it's just one of the random/generic sound cards that were sold by the millions, I don't think there is more to know about this

What I'm wanting to know is what chipset it uses for MIDI. The answer to that question would answer my ultimate question as to whether this model would be a suitable alternative to the Reveal SC500 or not.

Seriously doubt this specific card has any wavetable capabilities... Too few ics for that...

Aren't all those Crystal-based cards SB16-clones? IIRC those chips are just codecs, you need a TSR to get them running.

If it does not support MIDI at all, then that would still be a valid answer to my question. I admit that is a possibility, but since I can't read what model the other chips are, it's currently not possible to determine that for certain. Since I can't find any information about this specific model on Google nor is it listed in Gerwin's ISA card roundup, I figured I'd ask if anyone else knew anything about it. Forum searches suggest at least one other user has physically seen, held, installed and used one of these cards in the past.

The CS4232 chipset has Sound Blaster Pro compatibility, but AFAIK it's not a true SB16 clone. If I recall correctly from Gerwin's information, a TSR (Or at the very least initialization under DOS) is required to enable the MPU-401 interface in Windows. I don't believe this applies to the non-MIDI portion of this chipset, but I could be mistaken. My knowledge on sound cards in general is still primarily nonexistent, aside from what little I've learned through research trying to find a functionally-identical alternative to the SC500.

torindkflt wrote:

If it does not support MIDI at all, then that would still be a valid answer to my question. I admit that is a possibility, but since I can't read what model the other chips are, it's currently not possible to determine that for certain. Since I can't find any information about this specific model on Google nor is it listed in Gerwin's ISA card roundup, I figured I'd ask if anyone else knew anything about it. Forum searches suggest at least one other user has physically seen, held, installed and used one of these cards in the past.

The CS4232 chipset has Sound Blaster Pro compatibility, but AFAIK it's not a true SB16 clone. If I recall correctly from Gerwin's information, a TSR (Or at the very least initialization under DOS) is required to enable the MPU-401 interface in Windows. I don't believe this applies to the non-MIDI portion of this chipset, but I could be mistaken. My knowledge on sound cards in general is still primarily nonexistent, aside from what little I've learned through research trying to find a functionally-identical alternative to the SC500.

CS4232 and later variants require an initializer to become enabled in DOS. Nothing stays resident. (Some parts of the sound card, like FM, may work regardless. I don't remember and cannot test it now...)

The CS32-3DI card in the first post is indeed based on the CS4232. Am pretty sure the two Crystal chips near the 'CE' sign are there for FM synthesis. As for General midi, like Keropi said: nothing on the card for that. But a Midi daughterboard can be connected.
Note that there are two unoccupied IC spots where the yamaha OPL3 and its DAC would fit, as an alternative factory configuration.

Well, I found an American website that claims to have one of these cards in stock. I say "claims" because the picture on the item page shows a NIC and not a sound card, which isn't very encouraging. 😵 It is more expensive than the one on eBay, but that's a moot point because the German seller doesn't ship international, so I couldn't have ordered it from there anyway. So, I'm gonna take a big gamble that this is the right card and order it from this other site. IF it comes, and IF it indeed is a CS32-3DI card, then we will finally know for certain whether it uses the CS9233 synthesizer or not. Regardless of that outcome, I'll at least take some high-res photos and post them here since apparently none exist anywhere on the entire internet.

But for sure it does not contain a CS9233 chip...

If that is the case, then it'll still be a learning experience for me. What other Crystal-branded FM synth chipsets are there that aren't based on the 9233? Do they have their own branded OPL clone? This is all information I currently have no knowledge of, so even if this card doesn't have a 9233 I'm still curious to know what it does have.

Worst-case scenario, it'll just be an extra sound card that I can ultimately use in a different computer. 🤣

All good.
There is the 'Crystal FM' OPL clone. But I have not seen it in the form of separate chips before, only the usual controllers that have it integrated (CS4235/..36/..37) . So I would like to add the product code of these chips to my ISA soundcard overview list, once you receive the card.

Well, can scratch that idea. Turned out that website doesn't have it in stock and the order was cancelled. So, unless I can find someone in Germany willing to buy it from eBay then ship it to me, this card shall remain a mystery for now. :p

I have an AOpen AW32 Pro that has a CS9233 wavetable IC on it. I assume it is 1MB. I'm going to install the drivers on my 98SE system tomorrow and try to find out what you need to do to run this card in pure DOS.

Does the CS9233 have a good patch set?

The patch set is not inside the CS9233. There are several different ROM sets matched with the CS9233 or SAM9233 in a separate chip. I have this 1MB one that may be similar. For a 1MB set it is pretty good IIRC, but it remains just a 1MB set.
My favorite wavetable is the 'Dream' CS/SAM9233 synth with the old-style 4MB patch set like on the Maestro 32/96. From before they got in legal trouble with Roland.

I didn't know that about the location of the patch set, thank you. Below is a photo of my card. I have to say that I like it a lot with games like Tyrian and Descent.

How does the Dream SAM9233 compare to the Dream SAM9733? I have a 4MB Diamond Monster MIDI and was hoping that I also had the "unauthorized" Roland set.

The Patch set is in the chip marked 'CS4112'.
The chip with 'S23A-U10' is the EEPROM with PnP information. You can modify it with a tool called 'Resource.exe'.

boxpressed wrote:

How does the Dream SAM9233 compare to the Dream SAM9733? I have a 4MB Diamond Monster MIDI and was hoping that I also had the "unauthorized" Roland set.

I wondered about the same in 2007. The 4MB Monster Midi is identical to the Turtle Beach Cancun-FX. It is here: Midi: Dream and Topwave-32 samplesets
Though eventually, it is about how you like the sound yourself.

Edit: here is more to compare: Swaaye's collection of Sound Card recordings.
My contribution, which is somehow no longer included in that collection, is here: Topic: Cool AWE32 SF2 ?? (Midi_Rec_GB_2014.zip)

I am interested in the DOS driver for the Acer S23A in that picture. Maybe it holds a good tool to initialize the 9233 chip. So far it is a little mysterious how to initialize it. This is a problem when I want to use in it Windows 2000 or XP. Another possibility is that there is some code in the EEPROM chip on the S23A that takes care of that.