VOGONS


First post, by 640K!enough

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After AdLib went bankrupt, their assets were purchased by a Germany company, and it was re-named AdLib Multimedia. It was my understanding that they retained the office on Grande Allée Est, for a while, at least, but dismissed most of the original engineering team.

Some time after the AdLib Gold, they were back to producing sound cards, with the same old logo on their Web site (with slightly different styling). Some details of the site, adlib-multimedia.com, are available at archive.org, so I'm not dreaming. These cards seemed virtually non-existent in Canada, and I never heard or read very much about them. Apparently, they even had a dual ISA/PCI bus sound card. Did anyone ever see or own any of their later products? If so, can you share any details about that piece of sound card history?

Reply 1 of 15, by Beegle

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I have both sound cards produced by the German Adlib Multimedia team, but didn't get the time to test them.

The first one is a simple card with a chip by Crystal.
The second one is a more complex, I believe Wave Table card, with chips by Dream.

Last edited by Beegle on 2017-07-16, 05:31. Edited 1 time in total.

The more sound cards, the better.
AdLib documentary : Official Thread
Youtube Channel : The Sound Card Database

Reply 2 of 15, by 640K!enough

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They were German-engineered? It seems strange that, from what you're saying, they used off-the-shelf parts for those cards, yet they made quite a big deal about "AdLib Semiconductor" and their video chipsets. Do you happen to have the dual-bus monster in your possession? Are you ever planning to post videos or audio samples when you get a chance to test? From the old Web site, I thought there were more than just two cards.

Reply 3 of 15, by Beegle

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The first cards (AdLib, AdLib Gold) were engineered in Quebec.
But when AdLib inc. was bought by the Germans, and renamed AdLib Multimedia, the later products were done in Germany. Apart from the name, there was no real link between the two companies.

The cards made from off-the-shelf components you speak of, were only the first AdLib card in 1987 (and revision in 1990)
The Gold, Audiotrix, and German-designed MSC16/32 and ASB32/64 cards were all custom made.

If there are more than 2 sound cards designed by Adlib Multimedia, please tell me more. I know only of the MSC16/32 and the ASB32/64.

I wasn't aware however of the video card ventures of Adlib Multimedia - they are out of the scope of my Adlib-esque knowledge 😀

The more sound cards, the better.
AdLib documentary : Official Thread
Youtube Channel : The Sound Card Database

Reply 4 of 15, by Batyra

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AFAIK part of the original AdLib team done work on in. ex. Audiotrix, the other part went to AdLib Multimedia.

I have two of their cards, lowest model MSC16 PNP and highest model ASB 32/64 WAVE Pro 4D... My ASB is complete with box so I can put some light on it.
Box is in german and as new card cost 240DM so it was circa 170USD. Registration leaflet gives us adress in Quebec Canad. There is also a "thank you" letter form CEO Christoph Klein (sounds German), second "thank you" letter is from Harvey Mead, president of UQCN... all adresses that appear are canadian.

MSC 16 is a basic model, but it has a wavetable... I've bought it as a "regular crystal card" for about $5... No one noticed the "note logo" I think. The second one was quite expensive, but boxed AdLib Multimedia with that red note logo was something I desired for a long time. And in my opinion it was NOS.

ASB card has four connectoins one is IDE second is ADLIB MEDIA CONNECTOR and third is a CyberRAM connector. Form description on the box I know there can be four options: CyberComm, CyberISDN, Cyber RAM16 and CyberRAM32 - the connector is 30 single row pinn... (on the first impression I thought that it is for SIPP RAM modules 😉

AFAIK Ather were quite a few AdLib Multimedia cards: ASB 64 Wave Pro 4D IDE, ASB 32 WAve 4D IDE, ASB 16 4D IDE, ASB 32 Wave IDE, ASB 16 IDE, ASB 16 Special Edition, MSC 32 Wave PnP, MSC 16 PnP...

About the quality.
MSC is a basic card, sound good but without some kind of revelation but the ASB card is a different story, it is one of a few my favorite cards - and I have a lot of them. It's general MIDI sounds great - I mean it, It's great!

If you want some more info please contact me. AdLib multimedia is one of my favoretes. So if ANYONE of you have some other AdLib multimedia cards - PLEASE CONTACT ME 😀

PS
By the end of holiday my collection website will run, there will be a lot of recordings from my soundcards - please stay tuned.

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Visit my website: http://www.collection.batyra.pl

Reply 5 of 15, by Batyra

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some more images of barely known adblib multimedia cards

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  • asb43wave4dide.gif
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  • asb32waveide.gif
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  • asb16ide.gif
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Visit my website: http://www.collection.batyra.pl

Reply 6 of 15, by Batyra

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and more

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  • cyberwave.gif
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  • msc16pnp.gif
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  • msc32wavepnp.gif
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  • msc16specialedition.gif
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Visit my website: http://www.collection.batyra.pl

Reply 7 of 15, by peklop

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imho Ad Lib MULTIMEDIA was company from Canada. Or not?
I compared two GOLD 1000 cards:
http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/images/3/39/AdLib_Gold_1000.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/common … ound_module.jpg
First is with FCC ID: GKKGD1000
https://fccid.io/KBWGD1000
registered 1992-04-30 to Ad Lib Inc
Grantee Code: GKK
220 Grande Allee East, Suite 850
Quebec G1R 2J1 Canada
https://fccid.io/KBW

second card was relabeled with sticker to FCC ID KBWGD1000
registered 1992-12-23 to
Ad Lib MultiMedia Inc
Grantee Code: KBW
220 Grande-Allee East Suite 850
Quebec City G1R 2J1 Canada
https://fccid.io/GKK
Business Ad Lib Inc
Street: 220 Grande Allee East, Suite 850
City: Quebec G1R 2J1
FCC ID applications by GKK (Ad Lib Inc)
GKK91SCSI 1992-06-30 Original Equipment - this must be SCSI daughterboard for AdLib GOLD
GKKGD1000 1992-04-30 Stereo sound adapter card 1000pf filtered DB15 connector is required. Original Equipment - Ad Lib GOLD 1000
GKK91TEL01 1992-04-30 PC Telephone module card answering system Original Equipment - unknown separate card or module for Gold? Registered same day as Gold 1000
GKKMCA901219 1991-03-28 Music Synthesizer Card Original Equipment - this is probably Gold MCA/MicroChannel version. It was listed as Gold 3000, not 2000. Gold 2000 was probably ISA Gold 1000 with daughterboard.
GKK34VCAI1 1990-12-07 Synthesizer Card Class II Permissive Change - OPL2 Ad Lib second version (MOD-900808) from 1990
GKKASB1600 1995-08-10 Sound Card Original Equipment - the only late product after 1992. What card was named SB1600?
MSC16 and MSC32 cards were oem of taiwanese GVC Media Technology Inc: https://fccid.io/M4CS0013. Not Ad Lib Multimedia nor Ad Lib.

All original cards are from Ad Lib Inc. including unreleased devices (MCA, SCSI, tel)
After Ad Lib Inc bancrupt a new company Ad Lib MultiMedia Inc was estabilished with exact same postal address. Adlib GOLD 1000 card was reregistered after some moths later (still in 1992) to the new company and card FCC ID updated by sticker.
Old OPL2 Ad Lib card was not reregistered.

Unknown card SB1600 was registered to FCC ID in 1995. But to Ad Lib Inc (defunct company?), not Ad Lib Multimedia! Why? It is strange.

Cheap AdLib MSC 16 and 32 were taiwanese oem product with printed AdLib Multimedia. oem FCC ID is not covered.

Hi-end AdLib ASB 32/64 were disigned by who? Logo is only AdLib, not AdLib Multimedia.
And FCC ID is reprinted with white square. Why is FCC ID covered and hidden? it is very suspect.

Who have answers? 😀

Reply 8 of 15, by peklop

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I found hires photo of the ASB 32/64 here:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Adlib-ISA-Soundkarte-A … M-/131757879169

CS4232 chip at very end of 1996 (46th week)
FCC ID is not readable under white rectangle
Sadly i cant open hires photo of the back side. I can see only thumnail.
Is "ADLIB MULTIMEDIA INC" company name etched to the PCB?

Is complete ASB line designed by Adlib Multimedia?

And what about strange small 8bit MSC16Special card? Was released to public?

And i searched for MediaTrix cards
The only card with FCC ID is AudioTrix Pro from 1994. Pictured card was manufactured 46week/1995:
http://imgur.com/e5cRpr9

FCC ID LBL-TRXPROC
https://fccid.io/LBL-TRXPROC

https://fccid.io/LBL
Business Mediatrix Peripherals Inc
Street: 455 King Street West, Suite 610
City: Sherbrooke, Quebec

EDIT:
I found Ad Lib MULTIMEDIA Inc. computer magazine ad for AdLib GOLD from 1993:
http://gopher.floodgap.com/gopher/gw?gopher:/ … timedia_ad1.pdf

Reply 9 of 15, by 640K!enough

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Apparently the plot thickens. I wasn't aware of the fact that the German company re-sold it, apparently to a Taiwanese company, a few years later. Peklop's findings with the FCC IDs are also rather intriguing.

Somewhat unrelated, but if the AudioTrix Pro was the only ID registered to MediaTrix Peripherals, who produced the base board for the AudioTrix 3D-XG an its other add-ons?

Beegle wrote:

The first cards (AdLib, AdLib Gold) were engineered in Quebec.
But when AdLib inc. was bought by the Germans, and renamed AdLib Multimedia, the later products were done in Germany. Apart from the name, there was no real link between the two companies.

I'm not sure that's completely correct. For one thing, they seem to have had at least three addresses in Quebec: the old 220 Grande allée est, 580 Grande allée est and another one in Ste-Foy. Also, the "CYBER Wave" (see Batyra's images above) has a maple leaf and "Made in CANADA" silk-screened on the board, as do a few other images. Clearly, they still had some presence in Quebec and some amount of production within Canada.

Interestingly, the later versions of the Web site seemed to have been designed by Germans (the link was to Englisch.htm or something similar), but there was no German version. The French version also had a message asking viewers to use the English pages, as the French and German translations were still in progress. The French message was atrocious; horrible spelling and barely comprehensible.

Beegle wrote:

The cards made from off-the-shelf components you speak of, were only the first AdLib card in 1987 (and revision in 1990)
The Gold, Audiotrix, and German-designed MSC16/32 and ASB32/64 cards were all custom made.

I just meant that, if they used standard Crystal chips (MSC16), anyone else could have made the card, too, unlike the Gold, which had at least one custom IC on it.

Beegle wrote:

If there are more than 2 sound cards designed by Adlib Multimedia, please tell me more. I know only of the MSC16/32 and the ASB32/64.

I seem to remember more cards. At the very least, their Web site used to advertise a hybrid ISA/PCI card, with a card edge connector at each end; one PCI and one ISA. I think there was at least one PCI-only card, too. One press release even mentions a card aimed at professional musicians. It's unclear whether that was under German or Taiwanese ownership, or if any or all of those ever entered production. I'll see if I can get the Java/Shockwave site loaded at some point (if it's intact at archive.org) to see if those product pages are there.

Reply 10 of 15, by 640K!enough

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A little more searching revealed some other interesting details. First, a question Beegle might be able to answer: what was the relationship between Les Editions AdLib and AdLib Inc.? Was that an earlier name?

It appears the Quebec government was trying to keep AdLib afloat. A loan was approved in 1991, but there doesn't seem to be any information about when it was actually paid. Also, there is evidence that some work continued in Quebec, and that that was the reason the Quebec government agreed to sell the assets to the Germans, rather than an interested American party (representatives for Creative?). There were plans, following the change to AdLib Multimedia Inc., to move to a different location in Quebec city, to a techno-park of sorts. More details can be read on the archive pages of the Quebec Assemblée nationale here (in French). I find it strange that there was no mention of the reported offer from the company that would be known as MediaTrix Peripherals in that exchange; you would expect them to have a preference for a Quebec company within Quebec.

EDIT: Just to prove that I wasn't dreaming, here is an old AdLib Newsletter that introduces the ISA/PCI card. They had pictures on later versions of the site, but I don't have a compatible browser at the moment. It's still not clear if it ever entered full production.

Reply 11 of 15, by Mike_Rosoft

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Beegle wrote:
The first cards (AdLib, AdLib Gold) were engineered in Quebec. But when AdLib inc. was bought by the Germans, and renamed AdLib […]
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The first cards (AdLib, AdLib Gold) were engineered in Quebec.
But when AdLib inc. was bought by the Germans, and renamed AdLib Multimedia, the later products were done in Germany. Apart from the name, there was no real link between the two companies.

The cards made from off-the-shelf components you speak of, were only the first AdLib card in 1987 (and revision in 1990)
The Gold, Audiotrix, and German-designed MSC16/32 and ASB32/64 cards were all custom made.

If there are more than 2 sound cards designed by Adlib Multimedia, please tell me more. I know only of the MSC16/32 and the ASB32/64.

I wasn't aware however of the video card ventures of Adlib Multimedia - they are out of the scope of my Adlib-esque knowledge 😀

Ohhh how times do change.... AdLib assets were bought using German funding from one of the largest computer players in Europe Frank und Walter GMBH not as stated elsewhere! However as there was a Quebec gov. stake in the assets (and jobs) AdLib multimedia started (well continued) in the same technology park in the same building with 10 AdLib employees.. The AdLib multimedia ASB and MSC sound cards until about '96 were designed in Quebec and built in Montreal.... ok and i did put a load of easter eggs into the silk screen and copper 😀 AudioTrix has nothing to do with AdLib Multimedia ... oh BTW the German director still lives in Quebec today ! Oh, almost forgot, I am from the UK so the German side is a bit exaggerated.

Reply 12 of 15, by Batyra

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I just received interesting exaple...
Nothing about it on AdLib multimedia website from wayback machine...
It looks similar but its smaller than MSC 16, it's also based on Crystal CK4237B...

Any idea?

Batyra_unidentified_AdLib.jpg
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Visit my website: http://www.collection.batyra.pl

Reply 13 of 15, by Mike_Rosoft

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boxcover.jpg
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box covers for adlib multimedia asb & msc cards
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I still have unboxed examples of the cards asb wave, asb 16 and msc 32...

Reply 14 of 15, by Predator99

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Just received an Adlib ASB 32 4D IDE I spotted in a scrap lot. Seems to be I am the only one having such card, was not able to find another photo of it. The ASB64 with a larger ROM seems to be more common.

Assy in Canada

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