- Wolf 3D / Spear of Destiny. Consider an 8-bit Creative SoundBlaster Pro 2.
- Doom, Doom 2. Consider a SB Pro 2*, and a Roland SCC-1 (or an equivalent external unit#)
- Challenge of the Ancient Empires (yeah...don't laugh). Consider a SB Pro 2.
- Dark Forces. Consider a SB Pro 2*, and an Ensoniq soundscape elite - if not, a Roland SCC-1 (or equivalent external unit#)
- Quake. Consider a SB Pro 2*.

I've chosen the SB Pro 2 card, because they sound OK, and luckily they still appear on ebay from time to time.

* (Question to group) These games also support 16-bit SoundBlaster effects Begin edit replace the word "effects" with "cards" End edit , but will these effects sound much different to a SB Pro 2 card? A SB Pro 2 card would be more useful to the original poster, because of some of the older games he wants to play.
# You'll need to hook it up to your PC. The SoundBlaster cards don't fully support this type of connection.

Edit: I've given this some more thought. Perhaps a 16-bit SoundBlaster is the way to go. If so, I quite like the CT2230 model. It sounds OK. The CT17xx models sound a bit poor. The CT2800 model is also good, probably a bit better than the CT2230 model. Also, it has an OPL3 chip for authentic FM OPL3 music. I would avoid the CT29xx models. I don't like their sound quality much. Luckily, the CT2800 model can still be found on ebay from time to time. BTW, it is a plug and play card. The CT2230 model is not.

I can also vouch for the SB Pro 2.0!

There should be a difference between 8- and 16bit samples. If the games actually provide 16-bit ones.

retro games 100 wrote:

- Quake. Consider a SB Pro 2*.

The game uses 16-bit mixing primarily, and the later versions (1.07-1.08) tweak the attenuation of the sounds to be quieter in longer distances, so 8-bit signal artifacts will show up much easier. There's also a few 16-bit sounds in the game too (shub angry, fish noises, lightning gun)

Wow, thanks everyone for their quck replies.

It sounds like I might get more out of the SB 16 CT2800. Any disadvantages to getting this card over the SB Pro 2.0? Music maybe?

Any hanging note issues with the CT2800?

Also, can I connect a Roland SCC-1 to the CT2800 to get better sounding music?

Thanks again!

munky wrote:

Wow, thanks everyone for their quck replies. […]
Show full quote

Wow, thanks everyone for their quck replies.

It sounds like I might get more out of the SB 16 CT2800. Any disadvantages to getting this card over the SB Pro 2.0? Music maybe?

Any hanging note issues with the CT2800?

Also, can I connect a Roland SCC-1 to the CT2800 to get better sounding music?

Thanks again!

For how easy it is to get hold of one, compared to a SB Pro, I'd go with the later SB16 as detailed above.

The SCC-1 is an ISA card, so you'll need a free slot for that.

Most SB16's have a waveblaster connector which allow you to add a waveblaster daughterboard for MIDI music. A good quality, cheap option is the NEC XR385, a clone of the Yamaha DB50XG.

That will give you the following sound options in games:
SB16 + DB50XG = Adlib, Soundblaster, Soundblaster 16 and high quality General MIDI sound options.
SCC-1 = Roland Sound Canvas and high quality General MIDI sound options.

You could replace the SB16 with a SB AWE32 which would give you the same options plus AWE32 support, for the few DOS games that support it.

The various General MIDI options are very subjective - the Roland Sound Canvas (both the SCC-1 ISA card, and the external modules: SC55, SC55mk2, SC88 and SC88 Pro) are the best, but thats just my opinion 😀

If you get in to any earlier games, then the Roland MT-32 module (or the internal LAPC-I ISA card) is something to look at - there really isn't a comparable option that is like it.... though support waned as the later Sound Canvas and General MIDI options started to appear in games.

munky wrote:

It sounds like I might get more out of the SB 16 CT2800. Any disadvantages to getting this card over the SB Pro 2.0? Music maybe?

I think the SB16 can't do stereo SB Pro emulation. However, I don't know the exact details about this.

munky wrote:

Any hanging note issues with the CT2800?

Sadly yes. However, you can bypass this problem by using two SB16 cards. Actually, I think a better option would be to get a SB16 (eg a CT2800 for the effects and also for the real OPL3 FM music), and also a SB16 clone (eg an ESS AudioDrive) for any wavetable stuff. I think you'll find "resource allocation" easier to deal with, if you get one SB and one SB clone.

I would reccomend just trying a *single* SB16 first. You may find that you don't have any issues with stuck sounds in music playback as the problem is not universal - I have card with the chip version that is supposedly problematic, but have not encountered it.

If you go with an SCC-1 for MIDI playback it will be a non-issue anyway.

retro games 100 wrote:

I think the SB16 can't do stereo SB Pro emulation. However, I don't know the exact details about this.

That's pretty much it.

Specifically it concerns the digital speech section in Stereo.

Recently dosforum.de looked into this and found that selecting SB Pro on a SB16/AWE32/AWE64 results in not only Mono, but also a distorted sound.

Having said that, pretty much any game that has Stereo speech, supports the SB16 directly anyway.

So yea the SB16 is a great pick too, much easier to find as well.

My personal setup recommendation is:

Spech: AWE64 GOLD (low noise and works great on fast / modern machines)
Music: MPU401AT + MT-32 (Old) / CM-32L / SC-55 (Can't beat the original)

If you also want OPL3 authenticity replace the AWE64 with a SB Pro 2, SB16 or AWE32 and make sure it has a OPL3 chip on it.

isnt it possible to having 16-bit stereo sound *sound blaster pro* with support of an wavetable header?

Robin4 wrote:

isnt it possible to having 16-bit stereo sound *sound blaster pro* with support of an wavetable header?

No such animal. There were no Sound Blaster Pro sound cards that included a wavetable connector, and none were 16-bit sound cards (they were all 8-bit sound cards).

Thanks for everyone's help. I've elected to go with the CT2800, as it does have the OPL3 chip.

No luck on finding a Roland SCC-1, though. I guess I'll just have to wait on that. Thanks again!

I'd get an SoundBlaster AWE32 and possibly a Yamaha DB60XG, you'll get great adlib/soundblaster FM synth support and quality plus wavetable music from the AWE32 which sounds pretty nice especially if you're used to FM synth and Yamaha wavetable which is a great alternative 😀

retro games 100 wrote:

- Wolf 3D / Spear of Destiny. Consider an 8-bit Creative SoundBlaster Pro 2. - Doom, Doom 2. Consider a SB Pro 2*, and a Rolan […]
Show full quote

- Wolf 3D / Spear of Destiny. Consider an 8-bit Creative SoundBlaster Pro 2.
- Doom, Doom 2. Consider a SB Pro 2*, and a Roland SCC-1 (or an equivalent external unit#)
- Challenge of the Ancient Empires (yeah...don't laugh). Consider a SB Pro 2.
- Dark Forces. Consider a SB Pro 2*, and an Ensoniq soundscape elite - if not, a Roland SCC-1 (or equivalent external unit#)
- Quake. Consider a SB Pro 2*.

I've chosen the SB Pro 2 card, because they sound OK, and luckily they still appear on ebay from time to time.

* (Question to group) These games also support 16-bit SoundBlaster effects Begin edit replace the word "effects" with "cards" End edit , but will these effects sound much different to a SB Pro 2 card? A SB Pro 2 card would be more useful to the original poster, because of some of the older games he wants to play.
# You'll need to hook it up to your PC. The SoundBlaster cards don't fully support this type of connection.

Edit: I've given this some more thought. Perhaps a 16-bit SoundBlaster is the way to go. If so, I quite like the CT2230 model. It sounds OK. The CT17xx models sound a bit poor. The CT2800 model is also good, probably a bit better than the CT2230 model. Also, it has an OPL3 chip for authentic FM OPL3 music. I would avoid the CT29xx models. I don't like their sound quality much. Luckily, the CT2800 model can still be found on ebay from time to time. BTW, it is a plug and play card. The CT2230 model is not.

Whats the different with soundblaster pro 2 and CT 2800 / CT2230??
Do you have some sound samples of it? I want to hear the difference..

CT2800, CT2230 etc are Sound Blaster 16. Main difference between the 16's and the Pro is the MPU-401 interface and wavetable header and the 16-bit digital sound capability. Some SB16's are plug and play while SB Pro's are all jumper setup only. A couple of games work better with SB Pro (eg you don't get digital stereo sound in Wolf 3d on an SB16, only mono, but stereo works on an SB Pro). SB Pro also tends to have a higher level of filtering than the SB 16's, so they might have a slightly different sound (its personal preferenceas to which you prefer). Early SB 16's have bad signal-noise ratio with noticable hiss/noise, later models are much improved.

Here are some recordings I made, on the linked page and on the next:
"The Many Sounds of:" - A look at various different sound cards and the sound they produce in DOS games

Also - note the CT2800 isn't really plug and play (creative's PNP manager doesn't work with it) but not all settings are available via jumper, I think DIAGNOSE.EXE sets the resources on this card, or it just picks them up from the BLASTER enivornment variable.

Its is possible to use an other sound device for wolf3d? I know it support adlib and soundblaster. But does it also support roland MT-32 or lapc-i?
I have thought a lot about this issue.. But i think its not a good idea to using an SB16 / AWE32 / AWE64 for an far old computer (like an 386 iam going to build)

Are there soundcards that are Soundblaster PRO 2 compatible? Or is the SB Pro 2 the only choice??

I was thinking about an media vision Audo pro spectrum. Could this be sound blaster pro (2) compatible?

Robin4 wrote:

But does it also support roland MT-32 or lapc-i?

Nope. I think it does support Covox/Disney or one of these, but Sound Blaster is the way to go for this game.

But i think its not a good idea to using an SB16 / AWE32 / AWE64 for an far old computer (like an 386 iam going to build)

The SB16 and later wasn't around during the 386 era. Most had a Sound Blaster and some rich people a Sound Blaster Pro 🤣.

For a 386 I would look for a Sound Blaster 2.0 or Sound Blaster Pro 2.0. Both shouldn't be hard to obtain.

Are there soundcards that are Soundblaster PRO 2 compatible? Or is the SB Pro 2 the only choice??

Heaps of cards are compatible with Sound Blaster Pro. ESS Audio Drive or OPTI cards come to mind.

I was thinking about an media vision Audo pro spectrum. Could this be sound blaster pro (2) compatible?

The PAS16 is compatible only to Sound Blaster. NOT Sound Blaster Pro.

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

I was thinking about an media vision Audo pro spectrum. Could this be sound blaster pro (2) compatible?

The PAS16 is compatible only to Sound Blaster. NOT Sound Blaster Pro.

Media Vision's later cards, based on the "Jazz" chipset, are compatible with the Sound Blaster Pro 2. Of these, the "Deluxe MCD" and "Pro Sonic" cards are supposedly 100% SBPro compatible, whereas the Pro/Premium "3-D" are only 100% for FM playback (stereo PCM playback is apparently hit-and-miss, due to mixer differences).

The "Premium 3-D" cards are readily available, and have a number of additional features beyond that of an actual SBPro, including SRS enhancement, UART MPU-401 compatibility, and a WaveBlaster header. Furthermore, and unless I'm mistaken, this card also features the same PC-speaker "emulation" as the PAS/16, when used in a 386 or below.

Ah good to know!