreamblaster. If your not doing either of these then it's a non issue.

This page has a nice write up on the SB16's Pro's/Con's and what you can expect from each card
http://dosdays.co.uk/topics/sb16.php
Off that page it says the CT2960 is PNP

Question for Joseph_Joestar as I didn't know about the PNP disabling "feature" either.
Is that only with PNP enabled in BIOS or are the drivers hard coded to go detect and disable legacy mode?

chinny22 wrote on 2022-03-21, 10:47:

Question for Joseph_Joestar as I didn't know about the PNP disabling "feature" either.
Is that only with PNP enabled in BIOS or are the drivers hard coded to go detect and disable legacy mode?

I don't think the "PnP OS Installed Yes/No" BIOS setting plays a role here. All that does is let the BIOS configure the IRQ/DMA resources of your hardware instead of having Windows manage them.

But its nature, the SBLive DOS emulation (within Win9x) is a software solution provided by VxD drivers. Therefore, the IRQ/DMA assignments of the emulated SB16 device cannot be affected by the computer's BIOS settings. The only exception is if you specifically reserve a certain IRQ/DMA value in the BIOS, in which case the emulated device will use the next free one.