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DreamBlaster X2M : New MIDI Module

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First post, by dreamblaster

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Hello,

I 've been working on a new MIDI module project :
Dreamblaster X2M 'Limited Edition' :
- Small formfactor midi module : 9cm x 5cm x 3cm size
- Dream 5000 series synth chip with 81 voices polyphony
- Super low latency <1ms
- 64mbyte flash for soundbank data
- USB MIDI in (Class compliant midi device, works on windows XP without drivers)
- 'Classic' DIN MIDI input
- stereo line out using a high quality 24 bit DAC
- Preloaded with a high quality 16 megabyte Dream General MIDI soundbank (http://dream.fr/pdf/Serie5000/Soundbanks/GMBK5X128.pdf)

I have a small run of 10 boards ready, they work very well.
At this moment no more X2M boards are planned (it will depend on the feedback).

I am still working on the software. More specifically :
The Dream chip supports the proprietary Dream binary format soundbanks, so sf2 files cannot be loaded directly.
I am testing a Soundfont conversion flow using Chicken System's Hi Tech translator software combined with
the (expensive but necessary for compilation and editing) Dream 5000 sound development kit.
This entire flow still needs some testing and debugging, but we're getting there.
I'd love to hear your suggestions :

Which soundbanks would be great on the DreamBlaster X2M ?
- Top 5 soundbanks for retro gaming ?
- Top 5 soundbanks for live playing on a midi keyboard ?

Any soundfont experts\enthousiasts here ?

Cheers,
Serge

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !

Reply 1 of 35, by stamasd

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I'd be interested in the X2M if you can load custom soundfonts on it. It's why I haven't gone for a S1 or a X1.

If you have to ask about which soundfont... FluidR3 would be nice, but it's over 64MB.

I/O, I/O,
It's off to disk I go,
With a bit and a byte
And a read and a write,
I/O, I/O

Reply 3 of 35, by dreamblaster

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Hi Keropi,

here are some pictures of X2M :

X2M_INSIDE.png
Filename
X2M_INSIDE.png
File size
1.07 MiB
Views
2418 views
File comment
X2M Inside
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception
X2M_SIDE_VIEW2.jpg
Filename
X2M_SIDE_VIEW2.jpg
File size
37.61 KiB
Views
2418 views
File comment
Side view of X2M
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception
X2M_FRONT2.jpg
Filename
X2M_FRONT2.jpg
File size
39.6 KiB
Views
2418 views
File comment
Front view of X2M (temporary front panel,the final design is ordered)
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception
X2M_CONNECTORS2.jpg
Filename
X2M_CONNECTORS2.jpg
File size
45.7 KiB
Views
2418 views
File comment
Rear (connector) view of X2M
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception

I will probably do some recordings next week.
Which MIDI files do you want to hear ?

Grtz,
Serge

Last edited by dreamblaster on 2016-05-10, 19:15. Edited 2 times in total.

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !

Reply 4 of 35, by Stiletto

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"VOGON Tribute Limited Edition" ... Love it! 😁

... technically it's VOGONS tho... 😉

"I see a little silhouette-o of a man, Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you
do the Fandango!" - Queen

Stiletto

Reply 5 of 35, by keropi

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looks really nice!
well as for midis , just the usual well-known ones like DOOM E1M1 , DN3D Grabbag, maybe some ROTT ones... 😀

🎵 🎧 ⏳ ⚡ PCMIDI MPU , OrpheusII , Action Rewind , Megacard and 🎶GoldLib soundcard website

Reply 6 of 35, by dreamblaster

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here are some quick recordings of X2M with the GMBK5X128 cleanwave 128 soundbank

Filename
ROTT_deadly.mp3
File size
2.97 MiB
Downloads
153 downloads
File comment
Rise of the triad 'Deadly.mid' on X2M -- GMBK5X128 cleanwave128 bank
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception
Filename
dukenukem_grabbag.mp3
File size
1.93 MiB
Downloads
213 downloads
File comment
Duke Nukem Grab Bag on X2M -- GMBK5X128 cleanwave128 bank
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception
Filename
doom_e1m1.mp3
File size
2.92 MiB
Downloads
246 downloads
File comment
Doom E1M1 on X2M -- GMBK5X128 cleanwave128 bank
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !

Reply 7 of 35, by rgart

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Very impressive and it sounds great, following this project with interest

Last edited by rgart on 2016-04-23, 23:40. Edited 1 time in total.

=My Cyrix 5x86 systems : 120MHz vs 133MHz=. =My 486DX2-66MHz=

Reply 8 of 35, by clueless1

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Sounds incredible!

The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.
OPL3 FM vs. Roland MT-32 vs. General MIDI DOS Game Comparison
Let's benchmark our systems with cache disabled
DOS PCI Graphics Card Benchmarks

Reply 9 of 35, by PhilsComputerLab

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^^

Yes these sound very nice. Got to listen to it a bit more and compare it with the X1, but both sound very nice 😀

YouTube, Facebook, Website

Reply 10 of 35, by keropi

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It does sound very nice! thanks for making the recordings dreamblaster. I'll be watching the project 😀

🎵 🎧 ⏳ ⚡ PCMIDI MPU , OrpheusII , Action Rewind , Megacard and 🎶GoldLib soundcard website

Reply 13 of 35, by hard1k

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Being a keen collector of Serdaco devices, I'm already willing to get one 😀

Fortex, the A3D & XG/OPL3 accelerator (Vortex 2 + YMF744 combo sound card)
AWE64 Legacy
Please have a look at my wishlist (hosted on Amibay)

Reply 14 of 35, by FaSMaN

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A friend of mine does a lot of synth work and loves making music, if your ever going to sell one drop me a PM and I will get one for him as this is right up his street.

http://soundcloud.com/DigitalMusicXpress

Reply 17 of 35, by mattrock1988

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Count me in if you are planning on doing a limited run of these units, especially if the soundfonts can be dynamically swapped out on the fly. I like the premise of a USB port for power delivery and possibly serial communications.

Retro PC: Intel Pentium III @ 1 GHz, Intel SE440BX-2, 32 GB IDE DOM, 384 MB SDRAM, DVD-ROM, 1.44 MB floppy, Nvidia GeForce 4 Ti 4600 AGP, Creative SoundBlaster AWE64 Gold, Aureal Vortex 2
I only rely on 86box these days. My Pentium 3 PC died. 🙁

Reply 18 of 35, by dreamblaster

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yeah I did a limited run : 10 pieces, that's it.
I have them here 😀

X2M_ALLOFTHEM.JPG
Filename
X2M_ALLOFTHEM.JPG
File size
142.87 KiB
Views
1860 views
File comment
10 x X2M
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception
Last edited by dreamblaster on 2016-05-10, 19:15. Edited 3 times in total.

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !

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