Yamaha! You simply can't not have one of those!

I also have an Aztech azt2320 based card which I really like even though it's one of those cards that can be pretty finicky to get working right

bertrammatrix wrote on 2025-04-22, 02:17:

Yamaha! You simply can't not have one of those!

I also have an Aztech azt2320 based card which I really like even though it's one of those cards that can be pretty finicky to get working right

Thanks! I totally forgot about Yamaha, I was way too focused on OPL3 emulation I forgot the original. After research via DosDays and Retroweb, it looks like 3 of their 5 single-chip solutions made it into actual ISA cards.

YMF701
YMF718
YMF719

For Aztech, I always thought they used multiple combinations of chips on their cards. But it looks like they made a single chip solution after all:

AZT-2320

Some more obscure chipsets:
AZFIN AZF3318
Rockwell RWA010
Rockwell RWA011

With the difference being: the RWA010 supports 16-bit PnP address but not CD-ROM interface; RWA011 supports 12-bit PnP address and CD-ROM interface.

Dorunkāku wrote on 2025-04-22, 04:15:

Some more obscure chipsets: AZFIN AZF3318 Rockwell RWA010 Rockwell RWA011 […]
Show full quote

Some more obscure chipsets:
AZFIN AZF3318
Rockwell RWA010
Rockwell RWA011

With the difference being: the RWA010 supports 16-bit PnP address but not CD-ROM interface; RWA011 supports 12-bit PnP address and CD-ROM interface.

Thanks! I am going to put the AZFIN under AZTech. I actually found one for sale and bought it just now.

For the Rockwells, no info even on Retroweb. Thankfully there are threads here that has at least pics of them. I do hope they pop up again for sale in the future.

ALS100+ - not really All the truth about FM in ALS100 Plus+ cards (includes facts, tech info and tests)

zyga64 wrote on 2025-04-22, 07:18:

ALS100+ - not really All the truth about FM in ALS100 Plus+ cards (includes facts, tech info and tests)

Huh. I just removed ALS200 from the list, and now it looks like ALS 100 plus+ uses disguised OPL3s as well?

That leaves ALS120 then. I looked at the pics and there really looks like one IC chip there.

clownwolf wrote on 2025-04-22, 01:17:

Yamaha YMF701 YMF718 YMF719 […]
Show full quote

Yamaha
YMF701
YMF718
YMF719

There's a YMF715 out there too and I'm pretty sure I've seen it on an ISA card.

badmojo wrote on 2025-04-22, 08:04:

clownwolf wrote on 2025-04-22, 01:17:

Yamaha YMF701 YMF718 YMF719 […]
Show full quote

Yamaha
YMF701
YMF718
YMF719

There's a YMF715 out there too and I'm pretty sure I've seen it on an ISA card.

Looks like A-Trend 6631 can potentially have YMF715. But all the pics show the cards using YMF719.

Although as per the table below from DosDays, they might be functionally equivalent anyway. Although cant be 100% sure since I cant find a datasheet for YM719.

The driver for the AZF3318 is a bit hard to find, so in case someone needs it:

It's kind of stretching your definition, but possibly the CT8920 AWE64 chip on the CT4520 AWE 64 counts. The card is clearly not a single-chip solution, but the extra components are the EMU8011 wavetable ROM, a 512K x 16 wavetable waveform RAM and a 256K x 4 reverb/chorus buffer RAM. These components are required for the advanced music synthesis. An OPL3 repacement (Creative CQM), the SB16 controller, the DAC/ADC and the mixer are integrated in that chip. The LS245 on that card actually is a ISA data buffer and not a disguised pirate copy of the OPL3.

badmojo wrote on 2025-04-22, 08:04:

clownwolf wrote on 2025-04-22, 01:17:

Yamaha YMF701 YMF718 YMF719 […]
Show full quote

Yamaha
YMF701
YMF718
YMF719

There's a YMF715 out there too and I'm pretty sure I've seen it on an ISA card.

Found an actual YMF715 card

mkarcher wrote on 2025-04-22, 09:38:

It's kind of stretching your definition, but possibly the CT8920 AWE64 chip on the CT4520 AWE 64 counts. The card is clearly not a single-chip solution, but the extra components are the EMU8011 wavetable ROM, a 512K x 16 wavetable waveform RAM and a 256K x 4 reverb/chorus buffer RAM. These components are required for the advanced music synthesis. An OPL3 repacement (Creative CQM), the SB16 controller, the DAC/ADC and the mixer are integrated in that chip. The LS245 on that card actually is a ISA data buffer and not a disguised pirate copy of the OPL3.

Thanks! I was going to take the lazy approach and just leave it out to keep the list simple. I can just add a note that this chipset was not released on sound card as a standalone chipset.

EDIT:

As per DOS Days, CT8920 was released on a cut-down version! So it was released without the synth!

Be warned there are some crippled versions with the same PCB wording "Model CT4520", but with most of the chips missing as well as the wavetable header. These were supposedly sold to OEMs (Dell or Packard-Bell perhaps), and effectively made these cards into a straight Sound Blaster 16. In the Creative Sound Blaster Products list, these are called CT4525.

clownwolf wrote on 2025-04-22, 16:28:

As per DOS Days, CT8920 was released on a cut-down version! So it was released without the synth!

... with most of the chips missing as well as the wavetable header. ..., these are called CT4525.

I just found a picture of a CT4525 on ebay. While it misses the wavetable ROM and wavetable sample RAM, as well as the headers for the RAM extension module (those are not waveblaster-like wave table headers, as the DOS Days quote seems to imply), that card still has the effects engine tank RAM. I'm currently not aware whether AWE64-type cards generally route the FM music through the EMU8000 engine, but it might very well be the case. This would make the CT4525 card a two-chip solution that has the extra capability of applying chorus/reverb to the CQM music, so not a true "single-chip" solution.

mkarcher wrote on 2025-04-22, 18:28:

clownwolf wrote on 2025-04-22, 16:28:

As per DOS Days, CT8920 was released on a cut-down version! So it was released without the synth!

... with most of the chips missing as well as the wavetable header. ..., these are called CT4525.

I just found a picture of a CT4525 on ebay. While it misses the wavetable ROM and wavetable sample RAM, as well as the headers for the RAM extension module (those are not waveblaster-like wave table headers, as the DOS Days quote seems to imply), that card still has the effects engine tank RAM. I'm currently not aware whether AWE64-type cards generally route the FM music through the EMU8000 engine, but it might very well be the case. This would make the CT4525 card a two-chip solution that has the extra capability of applying chorus/reverb to the CQM music, so not a true "single-chip" solution.

So the two chips are the CT8920 chip and the RAM on its left side? But if it the 2nd chip is just RAM, then I guess it depends on one's point of view if this can pass off as an integrated single-chip card.

Also, as a side note I bought the CT4525 card you mentioned, and also a rare Rockwell soundcard too.

clownwolf wrote on 2025-04-22, 16:28:

Found an actual YMF715 card […]
Show full quote

badmojo wrote on 2025-04-22, 08:04:

clownwolf wrote on 2025-04-22, 01:17:

Yamaha YMF701 YMF718 YMF719 […]
Show full quote

Yamaha
YMF701
YMF718
YMF719

There's a YMF715 out there too and I'm pretty sure I've seen it on an ISA card.

Found an actual YMF715 card

The attachment Screenshot 2025-04-22 090720.png is no longer available

mkarcher wrote on 2025-04-22, 09:38:

It's kind of stretching your definition, but possibly the CT8920 AWE64 chip on the CT4520 AWE 64 counts. The card is clearly not a single-chip solution, but the extra components are the EMU8011 wavetable ROM, a 512K x 16 wavetable waveform RAM and a 256K x 4 reverb/chorus buffer RAM. These components are required for the advanced music synthesis. An OPL3 repacement (Creative CQM), the SB16 controller, the DAC/ADC and the mixer are integrated in that chip. The LS245 on that card actually is a ISA data buffer and not a disguised pirate copy of the OPL3.

Thanks! I was going to take the lazy approach and just leave it out to keep the list simple. I can just add a note that this chipset was not released on sound card as a standalone chipset.

EDIT:

As per DOS Days, CT8920 was released on a cut-down version! So it was released without the synth!

Be warned there are some crippled versions with the same PCB wording "Model CT4520", but with most of the chips missing as well as the wavetable header. These were supposedly sold to OEMs (Dell or Packard-Bell perhaps), and effectively made these cards into a straight Sound Blaster 16. In the Creative Sound Blaster Products list, these are called CT4525.

I was looking for the "holy grail" of these YMF last year. I don't think there is any real difference between a 715, 718 or 719. The 715 seems the least common, and the 719 has the "spatializer" IC that is usually external (on the 715 and 718 -I think- ) built in. Since every sane person leaves the "y-immersion" off anyway you can consider all 3 equal

YMF701 - literally glued together OPL3, MPU401, SBpro2 and WSS. Non-PnP and resource hog since SB, WSS and MPU use 3x IRQs and WSS and SB use their own separate DMAs too.
YMF711 / 718 - PnP, with shared IRQs and DMAs between all the components, dramatically reducing resource requirements.
YMF715 / 719 - adds bass and treble controls and Ymersion aka Yamaha's take on the stereo field widening methods
YMF715B / 719B - adds Ymersion types and some low power support for laptop use
YMF715E / 719E / 741 - adds lower power modes and ability to read back multipurpose pins configuration mode. YMF741 reports itself as E revision, seems to be very uncommon.
YMF715F - I have only ever seen this one in a Toshiba laptop, appears functionally same as E but the laptop will not boot with other chip revisions so there are some secrets in it that are missing in others.

E revision seems to be the most common one

clownwolf wrote on 2025-04-22, 01:17:

• ES1887-based
  • ES1887 Preliminary Datasheet
    • ES1887 (unconfimed)

Not sure what unconfirmed means, this is used in the Dell Latitude XPi MMX laptop, I posted a picture of the daughterboard. The non-MMX variant uses the ES1888.

jtchip wrote on 2025-05-07, 01:39:

clownwolf wrote on 2025-04-22, 01:17:

• ES1887-based
  • ES1887 Preliminary Datasheet
    • ES1887 (unconfimed)

Not sure what unconfirmed means, this is used in the Dell Latitude XPi MMX laptop, I posted a picture of the daughterboard. The non-MMX variant uses the ES1888.

Thanks for the example. I edited the list to make it a little clearer that Unconfimed means I havent seen a photo or proof of the chip on a sound card yet.