northernosprey02 wrote:

Maybe we change the question...

Which is good soundcard? Gravis UltraSound? Creative SoundBlaster? Yamaha YMF? Or something?

Maybe we change the question...

Which is good card? Gfx? Sound? Network?
TV? Or something?

My personal opinion is that for a real plain DOS PC my choices are a bit based on the games.
Older games support
Soundblaster 1.x or 2.0 MT-32
then
SB Pro or GUS + GM or MT-32
and the latest DOS games
SB 16 or GUS + GM (maybe native support for AWE32 f.e.)

So the decision goes towards a third party card with a codec that supports SB Pro and a GM solution, either by additional wavetable or integrated.
Still SB 2.0 with GM and a optional GUS is also fine. Games that really support 16 Bit playback usually also support GUS. So I tend to go for a GUS before I go for a SB16 as 16 bit digital playback solution.
There are of course other details, like games that use 16 bit playback are usually the ones that use tracker music, that has to be mixed by the CPU on a SB16 instead, eating up performance while having worse quality at the same time.
Despite of this most games use 8 bit / 11 kHz samples anyway, so the main question is just, if they also use Stereo playback.
So SB 2.0 compatibility just removes that crack on playback start that appears on a SB 1.x and only if SB 2.0 is supported.

Some probably miss the AWE32. For utilize the AWE32 in DOS as GM device you have to have some windows running. This allows you to load a SF and enables GM emulation. So for me the AWE32 is strongly targeted to be used in Windows (3.1 or 9x) and has limited capabilities in plain DOS.
So in my opinion a more useful setup would be something like a Aztech Sound Galaxy (SB Pro, OPL3) with a Wavetable board. For 16 bit digital add a GUS or SB16 or AWE32 (which is basically a SB16). Alternativly choose a third party card that has some 16 bit playback standard as WSS. Newer codecs as the CS4236 have this feature included.
With a plugged Wavetable board most boards still allow to plug an external GM Synth, so this is no limitation.

42 !

And now, since we have the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, we can also tackle with sound. I'd personally keep a combo: SB Pro2 + Roland SCC1 + AWE64 Gold.

Here's why:
SB Pro 2 will take care of mostly anything too old for AWE64 to handle natively (16-bit)
Roland SCC1 is *the* midi to have. It's compatible with mostly anything you throw at it.
AWE64 has low noise, good drivers and very good compatibility with 'newer' software.

Alternatively, you can skip the Roland SCC1 and go for roland CM-500 external module instead - it has capabilities of SC55 and MT32 (important for young age sierra games as well as monkey island 2).

I just built a Pentium 3 1.4 GHz MS-DOS Turbo Time-Machine and use an AWE64GOLD with an external Sound Canvas. Great combo for all the late MS-DOS games.

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

I just built a Pentium 3 1.4 GHz MS-DOS Turbo Time-Machine and use an AWE64GOLD with an external Sound Canvas. Great combo for all the late MS-DOS games.

This is so very overkill! 🤣

elfuego wrote:

42 ! […]
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42 !

And now, since we have the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, we can also tackle with sound. I'd personally keep a combo: SB Pro2 + Roland SCC1 + AWE64 Gold.

Here's why:
SB Pro 2 will take care of mostly anything too old for AWE64 to handle natively (16-bit)
Roland SCC1 is *the* midi to have. It's compatible with mostly anything you throw at it.
AWE64 has low noise, good drivers and very good compatibility with 'newer' software.

Alternatively, you can skip the Roland SCC1 and go for roland CM-500 external module instead - it has capabilities of SC55 and MT32 (important for young age sierra games as well as monkey island 2).

What is alternative of Roland SCC-1? It's hard to find
Is Yamaha YMF become alternative?

SB Pro2 and AWE64 can be finded well on eBay 🤣

The SCC-1 is an internal SC-55 which is a general midi module. Normally I'd recommend an XR385 (DB50XG clone), but they have recently become unobtanium. Hope someone makes some more of those.

The SCC-1 is not fully compatible with the MT-32. It has the MT-32 patch set, but isn't programmable. You need a real MT-32.

IMO, like the first guy said, YMF-719. Put a GM daughterboard on it, and get an MT-32. That will cover almost everything.

YMF-719 chipset soundcards (like A-Trend ATC-6631 and many others) are really cheap and ubiquitous, have SB Pro and WSS compatibility and an onboard OPL3 chip, and have quite a clear sound (provided you turn off the built-in amplifier by moving the jumper). Yet their daughterboard header is located in a way that prevents installation of a full-size DB.

To keep it simple I'd just get a AWE64/AWE32 and it gives you the option of adding an external midi module(MT-32/SC55)without the bugs of earlier soundblasters.

Except for some early AWE32s they dont have a genuine OPL3 chip for fm music and do sound slightly different, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knrjQAdNMnc (courtesy of mau1urf1977), IN my opinion you could lower treble and/or increase bass to make it sound a bit more authentic if you were that concerned.

I dont believe its worth mucking around with 2 sound card for my bet get the one card thats a jack of all trades, Good compatibility & excellent MPU-401 interface, its well worth getting an external sound module or 2.

northernosprey02 wrote:

SB Pro2 and AWE64 can be finded well on eBay 🤣

And they are both great cards!