enaiel wrote on 2020-10-05, 01:00:
dionb wrote on 2020-10-04, 20:24:
Define "DOS games", and indicate which ESS Audiodrive and Opti chips you're looking at.
...
I define "DOS Games" as games made from 1987-1997 that run on a DOS PC without Windows 😀
I have no use for WSS, but I would still like 16-bit sound, as I like to listen to Tracker music.
WSS isn't Windows only, it is also used in DOS for 16b sound with similar/better specs to SB16. Descent is probably best showcase of how it wounds.
These are the ISA sound cards currently available in my budget (< $20):
* ESS AudioDrive ES1869FC
* Avance Logic ALS120, ALS100+
These are chips, not cards. ESS1869 is generally problem-free, only issue is no real OPL3 but ESFM (old games will sound a bit 'off', but close) and no SB16 support. ALS120 and ALS100+ have broken SB16 support, the ALS100+ has a 99% OPL3 clone (and sounds exactly like the original), the ALS120 has a different-sounding one. In all cases, card quality varies from decent to awful, with the ALS100+ and 120 cards generally being closer to the latter.
* OPTi MED3931, OP931/M, 82C931. 82C933
Really late, really crap card with ditto chipset. Awful OPL3 clone, also no SB16
* Aztech AT6800W, I38-MMSN812
? These are two completely different cards. MMSN812 is a 2nd gen Aztech card with buggy SBpro2 support, so you basically get SB2.0 (mono) at best. The 6800W is a modem/sound combo card with AZT2320 chip, which is very similar to the ESS1869, as in trouble-free SBPro2 compatibility, with a real licensed OPL3 core for good measure. No SB16 though.
* Sound Blaster VIBRA 16C CT4180, CT4188
Take a look here: Sound Blaster: From best to worst
All SB16 cards are buggy to some degree, but the CT4180 is probably the worst of the lot - not only both MIDI hanging note bugs but also Vibra clipping and hissing, and not even a real OPL3 core or wavetable header to compensate.
Which of these cards would be most compatible for my requirement?
I'd be tempted to say "none of the above" - for early 1990s you want OPL3, but you also want SB16. The ALS100+ comes closest, but its SB16 is only half functional (no high DMA). If you don't care about MIDI (and can live with SB16 single-cycle DMA click) most of the earler 'proper' non-Vibra SB16s with OPL3 would fit the bill. Given that your chipset has integrated SBPro2-compatibility with bug-free MIDI you can use that for MIDI and then something like a CT2230, CT2290 or CT2910 would be OK. Or just get a non-Plus ALS100. If you don't care about accurate FM synth (OPL3), the C-Media CMI8330 chip might also be an option - it's the other SB16-compatible clone with no clicking bugs and good MIDI, just with its own (good but not quite OPL3) FM synth. You can find it on the ubiquitous Zoltrix/AudioExcel AV310 cards.
Where are you looking? Only on eBay? I can hardly imagine there are no better options than what you found. A quick search shows this, for example - even including shipping from France it should still be affordable form the US: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Carte-son-ISA-Advanc … 00/274520710276
But in any event, with this sort of stuff it pays to be patient. Turnover is quick, a lot of stuff shows up daily. You're not going to find an AWE64 for USD 15, but ALS100 or CMI-8330 is certainly doable. For 'real' SB16 cards, focus elsewhere (Craigslist) as prices on eBay are out of all proportion to the actual quality of the cards.