jheronimus wrote:

- Creative Vibra 16 CT2940 - Creative AWE64 CT4500 - Creative Vibra 16XV CT4170 (Waveffects option) - Creative Vibra 16C CT4180 […]
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- Creative Vibra 16 CT2940
- Creative AWE64 CT4500
- Creative Vibra 16XV CT4170 (Waveffects option)
- Creative Vibra 16C CT4180
- MediaMagic ISP-16 (?)
- Formosa (??) SC-1620 rev.1 — I think, it must be a Russian-branded clone of SoundBlaster.

Personally I'd think I'd pick the CT4500 out of that list. I don't know anything about the last 2 on your list and the 3 other creative cards were I think budget card (and I mean very budget).

Just to note, I'm not one of the more knowledgeable ones here when it comes to sound cards, but this would be my first idea.

I'd also choose the CT4500 for sure!! The Vibra ones are very basic and later SB16 counterparts. By using the AWE you will also gain an amplified line-out and much better MIDI support (I recently swapped a CT4170 for a CT4520 on a similiar machine).

The AWE64 is superior to the Vibras in some points, but with the Vibra's you might be lucky that one of them had true OPL3 and not CQM (if that's important to you).
- The Waveffects has CQM.
- The CT2940 *can* have OPL3. Check this thread for details: Creative CT2890 PnP vs CT2940 (Sound Blaster 16 models)
- The VIBRA16C (CT4180) has CQM.

Your MediaMagic ISP-16 should have a real OPL3, if you need a real OPL3 and if the Vibra CT2940 do not have it then this will be the best choice, otherwise go with the AWE64.

I would have chosen the AWE64.

jheronimus wrote:

- Formosa (??) SC-1620 rev.1 — I think, it must be a Russian-branded clone of SoundBlaster. Here is how it looks:

1452668583-f5d7b7ca8efb95b7693b08d896c3eefa.jpeg

That's an OPTi based card and has a real OPL3. I have a soft spot for these.

I'd probably choose this one for a 486 or older. For a Socket 7 machine, the AWE64 is more useful, as most games of that era supported it natively.

BTW, since we've come to the topic of OPL3, is there an online database of games and soundchips their soundtracks were originally written for? E.g., a game X was created for Adlib/GUS/MT-32 first, so its Soundblaster version is inferior.

jheronimus wrote:

BTW, since we've come to the topic of OPL3, is there an online database of games and soundchips their soundtracks were originally written for? E.g., a game X was created for Adlib/GUS/MT-32 first, so its Soundblaster version is inferior.

Adlib is a Yamaha OPL2 synth so an OPL3 play Adlib music perfectly.

I would also choose the AWE64, not because I know anything about sound cards (because I don't), but because I've used them in socket 7 through P-III and in slot-A and they never gave me any regrets. Be advised, I'm not much of a gamer so there may be issues I'm not aware of. For me they worked great.
.

IMHO it depends on whether you plan on using them in a DOS or Windows machine.

For DOS, I'd pick the Formosa or the ISP16 card (looks like they are OPTi 82C929 based, avoid if its 82C928) - especially if you have a daughterboard - because of good SBPro compatibility, what appears to be true OPL3 (from the little I could see in the picture), software configured (no PnP) and no hanging note bug. I have an OPTi 82C929 card and, for DOS, they are great. For Windows... they kindda suck. The drivers are horrible, with some weird issues in Windows games (e.g. Pandemonium) and relying on being configured on DOS (AUTOEXEC.BAT) or things like the gameport won't work, so they are hopeless for anything newer than Windows 98. You can start them in DOS (in WSS mode) and use the generic WSS drivers that come with Windows, but then you loose its native sound support for DOS games inside Windows, and have to rely on the emulation provided by the generic drivers... also, you lose control over the DBs volume. In the end I relegated the card to my 486 DOS machine, where its weaknesses don't matter.

For a Windows machine it depends. If you don't care about OPL3 and daughterboards, the AWE64 is the obvious choice. If you do, see if the CT2940 has OPL3, and if not... well, there is nothing else on the list, and you'll have to hunt for something like YMF-71x cards.

Looks like I was just too polite to ask the person to give me all the cards — which he eventually offered himself. 🤣 So, long story short, tomorrow, I'll get all six sound cards and about 15 PCI videocards (not all of them might be in working condition, though).

I hope to post a report once I'll spend some time with them. Thanks to everyone for your feedback!