Other possible option is looking for full SB16 or similar

You've got it in reverse - SBPCI 128 (ES1371) requires emulation TSRs for it to work on DOS (and sounds horrible). Vibra16 is more SB16-like but much cost reduced and a few other changes (which also vary per model). It's like an AWE64 without the AWE.

Thanks, vibra model is ct4170 to be exact

If SBPCI 128 sounds horrible I'm gonna keep it in the spare Pc

ES1371 can work on your system, preferably the 440BX one, but its FM sounds very wrong. IIRC that card pretty much routes FM input to MIDI, as which ECW file you choose, and whether you set it to General MIDI or MT-32 mode, will make FM sound differently but still far from being authentic.

For CT4170 you need an ISA PnP tool such as UNISOUND to set it up. Once initialized it should work like other SB16s, just it doesn't have connectors for wavetable daughtercards if MIDI is needed.

If you do have DOS games that use MIDI for music and/or sound effects ES1371 might be a better option. Otherwise use the CT4170.

Vibra16 is pretty much the same as a "true" SoundBlaster 16 IMHO. The cut features don't really matter in day-to-day usage.
The CT4170 has a CQM chip rather than OPL, which matters to some people. but so did later SoundBlaster's and not limited to Vibra.
I'd consider the Vibra16 a good card for dos, but only basic for Win9x or later.

ES1371 I'd rate slightly better than basic AC97 sound and more suited to windows then dos.
Digital sound is better than any ISA card, MIDI while not amazing is better than a lot of the other budget cards of the time. It's just the FM implementation that really lets the card down.
It's dos drivers are the same as the Live or Audigy cards so in dos they all sound the same.
I'd consider it ok for a second windows machine, but with the SB Live! being cheap I'd probably upgrade if its your primary gaming PC.
It's dos support rating is "well it's better than nothing"

Thanks for the explanation, I was kinda tricked into thinking es1371 was good for dos as it automatically slapped "set blaster" into autoexec where vibra 16 didnt.

Main gaming machine will be P2 one, aiming to run stuff from early 90s to end of the century - other stuff works better with newer windows OSes and/or is on GOG

chinny22 wrote on 2025-03-03, 23:18:

It's dos support rating is "well it's better than nothing"

Pfff. Yes. 🤣

leileilol wrote on 2025-03-03, 02:30:

You've got it in reverse - SBPCI 128 (ES1371) requires emulation TSRs for it to work on DOS (and sounds horrible). Vibra16 is more SB16-like but much cost reduced and a few other changes (which also vary per model). It's like an AWE64 without the AWE.

Second that.
The Vibra 16 is indeed the choice for DOS. If you have SB16 disk, you can use the CTMIXER and other SB16 programs. It really is very similar to regular SB16. UNISOUND is a good program to have on-hand. It'll initialize almost anything.

If you're going to use it a lot, I'd try to find something else for the Apollo. If it has on-board (don't know what board) you're probably better off using that. The PCI 128 is one of the ugliest sounding cards in my collection

Thanks, looks like vibra is staying in my main PC.

Second one (with via apollo) is a "when I'm done with completing my main pc will dump all extras in it and sell it" type of deal, so not really paying attention what goes in it as long as it serves its function (in this case - generating a sound). MB is tyan s1854 and has no onboard audio nor video

Note that it's perfectly possible to have multiple sound cards in a single system and that that is frequently the best option in a multi-boot scenario; in a DOS <-> Win9x combo build you can choose the best DOS card you have (CT4170 isn't great, but it doesn't require any TSRs so definitely the best option here) and add the best Windows card you have (ES1371, EAX and A3D 1.0 support). In DOS you just initialize the CT4170 and ignore the ES1371, while in Windows you have drivers for both installed and chose to use the ES1371 as active device.

You can even do both in DOS, using the DOS GM wavetable functionality of the ES1371 for MIDI music playback, while using the CT4170 for FM and SB16 digital audio - at least in games that don't object to the TSR for the ES1371 and its EMM requirements.

Having 2 is actually an interesting approach, haven't thought about it

New player enter the chat - got box of various cards with SB live ct4780 in it, looks like the best config will be vibra16 for dos, disabled in Windows where live will be used.

Makes sense as a best option?

cansting wrote on 2025-03-08, 00:35:

New player enter the chat - got box of various cards with SB live ct4780 in it, looks like the best config will be vibra16 for dos, disabled in Windows where live will be used.

Makes sense as a best option?

Yeah, that sounds pretty choice. Solid combo-move, as the Live! will have the DOS emulation to give you a different sound when "restarting in MS-DOS" or command prompt. I have a computer with a similar setup and it works very reliably.

cansting wrote on 2025-03-08, 00:35:

New player enter the chat - got box of various cards with SB live ct4780 in it, looks like the best config will be vibra16 for dos, disabled in Windows where live will be used.

Makes sense as a best option?

This was my setup, even back in the late 90's
Live! for windows and EAX
Vibra16 for trouble free dos.

Yep, the Live is superior to the ES137x in just about every way in Windows, but on its own it's a very poor DOS card (big TSR drivers requiring EMM386, awful FM synth etc).

However here again you could choose to use the Live for wavetable in DOS, at least in games that don't have an issue with the Live TSR's memory requirements.

Tested, configured and it works, now there is a quick question - and advice on adapter I can use to connect both cards speaker outputs to one set of speakers? Something like 3.5 female to dual male connector. I've seen some on amazon but they all are headphones + mic combo...

Vibra Line-out to Live Line-in and Live Line-out to speakers?

Was thinking more something like this (seems to be good - no mic):
https://a.co/d/eSQrEoz

If not, will look into bridging via Live! card, thanks

Typically people use small mixers or do the line out to line in method.

I just run an extension cable from the back of the PC to the front and manually plug the speakers into whichever soundcard I want to use.
Benefit is you can swap out for headphones if needed as well.

Well, ordered cable didn't work, probably because of the impedance difference between SB16 and Live! - sb16 works fine, Live volume is close to nothing 😀