Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-02-05, 07:59:

You can hear some static/crackling after each sound plays. It's most prominent at the very end of the recording.

just tested , I am not getting this crackling with the ES1869
perhaps it was something that got fixed/improved

keropi wrote on 2025-02-05, 09:31:

just tested , I am not getting this crackling with the ES1869
perhaps it was something that got fixed/improved

Good to hear that! It was one of my pet peeves with the otherwise very nice ESS card that I have. For comparison, here's a Tyrian recording from my AWE64 Value (CT4520) where everything is correct:

I'm guessing it sounds like that on the MK1869?

yep it sounds almost like that - just lower khz playback because of sbpro
but there is no crackling/digital-noises or stuff outside of what the sample has

@keropi I see your pre sales promo campaign is ramping up fast - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lXZBeNIlg4
Involving star influencer channel - impressive 😀

Looking forward for final product.

vutt wrote on 2025-02-08, 08:54:

@keropi I see your pre sales promo campaign is ramping up fast - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lXZBeNIlg4
Involving star influencer channel - impressive 😀

Looking forward for final product.

ahhaha - no this was a pure chance alignment , that ESFM video would be released anyways 😀

Can´t wait for these! Thanks for the hard work.

Dang, I got a GUS PnP clone not too long ago...hopefully I can sell it for a good enough price to justify the cost of the MK1869 Extreme which would more than adequately replace it. I was writing about the desire for a GUS Extreme clone when I covered this topic in my blog just a season ago. Ah, well: live and learn.

Sorry if this has been answered, but have pre-sales for these new cards been opened yet? Definitely interested in getting an Xtreme.

Brawndo wrote on 2025-02-20, 21:09:

Sorry if this has been answered, but have pre-sales for these new cards been opened yet? Definitely interested in getting an Xtreme.

nope , atm we wait to validate the newest MK1869 proto and if this goes well the changes will carry over to the xtreme
just aiming to get the max out the chip 😀

So. Orpheus II was your first dabble with the InterWave and indications are it is set up the same way as a GUS PnP (as opposed to PicoGUS which uses some custom software). Is the same expected for MK1869 Xtreme? For price reasons I never got experience with a GUS Extreme, and this using InterWave while the original used GF1 makes for a unique product so I am curious if it accordingly needs a unique configuration.

interwave in OprheusII and in upcoming Xtreme functions the same as the original GUS PnP using the original Gravis drivers and utilities
in other words it will feel and work like you have a GUS PnP installed in your system alongside a SB/SBPRO card
the gravis portion of the drivers will be the same as the OrpheusII ones - everything will apply to the Xtreme as well

That ESS with Interwave looks superb! I'm just watching a PhilsComputerLab episode on the audiodrive but it sounds ideal for DOS even before the GUS components!

To be honest, an ESS based isa card plus a dreamblaster s2 is more than what most need for dos gaming.

You get almost 100% dos compatibility, decent FM plus fantastic General Midi through the s2.

Can be done under $100 and works the charm.

This project looks super cool though, I love the picogus but this takes it to another level!

Need to put some of these old chips on a logic analyser and throw rainbow tables at them to see what they do

An idea just occurred to me. No obligation or expectation, of course: I respect you are busy with these current projects and it is just an idea that may not be workable anyway.

The MK1869 XTREME would seem to be among the most (if not THE most) compatible cards in terms of the range of sound standards they meet...in ISA terms at least. If combinations can be made, there is theoretically room for a PCI equivalent. I imagine something like a hybrid of the Ensoniq AudioPCI and a YMF 724: on the DOS side, FM synthesis via authentic OPL can be collaborated with 16-bit native digital sound in supported games via Ensoniq's drivers (General MIDI can be either Ensoniq ECW or Yamaha XG depending on availability); and on the Windows side, 3D sound via Sensaura.

Technical issues may preempt the feasibility of this concept, but I know I speak for more than just myself in noting how nice it is to be able to free up a slot in a retro PC by combining the unique functions of two cards into one.

You can't have a PCI equivalent, because the GUS portion needs DMA that is only available on the ISA bus. The the DMA for the ESS chip on the ISA bus is not the same as the techniques used on cards like the Solo-1. Other features like MPU-401 are also ISA only, etc.

There is no native DMA over PCI, which is why the ISA bus is needed for retro systems.

BaronSFel001 wrote on 2025-02-24, 16:52:

An idea just occurred to me. No obligation or expectation, of course: I respect you are busy with these current projects and it is just an idea that may not be workable anyway.

The MK1869 XTREME would seem to be among the most (if not THE most) compatible cards in terms of the range of sound standards they meet...in ISA terms at least. If combinations can be made, there is theoretically room for a PCI equivalent. I imagine something like a hybrid of the Ensoniq AudioPCI and a YMF 724: on the DOS side, FM synthesis via authentic OPL can be collaborated with 16-bit native digital sound in supported games via Ensoniq's drivers (General MIDI can be either Ensoniq ECW or Yamaha XG depending on availability); and on the Windows side, 3D sound via Sensaura.

Technical issues may preempt the feasibility of this concept, but I know I speak for more than just myself in noting how nice it is to be able to free up a slot in a retro PC by combining the unique functions of two cards into one.

There is already a project for Aureal + YMF PCI chipsets on the same pci card, the FORTEX one: Fortex, the A3D & XG/OPL3 accelerator (Vortex 2 + YMF744 combo sound card)
not sure of the status though but it seemed like these guys already bought the chips etc - it is actually the hardest part

keropi wrote on 2025-02-24, 18:12:

There is already a project for Aureal + YMF PCI chipsets on the same pci card, the FORTEX one: Fortex, the A3D & XG/OPL3 accelerator (Vortex 2 + YMF744 combo sound card)
not sure of the status though but it seemed like these guys already bought the chips etc - it is actually the hardest part

Yes, I notice that has been years with nothing coming of it. I was wondering if there were technical issues keeping the Fortex project from proceeding. I'm not good with electronic circuits or driver programming, but I know the physical capacity to get chipsets working on the same board doesn't necessarily mean their protocols will play nice with each other.

The work on the MK1869 has completed 😁
The audio output section was revamped and the results are better than the previous prototypes, I do not think much more can be gained from the ESS chip that would make any real difference.
This will probably be a limited release because of the finite stock of ES690 wavetable chips that we have - there are more out there but the prices are almost insane if you want to get *good* working chips... will update the site with more info later, thanks for looking!

Bravo and well done! Looking forward to this with much anticipation.