Huh. I've seen CMS cards going for stupid money, so it's not as crazy expensive as I would have expected. I wouldn't mind having one just for the collector's sake of it, but for me, that's way too much cash for a crappy FM sound card. Pass. Who's next?

hell nah especially with the open source repros out now

These items are for collectors that want the original hardware in their collection , replicas mean nothing to them. A boxed AdLib isn't exactly a common item, for that price I think it will sell somewhat quick.

Then I'm apparently not a collector. 😉 I own one of the Adlib replicas (the one that really looks like the 1990 Adlib card) and I'm glad to have it since I would never be so stupid to pay 500 bucks for an original one. If a replica looks the same and works the same, it makes owning an original one nonessential to me. But to be honest, I never understood why people are so after these cards anyway.

oh that's why stamp/coin/antique collecting is a thing of the past -> people just display printed stamps, replica coins and 3d-printed antiques... 🤣
collecting is about the real thing , this is a fact just like it's a fact there are hardware collectors that do enjoy a nice 500eur boxed AdLib card 🤣

keropi wrote:

oh that's why stamp/coin/antique collecting is a thing of the past -> people just display printed stamps, replica coins and 3d-printed antiques... 🤣

Err... no. That does not compare. We are talking about electronics here. A replica Adlib is in no way different to the original apart from it's age (but try paying with 3d-printed coins 😉). Most people aren't even able to tell the difference. See, this is my Adlib replica:

This actually has some minor differences so that no one could try to sell it as an original, but most don't even know these. Now buy a 30-year old Adlib card, recap it, probably fix some broken IC and insert a socket there and then tell me how this is different from such a replica? Having the box and the stuff that goes with it is another thing, of course. But just for the card, I could care less.

That's not how collecting works and tbh I am not really that interested in posting more about this although I will in this post 🤣 ... A real adlib will always be a real adlib and a replica will always be a replica ... Even a repaired real adlib will be preferable to a collector than a replica. An adlib is just electronics and a stamp is paper and ink are we really gonna start debating this? It's all about being the original old thing and it's all about the collecting mentality, you might not care but there are people that take this seriously because they like it. 😀
It's another thing having a replica adlib to use and another having a real one for your hardware collection.

If a replica does replicate 100% the original, is it really a replica or is 100% the same?

keropi wrote:

That's not how collecting works and tbh I am not really that interested in posting more about this although I will in this post 🤣 ... A real adlib will always be a real adlib and a replica will always be a replica ... Even a repaired real adlib will be preferable to a collector than a replica. An adlib is just electronics and a stamp is paper and ink are we really gonna start debating this? It's all about being the original old thing and it's all about the collecting mentality, you might not care but there are people that take this seriously because they like it. 😀
It's another thing having a replica adlib to use and another having a real one for your hardware collection.

one big tell all is the sockets on yours, originals i haven't seen with sockets

What can these things do that early Sound Blasters can't?

There exists a spectrum between those who value "authenticity and vintage" (above all else) versus those who value "form, fit, and function" equivalents (and could care less about vintage or authenticity).

In the first category, you have collectors of original pieces of art, the first Babe Ruth baseball card, classic cars, and yes - the person who pays $1000 for a flawlessly boxed original adlib card, only to place unused in a display cabinet.

Maybe a future machine will be capable of reproducing the original down to the exact atomic placement of every fibre, trace, and color molecule such that the result is a perfect form, fit, and function equivalent, but ultimately it will never be able to reproduce the original's vintage and authenticity. For that, you need a time machine.

For most of us, almost all of our purchases lie somewhere between these extremes - we buy tomatoes from many growers and grocery stores. Most people on vogons compromise on vintage when it means convenience, performance, or saving a lot of money (ie: use an SD card instead of old expensive original HDD); we are pragmatists.

For important things involving health and safety, people are less willing to compromise on authenticity.

An honestly reproduction attempts to match or exceed the form, fit, and function of the original - while explicitly stating it is not of original vintage and authenticity.

Fakes and counterfeits, on the other hand, attempt to deceive the buyer regarding vintage and/or authenticity without any guarantee as to its form, fit, or function; although excellent counterfeits are good at both categories!

I don't have very much interest in an AdLib clone because... well, to answer Errius, this is a Sound Blaster without PCM and a joystick port. I've never been a fan of FM anyway, so it's actually the least desirable part of a Sound Blaster.

But it's an AdLib card though... so I kinda want it. (Just not $500 want it.) It's a piece of history .. a legacy, even. And useful, since the blurpidy-bloop-bzzz tones this thing makes are still better than a one-voice PC speaker. If I come across one I can justify buying some day, I will. Until then, I have more than enough SBs to go around.

SirNickity wrote:

I don't have very much interest in an AdLib clone because... well, to answer Errius, this is a Sound Blaster without PCM and a joystick port. I've never been a fan of FM anyway, so it's actually the least desirable part of a Sound Blaster.

But it's an AdLib card though... so I kinda want it. (Just not $500 want it.) It's a piece of history .. a legacy, even. And useful, since the blurpidy-bloop-bzzz tones this thing makes are still better than a one-voice PC speaker. If I come across one I can justify buying some day, I will. Until then, I have more than enough SBs to go around.

Here (different listing):

@erek: please remove the links. You can post screenshots but no links to the ebay auctions. We've been burnt badly by ebay scammers here before.

Dominus wrote:

@erek: please remove the links. You can post screenshots but no links to the ebay auctions. We've been burnt badly by ebay scammers here before.

:'(

keropi wrote:

That's not how collecting works and tbh I am not really that interested in posting more about this although I will in this post 🤣 ... A real adlib will always be a real adlib and a replica will always be a replica ... Even a repaired real adlib will be preferable to a collector than a replica. An adlib is just electronics and a stamp is paper and ink are we really gonna start debating this? It's all about being the original old thing and it's all about the collecting mentality, you might not care but there are people that take this seriously because they like it. 😀
It's another thing having a replica adlib to use and another having a real one for your hardware collection.

yeah I hear you but personally "collecting" is just meaningless to me

I'm in to operating retro hardware not looking at it or whatever

maxtherabbit wrote:

keropi wrote:

That's not how collecting works and tbh I am not really that interested in posting more about this although I will in this post 🤣 ... A real adlib will always be a real adlib and a replica will always be a replica ... Even a repaired real adlib will be preferable to a collector than a replica. An adlib is just electronics and a stamp is paper and ink are we really gonna start debating this? It's all about being the original old thing and it's all about the collecting mentality, you might not care but there are people that take this seriously because they like it. 😀
It's another thing having a replica adlib to use and another having a real one for your hardware collection.

yeah I hear you but personally "collecting" is just meaningless to me

I'm in to operating retro hardware not looking at it or whatever

i've got a boxed adlib 1990 myself, just recently acquired, includes manuals and discs

the defacing of the OPL2 still cracks me up like who were they fooling

If they hadn't done that someone else might have sourced the same chips cheaper and begun knocking off clones. You can't be too careful.