Does this look familiar to anyone? A bit of searching on the model number haven't paid off, aside from an FCC application that had no useful info. If it's not easy to identify visually is there a utility that can pull info from it? Appreciate any pointers on drivers for DOS 6.22 / Win 3.1 or 95. Thanks!
These two threads might help:
SoundMedia (Sound Blaster 2.0 clone)
What is this card?
Too bad that many images were linked directly; with the host offline or has images removed they are no longer visible.
I don't think its the first link as the manual uploaded has pics that don't look like this card (they are missing the IDE connectors). It does sound like the one in the second link as it has the same FCC ID. Hard to tell, but I appreciate the lead!
Analog Devices ECHO based soundcard, any info on this?
The fun part is that different brands have different speed ADSP chips so the drivers were different based on the chip speed.
I did a bunch of tests on the different cards and drivers a while back and posted about it on vogons but not finding that thread now.
Yup that's the card! Bummer it has poor quality midi, probably not worth the trouble.
My other option is a SoundBlaster Vibra 16, would that be preferable? Are there any sounds cards you recommend for ISA? I had a Pro Audio Spectrum as a kid and liked the sound but I'm not finding them for sale locally.
Found the thread where I did all the testing:
Help configuring (and dumping) wavetable ROM - Cardinal DSP16 / MPC700plus
Which Sound Blaster 16 model do you have? Does it have OPL3 or CQM for FM?
There are a ton of good sound cards out there.
Opti 930 and similar Opti based cards have great Sound Blaster Pro support and genuine / cloned OPL3.
ESS based cards, depending on the model are also really good.
Crystal based cards can also be really good.
What do you have available locally? Sounds like you don't necessarily want to do the whole eBay thing.
Where about are you located?
The SoundBlaster is a Vibra 16, which is apparently a budget model. I'm in Seattle and have found plenty of SoundBlasters and a few Turtle Beach at local parts stores. Thanks for all the info!
nosuch wrote on 2022-04-02, 04:16:Yup that's the card! Bummer it has poor quality midi, probably not worth the trouble.
My other option is a SoundBlaster Vibra 16, would that be preferable? Are there any sounds cards you recommend for ISA? I had a Pro Audio Spectrum as a kid and liked the sound but I'm not finding them for sale locally.
"Not worth the trouble" is subjective. This card is awful, hilariously awful in some ways (its OPL emulation..). If you want one card to do everything, this is not a good choice. But thing is, 'perfect' sound is what modern audio gives you. Retro should sound less than perfect. If you also have an SB16 (even if it's one of the less desirable ones), you can have both installed at the same time. The wavetable MIDI on the Echo is crap, but the SB16 doesn't have any.
nosuch wrote on 2022-04-02, 13:42:The SoundBlaster is a Vibra 16, which is apparently a budget model. I'm in Seattle and have found plenty of SoundBlasters and a few Turtle Beach at local parts stores. Thanks for all the info!
Bit what is the model number on the card? Should be CT????
What turtle beach cards specifically? Some of those are good.
I wouldn't necessarily say the wavetable is horrible. It is just different compared to some other common wavetable cards. It will be horrible if the drivers for the wrong speed ADSP chip as will the rest of how the card works.
The FM emulation isn't close to what genuine OPL3 sounds like but it isn't bad per say.. just different. At least from the bit of testing I did.
It is way better than something like the DOS support and OPL3 emulation that the PCI Creative cards have (besides the AWE64D / AWE64 PCI).
The Vibra 16 Model is CT4180. Based on wikipedia I have to guess it has the OPL3 emulation. If that's the case, would the better sounding card (given drivers with the right speed ADSP for the chip)?
I'll check on the Turtle Beach/Opti/ESS/Crystal cards the next time I'm at the store (it's bin digging, no catalog like eBay). Really appreciate all your input and help!
nosuch wrote on 2022-04-04, 04:10:The Vibra 16 Model is CT4180. Based on wikipedia I have to guess it has the OPL3 emulation. If that's the case, would the better sounding card (given drivers with the right speed ADSP for the chip)?
No need to guess:
Sound Blaster: From best to worst
- CQM instead of Yamaha OPL3
- no Wavetable header
- both kinds of MPU-401 hanging note bug
- MPU-401 slowdowns when playing 16b DA
- Vibra clipping and hissing
So unfortunately you hit the jackpot- possibly the worst of all SB16 models. Still, its CQM is probably better than the Echo emulation and it offers SB16 stereo 16b 44kHz DA where the Echo just does mono 22kHz SoundBlaster. I still say: do both, with the Vibra for 16b DA and OPL, and the Echo for GM.
I'll check on the Turtle Beach/Opti/ESS/Crystal cards the next time I'm at the store (it's bin digging, no catalog like eBay). Really appreciate all your input and help!
Be very, very grateful it's not like eBay. And tbh, just grab every Turtle Beach ISA card in there. They're not all equally good, but they sell for very good money and you could use them (or their proceeds) to swap for really good DOS cards.
That is an excellent SoundBlaster list, that ks for the reference! If there is an all-up best to worst please point me to it 😀
nosuch wrote on 2022-04-06, 13:30:That is an excellent SoundBlaster list, that ks for the reference! If there is an all-up best to worst please point me to it 😀
There isn't an "all-up best" - every single one has some kind of bug or limitation, and what works best depends on your preferences and requirements. For the older DOS stuff, a lot of people like the CT2230 and CT2290, with real OPL3, wavtable header, only MIDI slowdowns, SC DMA clicking and the less irritating type 2 MIDI hanging note bug, and not too much noise if you have the CT1703-TBS or CT1703-A. For later DOS and Windows, the CT3670 is well-liked, with very low self noise, no DMA clicking or hanging notes, and AWE64 functionality if you add some SIMMs. Not so great for AdLib/OPL though with CQM, and no wavetable header either. If you want SPDIF out, the AWE64 Gold is the way to go.
That's when talking single-card. Given no SB16 has perfect MPU-401 MIDI, it makes a lot of sense to use a different card for that. Then you can ignore the columns for MPU-401 and your choice becomes easier - even more so if your other card also has OPL3 and a wavetable header...
