BloodyCactus wrote on 2020-02-15, 22:09:

IC376, IC404, IC405/EMU8000 ARE IDENTICAL CHIPS. IC376 is fabbed by AMI, IC404 is fabbed by OKI. IC405 has creative branding. They are the same chip!.

EMU8000 is definitely not same as IC404, the pinouts are very different and some functionality is also different. IC404 has native 68K CPU interface, completely different DAC interface and MIDI UART built in. EMU8000 only has 16bit access port and ROM/DRAM interface with i2s based sound input and output, but no UART and CPU control signal generation found in IC404, additional glue logic is necessary as seen on WBII (the PAL/GAL on it generates address decoding, interrupt response cycles and few other things). EMU8000 is made by variety of manufacturers, distinguished by the 3 letter code after CT1971. I have seen parts made by OKI, UMC and few other manufacturers.

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2020-02-14, 22:57:

I just heard the clarity of the GUS on a LGR video and thought that it sounds good.

It sounds good in a few games that support it specifically. E.g., Epic Pinball and Jazz Jackrabbit. Those use MOD soundtracks with rather poor quality mixing on software-driven cards, like SB and friends. They use the hardware mixing on the GUS. It's a world of difference, but only on a small subset of games. Probably not worth $200-400.

The SB Pro, SB 16, PAS, WSS, etc., could have sounded just as good (well, nearly as good) on those games, but the developers didn't see the quality as a worthy trade for the higher CPU requirements.

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2020-02-14, 22:57:

Nice and clear. As opposed to my Sound Blaster Pro 2.0 which often I hear static in games.

Static, or low quality sampling? 8-bit, low-sample-rate PCM sounds scratchy. It's supposed to. The original SB also wasn't very good at filling the sample buffer before running out of samples. This was fixed in the SB 2.0, with better DMA options, but not all software used it.

"Clear" sound can mean a lot of things. Sample quality won't improve with different cards, save for the rare exception above. Some SBs (+ Pro, +16) were a little noisy, but it's not a night-and-day thing. They just have audible hiss. Ever played a tape? In the 90s, there was hiss. It wasn't a big deal. The solid black noise floor we're used to today wasn't something ubiquitous back then.

SirNickity wrote on 2020-02-17, 05:50:

It sounds good in a few games that support it specifically. E.g., Epic Pinball and Jazz Jackrabbit.

Games with Gus HW mix support (source):

Archon Ultra
Crusader: No Remorse
Crusader: No Regret
Death Rally
DOOM v1.2 or below
Epic Pinball
Extreme Pinball
Jazz Jackrabbit
The Lemmings Chronicles
One Must Fall 2097
Pinball Arcade CD-ROM (Pinball Dreams & Pinball Dreams II)
Pinball Fantasies
Pinball Illusions
Silverball
Star Control II
Turrican 2
Zone 66

The GUS cards are also quite attractive visually. I you find them cumbersome for using they can be also converted to a wall art, like I am doing it (also double serves as a retirement investment).

Aw man, that's just tragic.

I've got an ACE paired with a PAS16, mostly just because I want to use up every IRQ and DMA channel, but also because I love MODs and MIDI stuff. There was a dark period of time there where I wasn't one of the cool kids that had a GUS, so I couldn't use Cubic Player's support for patches and HW mixing, and had to resort to software mixing like a poor person. So now I'm making up for lost time. I also picked up a PnP to compare the GF1 to the Interwave. Definitely not the wisest "investments" I ever made, but.. eh... who needs to eat every day?

The only way I'm getting a Gravis Ultrasound is probably though ebay.

Looking at the ebay prices for for these cards .... big NO on that. With listings averaging around $400, its not happening.

Unless I stumble across one at a local scrapper I have zero intentions of buying a GUS. Even if I stumble across one I would trade it for something else most likely.

I have my Sound Blaster Pro 2.0 setup in DOS 6.22 and Win3.11
It sounds good in DOS using the supplied audio players provided in the install by Creative labs.
MIDI play back sounds good with playmidi.exe
CD playback sounds good with CDPLYR.exe
WAV file playback sounds good too.

But when I try to play games like Wing Commander I get static.

I already swapped out the SB Pro 2.0 card for another one.
And checked all the cables, connections and jumpers.

Also in Win3.11 MIDI playback is Awe full !
The MIDI song plays fast and does not sound right.

How can I fix this ?

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2020-02-18, 18:47:

I have my Sound Blaster Pro 2.0 setup in DOS 6.22 and Win3.11 It sounds good in DOS using the supplied audio players provided in […]
Show full quote

I have my Sound Blaster Pro 2.0 setup in DOS 6.22 and Win3.11
It sounds good in DOS using the supplied audio players provided in the install by Creative labs.
MIDI play back sounds good with playmidi.exe
CD playback sounds good with CDPLYR.exe
WAV file playback sounds good too.

But when I try to play games like Wing Commander I get static.

I already swapped out the SB Pro 2.0 card for another one.
And checked all the cables, connections and jumpers.

Also in Win3.11 MIDI playback is Awe full !
The MIDI song plays fast and does not sound right.

How can I fix this ?

What are the specs of the rest of your system?

And why are you posting a completely new problem in this thread?

I didn't think the SB Pro used -5V, but I could be wrong. Do you have a -5V rail? My PAS 16 has speed issues when that rail isn't there. Is the ISA OSC pin used by the Pro?

There are several board revisions of CT1600. The earlier ones use OSC from the ISA slot. More recent ones have an extra oscillator onboard.