KoRni wrote on 2026-07-25, 18:15:

Well, that's exactly my point - Solo-1 might be the best PCI sound card for pure DOS, but does it present any value for me in DO […]
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bitzu101 wrote on 2026-07-23, 15:09:

ESS Solo 1 does NOT need SB link to work in DDMA. […]
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ESS Solo 1 does NOT need SB link to work in DDMA.

You need windows 98 , and the VXD driver. It will even say on boot that the DDMA mode is XXXXXXXXX....

The ESS Solo 1 is by far the best sound card fow dos on the PCI bus. It has opl 3 hardware and the AudioDrive is supported by most games.

For pure dos sound , yes , you do need ISA. but do you really want it? Why would you launch the games from pure dos instead of win 9x?

Well, that's exactly my point - Solo-1 might be the best PCI sound card for pure DOS, but does it present any value for me in DOS-under-W98? "I'm keeping the focus on DOS under W98, W98, XP and early W7". I'm asking this because I already have the card and I'm considering getting rid of it.
Even if I'd like to explore the pure DOS approach, for DDMA I would still need specific chipset motherboard, which is out of my plan. If I'm to keep my DOS-under-W98 approach, wouldn't my choice of Yamaha WF192XG * still be better? I mean - it's Yamaha card, can there be any better for OPL3? Besides, it also supports Sensaura stuff. So, according to my knowledge, WF192XG vs Solo-1 in DOS-under-W98 is a clear win for WF192XG - but maybe I'm missing something, that's why I'm asking you guys.

* - plus Diamond Monster MX300 - this one isn't going anywhere, no matter what other choices I make, because of Aureal 3D

ESS Solo 1 and Yamaha 724 are best in class for DOS under WIN9x. Both have hardware opl3. Sound Blaster compatibility is excellent.

The 2 above are the best , but under win9x , most sound cards of the era will work with no problem. I mean , i ve said on other posts , there is 0 reason (besides nostalgia) to run dos games under dos. it s a waste of time. 99% of people use win 9x because is more convenient and the game is EXACTLY the same.

The beauty is that under win 9x , there a way more options of sound cards... way more... aureal , ensoniq , live 5.1 , ess maestro , canyon , etc... I have a collection of about 10 cards for PCI... all for win 9x and xp era. till now , i ve not experinced a game that would not run under win 9x with any of my cards... including a3d 2 , ess maestro , yamaha 724 , etc... my least favourite card on PCI is SB live 5.1 (selling it) , it uses 2 IRQ's and brings nothing to the table except EAX for witch i don t care too much because i have audigy 2 zs , a3d 2 , etc...

Some games tend to be crashy, so hardly a waste of time if you're playing a ton of DOS. Plus, there's good ol' Ultima 7.

It's a no-brainer for me, personally. Tolerances vary.

such wrote on 2026-07-25, 23:18:

Some games tend to be crashy, so hardly a waste of time if you're playing a ton of DOS. Plus, there's good ol' Ultima 7.

It's a no-brainer for me, personally. Tolerances vary.

Never had an issue with any dos game under windows. Not now , not back in the days of win 95...

But hey ho... different experiences. As you can see , my favourite game ever is X com apocalypse. that is a dos game. and it s a game that is very particular about the sound. I run it with my ESS Solo 1 under windows 9x , 0 problems. Same with my yamaha 724.

Thanks for clarification and it actually confirms my findings. Emulation can be tricky, but W98 doesn't emulate anything - it is DOS with a GUI and few modern-at-that-time solutions. Yes, few very old games might still have issues, but there's no way to cover all game eras with a single machine, and unlocking full compatibility with these few games (i.e. having a board with ISA slot and proper sound card), would strongly limit compatibility with newer ones.
I will still try to test Solo-1 and compare to WF192XG, but I'm pretty sure I will just keep the later.

KoRni wrote on 2026-07-31, 06:58:

Thanks for clarification and it actually confirms my findings. Emulation can be tricky, but W98 doesn't emulate anything - it is DOS with a GUI and few modern-at-that-time solutions. Yes, few very old games might still have issues, but there's no way to cover all game eras with a single machine, and unlocking full compatibility with these few games (i.e. having a board with ISA slot and proper sound card), would strongly limit compatibility with newer ones.
I will still try to test Solo-1 and compare to WF192XG, but I'm pretty sure I will just keep the later.

Both good cards are good. I preffer the ESS over anything. But that is just me... I have a soft spot for the SOLO 1 - think i have about 5 of them , just in case the world runs out of them 😀)

In reality , if you launch the games from win9x , most cards will work as most cards will have SB emulation. Also , some games can use the Microsoft Sound System as well , meaning that if you hear a sound in win 9x , then the dos game will play with sound as well.

When it comes to retro computers I don't use the same computer with DOS or DOS based and NT.