Cosmic wrote on 2022-10-16, 19:35:

These are the ISA sound cards I have on hand: […]
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These are the ISA sound cards I have on hand:

• SoundBlaster CT2290 - true OPL3 card, it's in my K6 system for now
• SoundBlaster CT4170 Vibra 16XV - fairly integrated card, CQM
• Aztech 138-MMSN855 - interesting card with a modem, but not sure how good it is

Hi!

CQM sounds very bad with FM music. I once got a SB AWE32 with this chip and couldn´t stand it.
Can´t recommend.

Sound card with 48kHz output is preferable. ISA sound blaster never had it and Aztech most likely neither.

Windows Slund System (WSS) was 48 KHz.

The Serpent Rider wrote on 2022-10-16, 20:50:

Sound card with 48kHz output is preferable. ISA sound blaster never had it and Aztech most likely neither.

Jo22 wrote on 2022-10-16, 21:04:

Windows Slund System (WSS) was 48 KHz.

Thanks! I wasn't thinking about the sample rate so that helps narrow the choices down a lot.

I found a post from 2014 on another forum that lists a bunch of ISA sound cards and sometimes includes sample rate.
http://www.oldschooldaw.com/forums/index.php?topic=674.0

I filtered by 48kHz and posted the results here for anybody else looking for these cards. Looks like there's plenty to choose from and some are fairly inexpensive.

1ESS ISA CHIPSETS  (Audiodrive Series):
2--------------------------------------
3ES1869                    Controller+Codec 16-bit 48KHz, Integr. OPL3 clone, MPU-401, PnP, dual joystick, Full-duplex, IDE, Spatializer 3-D VBX.
4
5CRYSTAL ISA RELATED CHIPSETS (only the most common):
6----------------------------------------------------
7CS4231(A)                 Codec 16-bit 48KHz, WSS Compatible, ADPCM, Full Duplex.
8CS4248                    Codec 16-bit 48KHz, WSS Compatible, ADPCM, Full Duplex (as CS4231 without pulse code modulation
9CS4232                    Controller+Codec 16-Bit 48KHz, PnP, SB/SBPro/WSS/MPU-401 compatible, IDE.
10CS4236                    Controller+Codec 16-Bit 48KHz, PnP, SB/SBPro/WSS/MPU-401 compatible, IDE, Integr. OPL3 clone.
11CS4236B                   Controller+Codec 16-Bit 48KHz, PnP, SB/SBPro/WSS/MPU-401 compatible, IDE, Integr. OPL3 clone, WT digital interface.
12CS4237B                   Controller+Codec 16-Bit 48KHz, PnP, SB/SBPro/WSS/MPU-401 compatible, IDE, Integr. OPL3 clone, WT digital interface.
13CS4235                    Controller+Codec 16-Bit 48KHz, PnP, SB/SBPro/WSS/MPU-401 compatible, IDE, Integr. OPL3 clone, low cost.
14
15ADLIB ISA SOUNDCARDS
16--------------------
17MSC Wave Pro 16           AD1848K SoundPort, Breve misc chips, 1MB wave table GM/GS MT32.
18
19ENSONIQ ISA SOUNDCARDS
20----------------------
21Soundscape S-2000         AD1848KP, Motorola 68EC000, OTTO GM/GS Wavetable 2MB ROM, M-CD
22Soundscape Elite          AD1848KP, Motorola 68EC000, OTTO GM/GS Wavetable 2MB ROM, M-CD, IDE, ESP daughtercard
23Soundscape II:            AD1848KP, Motorola 68EC000, OTTO GM/GS Wavetable 2MB ROM, M-CD, IDE, ESP connectors

The Serpent Rider wrote on 2022-10-16, 20:50:

Sound card with 48kHz output is preferable. ISA sound blaster never had it and Aztech most likely neither.

Jo22 wrote on 2022-10-16, 21:04:

Windows Slund System (WSS) was 48 KHz.

16-bit Aztech cards are compatible with WSS.
So, that Aztech card most likely does support 48 kHz.

Yah, back in the day I liked using MSS/WSS in anything that supported it on my Aztechs, the SB modes seemed to offer bug for bug compatibility with reversed stereo and note hanging in a lot of games.

I remember I had an ESS ISA sound card on my Duron 800, I later upgraded to a Sound Blaster Live Value PCI. I got a big speed up in many games due to ISA Soundcard bottlenecking the machine.

I would suggest finding a mobo with more PCI slots 😀

Grzyb wrote on 2022-10-17, 00:37:

16-bit Aztech cards are compatible with WSS.
So, that Aztech card most likely does support 48 kHz.

The Aztech ended up only supporting 44.1 KHz :[ oh well. I bought an inexpensive Crystal based ISA card with no frills and simple layout. I'll update with results when it arrives.

mwdmeyer wrote on 2022-10-17, 03:27:

I would suggest finding a mobo with more PCI slots 😀

I wish! I have an interest in mini/baby AT boards lately (I have 4 so far). It's been tough finding 440BX + AGP + more than 3 PCI slots in this form factor. They exist, but I'm happy with the compromise so far.

A couple photos of the Aztech. I think it's kind of ugly. :p

Under Windows:

Yah, I have this one I think (Model numbers tend to scramble in my head) https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/pcpart … bxb847d-35-8847 with just the 3 PCI, haven't found a way to get a PIII going on it yet. It's very anchored in PII era for a BX... guess I could screw around with BIOS from other boards or something. Not playing in this era at the moment though.