First post, by jxalex
I thought to lay out my thoughts before starting. Someone might have done perhaps?
In the CS4231A chip the datasheet provides info which is enough to make a complete soundcard. HOwever I
came to another thought after reading it, that it can be developed even further!
What about a soundcard which matches the following criteria:
1. works under the DOS software
2. on the ISA bus,
2. 24 bit dac/adc, fullduplex, single/double DMA channels switchable. 32..96kHz
3. has SPDIF AES/EBU for both input and output in order to use also the 24..32 bit external converters, wordclock
4. BUT ALSO can emulate the SB16 by hardware when just during initialization switch some registers.
5. onboard MPEG decoder (imagine mp3 player on your 386 machine, so far the requirement for software processing atleast 80..100Mhz 486 for 256kbit stream !)
So far there is no such card or its software does not run under the DOS, nor does not emulate SB16..32..64.
The simplest way to start is just to have the playback and recording. All other necessities like mixer and such can be added later if someone wants, himself.
The MIDI port and all other things can we add later, but these are the things just to start on and simplest is just to start with wave playback and record.
It is meant for some serious recording and playback for studio, but can be a great if can be used as SB emulation too.
Well?
I can make the hardware part, and the programs which under the DOS use it, however
I need your help in order to have in hardware the SoundBlaster emulation capability too!
This becouse I am not familiar the card initialization procedure of these SoundBlaster cards in order to make it SB compatible. At first it will be done as a card to ISA bus which then interfaces the AES/EBU interfaces.
I think it IS possible to make a hardware clone which can behave like a SB card.
Those who have made some programming on the SB cards under the DOS, can you tell me...
* how much FIFO buffers these card use between the BUS and DAC?
* how the system initializes SB card and recognize its "answers" ?
* the sound with DMA transaction.
* how they start/stop sound buffers or initialize the sampling rates
It is also possible to make on PCI, however we already know how many incompatibility with SB it is, so it may be an option to those who may want to use the multitracking capability what is available with the PCI bus speed card model... 😉
SO far I made some 8x8 port ISA-bus I/O card. So some hardware electronics has been done already.
If we just make the research and development here in a open way then we all just make it.
So, another reverse-engineering-upgrade project of the sound cards.
Tervitused p6hjamaalt! 😉
Current project: DOS ISA soundcard with 24bit/96Khz digital I/O, SB16 compatible switchable.
newly made SB-clone ...with 24bit and AES/EBU... join in development!