Gravis Ultrasound Max and CT1770 Soundblaster SCSI coming

Gravis Ultrasound Max and CT1770 Soundblaster SCSI coming - Need some advice

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First post, by eightbit

Posted on 2022-04-30, 04:26

eightbit Offline

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Hi all,

I have a Gravis Ultrasound Max (my first ever GUS card!) and a Soundblaster CT1770 (SCSI-CDROM version) coming next week. The plan is to get these into my 486 DX-4 100 build. I have tested and swapped sound cards in this machine quite a few times, but I have a clean installation of DOS/Win 3.1 with no sound drivers installed so I can start "fresh" with these cards.

I realize I will have to make sure the ports and IRQ's do not conflict, so the plan is to have the SB card on IRQ 5, 220. And the GUS at probably IRQ 7 or 10 and port 240.

So my questions:

1. What is the best way to combine the sound of both? I am thinking looping LINE OUT of the GUS into LINE IN on the SB card and then just using the LINE IN mixer settings of the SB to control the GUS volume. Is that how folks with these two cards installed have it set up?

2. Are there any other compatibility issues I should be made aware of other than ensuring there are no conflicts?

3. Does anyone know if the joystick port on the CT1770 is MPU-401 compatible? I couldn't find that information readily available.

4. What is the best software packages to use for each card?

I hope this goes smoothly 😉 Currently my 486 build works great and has one cheap PnP sound card in there, but I really wanted to get more period accurate and get an older Soundblaster in here and I could not pass up finally owning a GUS when the opportunity emerged. And, I want to check out what some of the demos I have that have it as a selectable option sound like (like the Future Crew demos)

Thanks in advance for any advice on the matter!

Reply 1 of 4, by aitotat

Posted on 2022-04-30, 05:37

aitotat Offline

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Do not connect GUS to SB Line-In. With last Sound Blaster models it is okay but with early Model such as the CT1770 the SB Line-IN will reduce sound quality. At worst your GUS will start sound like a Sound Blaster. So connect SB to GUS Line-IN. GUS Max also has mixer.

Remember that if you set GUS Max to 2x0h then it also uses 3x0h. But 240h should not cause problems.

Reply 2 of 4, by eightbit

Posted on 2022-04-30, 05:39

eightbit Offline

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aitotat wrote on 2022-04-30, 05:37:

Do not connect GUS to SB Line-In. With last Sound Blaster models it is okay but with early Model such as the CT1770 the SB Line-IN will reduce sound quality. At worst your GUS will start sound like a Sound Blaster. So connect SB to GUS Line-IN. GUS Max also has mixer.

Remember that if you set GUS Max to 2x0h then it also uses 3x0h. But 240h should not cause problems.

Great call. I appreciate that advice immensely. Thank you!

Reply 3 of 4, by darry

Posted on 2022-04-30, 07:05

darry Offline

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eightbit wrote on 2022-04-30, 05:39:

aitotat wrote on 2022-04-30, 05:37:

Do not connect GUS to SB Line-In. With last Sound Blaster models it is okay but with early Model such as the CT1770 the SB Line-IN will reduce sound quality. At worst your GUS will start sound like a Sound Blaster. So connect SB to GUS Line-IN. GUS Max also has mixer.

Remember that if you set GUS Max to 2x0h then it also uses 3x0h. But 240h should not cause problems.

Great call. I appreciate that advice immensely. Thank you!

Or get a 50-60$ external mixer like this one https://www.amazon.com/Rolls-MX42-Stereo-Mini … /dp/B00102ZN40/

IMHO, the less one relies on analogue inputs and integrated mixers on consumer grade cards (especially vintage ones), the better .

That being said, if you are happy with the sound you are getting by looping the SB16 through the GUS, there is no need for an external mixer, but I suggest you compare the sound (especially noise level/hiss) between the looped setup and the direct output of each card. Additionally, if you do end up using a looping setup, I suggest muting the GUS' line input whenever the SB16 is not in use, as otherwise you will get to "enjoy" the SB16's background noise even when using only the GUS .

Reply 4 of 4, by eightbit

Posted on 2022-04-30, 07:16

eightbit Offline

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darry wrote on 2022-04-30, 07:05:

That being said, if you are happy with the sound you are getting by looping the SB16 through the GUS, there is no need for an external mixer, but I suggest you compare the sound (especially noise level/hiss) between the looped setup and the direct output of each card. Additionally, if you do end up using a looping setup, I suggest muting the GUS' line input whenever the SB16 is not in use, as otherwise you will get to "enjoy" the SB16's background noise even when using only the GUS .

I have all of this set up to a mid-2000's Denon receiver. I can certainly line in each card to it's own input, but I'm just old and getting down there behind that sound system is not sounding good to my back bones...🤣! But I will probably do that regardless because I want to compare unadulterated sound vs loopback between cards.

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