I wouldn't spend that much.

Worth it, not possible to answer. It is probably the price they go for. It is not totally outrageous at least.

If you are interested you should check the dac chip and that it said ct1703-tbs or ct1703-a. I have a ct2290 with the ct1703 chip and it is dead silent in regard to noise.

The picture is too low quality to make it out but it might say ct1703-tbs.

Forget it, $65 is not worth it. Get an ESS sound card for fraction of that price.

I have one SB16 that I got for $2 but sadly it's not detected at all, not even by BIOS. Seller pulled it out of an AT case and it just doesn't work in any ATX board.

My first P75 had en ESS AudioDrive but I can't remember the model 🙁
Are they all good ?

ESS sound cards are very cheap and have very good Sound Blaster Pro compatibility without Sound Blaster bugs. Their own OPL solution is very similar to the original Yamaha OPL unlike Sound Blaster CQM.

ESS ISA CHIPSETS (Audiodrive Series:) ---------------- ES488 Controller+Codec 8-bit stereo, SB Mono compati […]
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ESS ISA CHIPSETS (Audiodrive Series:)
----------------
ES488 Controller+Codec 8-bit stereo, SB Mono compatible.
ES688 (common) Controller+Codec 16-bit 44KHz, joystick support, software TSR MPU-401, Half-Duplex, No hardware volume.
ES1488 Controller+Codec 16-bit 44KHz, ?
ES1688 (common) Controller+Codec 16-bit 44KHz, Integr. OPL3 clone, MPU-401, joystick support, Half-Duplex, No hardware volume.
ES1788 Controller+Codec 16-bit 44KHz, Integr. OPL3 clone, MPU-401, PnP, dual joystick, Half-Duplex.
ES1888 / ES1887 Controller+Codec 16-bit 44KHz, Integr. OPL3 clone, MPU-401, PnP, dual joystick, Full-duplex.
ES1868 (common) Controller+Codec 16-bit 44KHz, Integr. OPL3 clone, MPU-401, PnP, dual joystick, Full-duplex, IDE.
ES1869 Controller+Codec 16-bit 48KHz, Integr. OPL3 clone, MPU-401, PnP, dual joystick, Full-duplex, IDE, Spatializer 3-D VBX.
ES1878 Controller+Codec 16-bit 4?KHz, Integr. OPL3 clone, MPU-401, PnP, dual joystick, Full-duplex.
ES1879 Controller+Codec 16-bit 4?KHz, Integr. OPL3 clone, MPU-401, PnP, dual joystick, Full-duplex, Spatializer 3-D VBX.
ES938 Audio Effects Processor (mixer expansion) for Chips without integrated 3-D audio processing.
ES968F Audio Effects Processor (mixer expansion) for Chips without integrated 3-D audio processing.
ES689 Wavetable Music Synthesizer chip, 32 voices simultaneously at 44.1 kHz CD-quality
ES98X for ES689, wavetable sample set ROM, from InVision Interactive, GM, 128 melodic instruments, 47 rhythm instruments.
ES690 Wavetable Music Synthesizer chip, chorus+reverb, 52-pin PQFP package, APM,
ES981 for ES690, 1MB Wavetable Sample Set ROM
ES692 Wavetable with 1MB ROM, GM, 128 melodic instruments, 32 voices, 16-bit, 44.1 kHz.

-All chipsets except the 488 are very SB/SBPro compatible. They also claim WSS compatibility.
-All chipsets often used as on-board Mainboard/Laptop sound systems. Only the ES1868 is found on high-end soundcards.

AlexZ wrote on 2021-09-06, 20:25:

ESS sound cards are very cheap and have very good Sound Blaster Pro compatibility without Sound Blaster bugs. Their own OPL solution is very similar to the original Yamaha OPL unlike Sound Blaster CQM.

The CT2290 has a real Yamaha OPL3 integrated into the CT1747 chipset and the MPU-401 actually works well there unlike other later SB16 variants due to said CT1747 chipset. The main advantage of the SB16 is that it allows you to use 16-bit mixing on DOS (WSS support on DOS is lacking in comparison) which sounds better on games that supports it such as the Crusader series.

IMO, Sound Blaster Pro compatibility is overrated on this forum. It only affects very old games that uses stereo digitized sounds, games after 1992 supports the SB16 without any issues. The only problem with this card would be the single-cycle DMA clicking and the MPU-401 stuttering on games that uses the Build engine such as Duke Nukem 3D.

Otherwise the ESS sound card is the best choice here since it's one of the best SBPro clones without the usual bugs and it is a lot cheaper as you say on eBay. Early ESS sound cards such as the ES688 may have a real OPL3 chip.

Joakim wrote on 2021-09-06, 18:49:

Worth it, not possible to answer. It is probably the price they go for. It is not totally outrageous at least.

If you are interested you should check the dac chip and that it said ct1703-tbs or ct1703-a. I have a ct2290 with the ct1703 chip and it is dead silent in regard to noise.

The picture is too low quality to make it out but it might say ct1703-tbs.

It's a ct1703-tbs

The one you have ?

NyLan wrote on 2021-09-06, 21:47:

It's a ct1703-tbs

That's much better than the CT1703-T chip which my SB16 CT2230 card has.

Should be a good card ! Price may seem a bit high but if includes shipping then is actually good price. Jumper Set SB16 cards do cost more than the PnP later versions where I live and it makes sense.
The PnP types will not work on a 286 (ok maybe if you fiddle fart around enough) and rarely work on 386 and still a pain on 486 from my experience. ... just my opinion.
As others have mentioned based on the included parts it is probably one of the best SB16 you can get for true vintage gear. I say get it if you have a good use for it !

I think $5-$10 is more like it for a card that was very popular and probably produced in the millions.

Anonymous Coward wrote on 2021-09-07, 01:11:

I think $5-$10 is more like it for a card that was very popular and probably produced in the millions.

And where are you going to get one today outside China at those prices ? Maybe get lucky at some Recycler and find one in a bundle of other stuff but many countries/provinces/states do not allow recyclers to sell anymore.

If that is a shipped price and the card is guaranteed to work, go for it

There are many ways of getting SB16s for almost free, but it requires patience. The ways of doing it are too numerous to list.
I've been collecting PC parts for 25 years, and even recently I can still get the things I want for reasonable prices...a lot of it's from American eBay too.
There was a time in China (2000-2008) where quite a bit of the world's electronic waste got shipped here for recycling, but it's already been scrapped...or more than likely, sold back to hobbyists on eBay at inflated prices. I check listings in China regularly, but the prices here are about what they are on eBay most of the time.

I have the ct1703-A. According to this: Sound Blaster: From best to worst they should be equally good. I don't know.

I won't go into the discussion on if it is worth it. It is a 30 year old sound card after all and can have sorts of issues. I'm happy with mine and it replaced my vibra.

I don't really know about the ESS ISA cards but I have the chip in a laptop and it sounds good to me also DOS compatibility is good.

Oh if you decide to get one, there is a jumper setting to turn on the game port. I spent an evening trying to get a joystick working untill I realized the port was turned off even though windows 98se showed the driver. Lol

I paid about £70 for a CT2230 and regret nothing 😁

I guess most of us are a place in our lives where a couple of quids isn't the deciding factor in these matters?

If you include shipping it would be too bad on a jumpered SB16 and something you are really ofter.
As others have stated ESS card are bound to be cheaper and just as good if not better. It i9s really up to you because you are the one building your system.

Good luck on what ever you decide.

The 2290 and the 2230 are basically the same card and both great - you’ll love it 👍

I agree with Einherje... I used to search for bargains and every $/€/£ counted. Missed a lot of opportunities and wasted a lot of time this way. If you want something... a little more money doesn't matter - of course for a working item that is.

Gmlb256 wrote on 2021-09-06, 21:43:

The CT2290 has a real Yamaha OPL3 integrated into the CT1747 chipset and the MPU-401 actually works well there

There's two types of hanging note bug and it's still got the less-frequent , yet still really annoying, kind, I can confirm this from first-hand experience.