Grzyb wrote on 2025-07-09, 07:44:

I'm trying to make a 286 machine to play CD-quality sound... […]
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I'm trying to make a 286 machine to play CD-quality sound...

Installed an SB16 (CT1740), which seems to work fine.
PLANY plays WAV files, but only supports the original SB - 8-bit, mono.
QuickView 1.03b runs, and allows to view pictures - but hangs when trying to play WAV, even though the doc only mentions 386 requirement for AVI playback.

So, can anybody recommend a program to play 44100 Hz, 16-bit, stereo WAV files on this hardware?
Formats other than WAV are also OK.

I have a 25mhz harris and try same.as you

I think win3x drivers need 386+ instructions, finally i use a sbpro compatible and live with 8bit PCM files or audiocd

I tested different cards, als, opti, ess etc all in win3x need enhaced mode and in dos i did not found any wav player that works

For now, I'm looking for a player for pure DOS - not enough memory for Windows.

But I may install more later, so let me know if there's a 16-bit sound card with 286-compatible Windows drivers.

Grzyb wrote on 2025-07-09, 09:37:

For now, I'm looking for a player for pure DOS - not enough memory for Windows.

1MB motherboard? 😢

Grzyb wrote on 2025-07-09, 09:37:

But I may install more later, so let me know if there's a 16-bit sound card with 286-compatible Windows drivers.

I had an PAS16 in my 286-12 w/ 4MB RAM and Windows 3.10..

There's an SB16 driver that works on 286, though.
Re: .WAV player for MS DOS that runs on a 286?

The version that shipps with Tandy's OEM version of Windows 3.0 MME, for example, I think.

Jo22 wrote on 2025-07-09, 15:24:

1MB motherboard? 😢

Exactly.
But there are also SIPP sockets, so hopefully all I need is to hunt down four 1-MB modules, and find configuration info for that board.
Then I will try those SB16 drivers - danke schön!

Also - luckily, nowadays SB programming isn't the secret knowledge that it used to be, and I can code my own player, I just need enough free time.

Anyway, it's a big disappointment that QuickView 1.03b can't play sound on a 286.
Can anybody confirm that?
Or is it a problem with this particular machine?

^You're welcome. ^^
To save some memory, I believe you can try replacing the rather large Program Manager by something else.
By changing shell=progman.exe to shell=msdos.exe in win.ini, for example, the old MS-DOS Executive should show up.
If not, you can borrow the file from Windows 3.0, I think.
I did this a while ago for my WfW 3.11 installation in Virtual PC 2007, because Program Manager kept crashing for some reason. 🙁
Another quick alternative is to just use File Manager (winfile.exe) as a shell - or to use WinCLI, a lightweight command prompt.
And it gives Windows 3.x a more cool or professional look, at least.
Good luck.

PS: I think that Audio Recorder in Windows 3.x has a time limit or capacity limit when it comes to WAV files (can be extended when recording).
Mediaplayer can run large WAV files, I think.
A good alternative to Windows Audio Recorder was the version that shipped with PAS16 Windows drivers, I think.
The utilities Pocket CD and Pocket Recorder are 286 compatible and should work with any sound hardware (screenshots).
Vogons drivers should have the driver disks.
Another alternative might the "Creative WaveStudio" that was on Creative driver disks/CDs.
It's like Audacity, but from the 90s..

Grzyb wrote on 2025-07-09, 16:53:

Anyway, it's a big disappointment that QuickView 1.03b can't play sound on a 286.
Can anybody confirm that?
Or is it a problem with this particular machine?

I confirm here in my 286 QuickView 1.03b can't play wav, just hang

Jo22 wrote on 2025-07-09, 15:24:

There's an SB16 driver that works on 286, though.
Re: .WAV player for MS DOS that runs on a 286?

Interesting i will test!

Good news:

QuickView 1.03a does work!

So, 286 can into Hi-Fi.
And never delete old versions!

Creative's own "WPLAY" DOS utility can be used to play 44.1kHz, 16-bit, stereo PCM WAV files on a 286 (in addition to A-Law, µ-Law, and CTADPCM formats, if your card has the ASP/CSP).

Thanks - just tried WPLAY, and seems to work fine.

Cloudschatze wrote on 2025-07-10, 06:28:

CTADPCM

I want to try that, but there's a problem - SoX can only write the following ADPCM formats:
ima-adpcm
ms-adpcm

According to the manual, there also:
oki-adpcm
But it doesn't work - uncompressed PCM is written instead.

WPLAY can't play IMA-ADPCM and MS-ADPCM:

QV 1.03a needs 386+ for ADPCM, on a 286 it only supports uncompressed PCM.

So I'm looking for one of the following:

• a SoX replacement that can write Creative Labs ADPCM on modern systems
• a program to play IMA-ADPCM or MS-ADPCM on a 286

This thread may be of interest.. ADPCM formats for SB16 with samples

Sound Blaster 16 Audio Compression Comparison (DOS)

Where can be found these Creative's PLAY.EXE, WPLAY.EXE, VPLAY.EXE, etc. DOS utilities? There are too many SB16 driver packages on vogonsdrivers to look into.

analog_programmer wrote on 2025-07-17, 06:32:

Where can be found these Creative's PLAY.EXE, WPLAY.EXE, VPLAY.EXE, etc. DOS utilities?

http://www.symphoniae.com/elw/images/Soundcar … eative/sb16.zip

Grzyb wrote on 2025-07-17, 06:37:

http://www.symphoniae.com/elw/images/Soundcar … eative/sb16.zip

Thanks for the link with diskette images! This DOS driver package looks like an earlier version than the one that I have.

Grzyb wrote on 2025-07-17, 02:41:

WPLAY can't play IMA-ADPCM and MS-ADPCM: ... So I'm looking for one of the following: […]
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WPLAY can't play IMA-ADPCM and MS-ADPCM:
...
So I'm looking for one of the following:

• a SoX replacement that can write Creative Labs ADPCM on modern systems
• a program to play IMA-ADPCM or MS-ADPCM on a 286

Ideally, a "WO0011.CSP" decompressor would exist, such that the IMA ADPCM files could be decompressed in DOS by a tweaked/supporting version of WPLAY. This reminds me that I'd wanted to ask mkarcher if such a decompressor can be created from WFM0011A.CSP...

Concerning "current" Windows support for CTADPCM conversion and playback, the corresponding 32-bit Audio Compression Manager codec remains usable in both Windows 10 and 11. With that in place, you'll just need to leverage a third-party program that still supports the ACM framework for the WAV conversion. I use GoldWave v5.70 for this.

I'm attaching a Zip bundle containing both the ctadp32.acm codec and a Windows registry file to add the necessary entry on a Windows 10/11 system.

To use, just:

- Copy/extract the ctadp32.acm codec to C:\Windows\SysWOW64
- Run ctadpcm_codec.reg, which will create the following registry entry:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Drivers32]
"msacm.ctadpcm"="ctadp32.acm"

Thanks, the ctadp32.acm + GoldWave way does work.
For WPLAY to play it, "DEVICE=C:\SB16\DRV\CSP.SYS /P:220" is necessary, which costs 3 KB of RAM.

I'm wondering how does CT-ADPCM compare with other 16->4 bit ADPCM variants...
According to SoX manual:

OKI (a.k.a. VOX, Dialogic, or Intel) 4-bit ADPCM; it has a precision equivalent to roughly 12-bit PCM.
IMA (a.k.a. DVI) 4-bit ADPCM; it has a precision equivalent to roughly 13-bit PCM.
Microsoft 4-bit ADPCM; it has a precision equivalent to roughly 14-bit PCM.

And I need a CLI-driven tool to convert to CT-ADPCM.
I want to convert my entire MP3/FLAC collection, and use the "brain-damaged" 286 as a jukebox, but I don't want to click myself to death 🤣

"ffmpeg -codecs" lists eg. the following:

1D.A.L. adpcm_ct             ADPCM Creative Technology
2DEA.L. adpcm_ima_wav        ADPCM IMA WAV
3DEA.L. adpcm_ms             ADPCM Microsoft
4D.A.L. adpcm_sbpro_2        ADPCM Sound Blaster Pro 2-bit
5D.A.L. adpcm_sbpro_3        ADPCM Sound Blaster Pro 2.6-bit
6D.A.L. adpcm_sbpro_4        ADPCM Sound Blaster Pro 4-bit

D = decoder, E = encoder
so can't write the CT/SB formats...

Grzyb wrote on 2025-07-17, 23:47:

I'm wondering how does CT-ADPCM compare with other 16->4 bit ADPCM variants...

When comparing against the uncompressed source material, I don't find CTADPCM to be as transparent as IMA ADPCM; there's audible noise in quieter portions of some CTADPCM conversions that isn't present in IMA ADPCM counterparts.

And I need a CLI-driven tool to convert to CT-ADPCM.
I want to convert my entire MP3/FLAC collection, and use the "brain-damaged" 286 as a jukebox, but I don't want to click myself to death 🤣

GoldWave has some pretty extensive batch processing options. A couple of clicks is all it should take to convert your entire library... after you've purchased a license. 😀

I like the 286 jukebox idea. I'm doing something similar with a 386/25 that runs Windows 95 and is largely just used for playing-back a library of IMA ADPCM files being served across the network.

Since DOS seems to be your focus though, one cool function of the WPLAY utility is that it provides an option to shell/launch a separate program after starting playback. I'm leveraging that capability here:
https://youtu.be/xv25ES4YJaI?si=_LebZ9sUZMSYwnXj&t=95

Cloudschatze wrote on 2025-07-18, 06:06:

When comparing against the uncompressed source material, I don't find CTADPCM to be as transparent as IMA ADPCM; there's audible noise in quieter portions of some CTADPCM conversions that isn't present in IMA ADPCM counterparts.

Combining your experiences and the SoX manual, it seems that the quality order is:
1. MS-ADPCM
2. IMA-ADPCM
3. CT-ADPCM

A kingdom for MS-ADPCM CSP microcode!

I like the 286 jukebox idea. I'm doing something similar with a 386/25 that runs Windows 95 and is largely just used for playing-back a library of IMA ADPCM files being served across the network.

Yes, I can see this - "Accelerating" Windows 95 with Creative's Advanced Signal Processor (CSP)
Your priority is obviously low CPU usage.

I need ADPCM because my 286/12 + Microsoft Network Client storage is a bit too slow for 176 KB/s PCM - but more than fast enough for 44 KB/s ADPCM.

Since DOS seems to be your focus though, one cool function of the WPLAY utility is that it provides an option to shell/launch a separate program after starting playback. I'm leveraging that capability here:
https://youtu.be/xv25ES4YJaI?si=_LebZ9sUZMSYwnXj&t=95

Nice idea - note to self to place scanned album covers in all the directories...

What's the sound quality in that video?
With a V30, SB16, and modern storage, you may win this challenge of mine - Minimum PC to play CD-quality PCM sound - at least in the "local storage" category...