Definitely AWE64 gold (IMHO)

CT1770 - SB16 SCSI
CT2940 - Vibra Pro
CT4170 - Vibra 16XV

If the 2940 has a Yamaha OPL-L chip on it, that's the best I'd say. Otherwise the CT1770.

bjt wrote:

If the 2940 has a Yamaha OPL-L chip on it, that's the best I'd say. Otherwise the CT1770.

^What he said! 😎

Ditto on the CT2940 with OPL. I have one myself and I'd argue that it's among the best SB16s, period. CT1770 wouldn't be a bad choice either; CT4170 gets you into CQM territory, which isn't as good as genuine OPL (CQM being Creative's emulated FM synth).

Thanks for the feedback. Any other Soundblaster models worth considering besides those three?

If you're just talking about Sound Blaster 16's then the best IMO would be CT2230 or CT2290.

For most widely supported would be Sound Blaster Pro 2 CT1600, and for older systems (286,386) Sound Blaster 1.5 CT1320.

For later DOS games if you wanna enjoy AWE synth then get a Sound Blaster AWE32 if you can't part ways with real OPL3 or if you don't mind it at all then go with AWE64 Gold.

There supposedly exist CT2950's with discrete OPL's, which I guess I'd slightly prefer over a CT2940. With the chip, you're talking about the top of the SB16 heap for audio quality.

you are forgetting ct1750 same as ct1770 but it has ide instead of scsi

Marmes wrote:

you are forgetting ct1750 same as ct1770 but it has ide instead of scsi

This is incorrect. None of the initial series of the SB16 card had IDE. The most popular models were CT1740 with a Panasonic CD interface and the CT1750 with Multi-CD Interface which means Panasonic, Mitsumi and Sony interfaces.

Or that 😀 You are correct !

FGB wrote:

Marmes wrote:

you are forgetting ct1750 same as ct1770 but it has ide instead of scsi

This is incorrect. None of the initial series of the SB16 card had IDE. The most popular models were CT1740 with a Panasonic CD interface and the CT1750 with Multi-CD Interface which means Panasonic, Mitsumi and Sony interfaces.

Bear in mind that most Sound Blaster 16's suffered from the so called MIDI bug, if you are planning on hooking up a MIDI daughterboard.

There are some topics on this. Also refer to this link: http://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/Hanging_note_bug

i have one with an CD Interface (1740 ?) and a Vibra 16c Plug and Play.

The Vibra makes crackling Sound on faster Machines (Athlon 1,3 GHz for example)

Sammy wrote:

i have one with an CD Interface (1740 ?) and a Vibra 16c Plug and Play.

The Vibra makes crackling Sound on faster Machines (Athlon 1,3 GHz for example)

Try disabling the high DMA channel (usually channel 5) so that it only uses the low DMA channel (usually channel 1).
I discovered a similar problem on my AWE32 and, after disabling the high DMA channel, no more crackling sounds. This problem doesn't occur on an AWE64.

I'll keep that in mind.. couldn't test it cause i use now another soundcard on that machine (Terratec dmx x-fire 1024 with SB-Emulation)

ncmark wrote:

Definitely AWE64 gold (IMHO)

I second this. One of the best sounding SB cards until "modern" days. It has higher quality DAC than regular AWE64/AWE64 Value, and it had RCA outputs which tend to help with signal quality (less crosstalk and such).
There is of course the issue of not having a genuine OPL... This is a sore point for some, as this chip has become one of those nostalgia things that nobody actually liked back in the days, but everybody seems to love now.
Personally I think OPL only sounds good in a very few rare cases, and it's not thanks to the sound of the chip itself, but rather the musical compositions in the game. I find that the OPL emulation on the AWE64 is more than adequate for the games that don't support native AWE music. Plenty of people disagree with this though, and in such cases, you'll need something with genuine OPL. The CT2230 seems like a pretty good choice, as it doesn't have the hanging note bug.

P.S. Please read my comment about "nobody actually liked back in the days" with a bit of tongue in cheek, as I mean no insult by it.

Could swear there's a version with a YMF262 on board.