Gosh, you all have my respect for navigating this chaos. Like dang, this is really so much more than I ever expected for just the audio area. It's a bit overwhelming but I'm trying to educate myself on it, but wow 🤣!

@Shponglefan That sounds like very good advice. A few questions if you don't mind. If I understand correctly, skipping on the MT-32(new) is okay because at worst I may experience a little less quality in sound?
The CM-32L & CM-64 are similar enough in function & quality that using either one is fine, so just get what I can?
"Roland SC-55 or equivalent daughtercard with Roland samples" I'm not exactly sure how a daughtercard works. Wikipedia explains its function, but I'm not seeing how it's implemented. Is this like an attachment that goes on certain types of sound cards?

Thank you for the suggestion @Pej. I have no issues with people using emulation, however I'm trying to avoid it as much as possible as I've learned that it often isn't what I'm looking for.

Paranoid_Andy wrote on 2025-07-29, 20:35:

@Shponglefan That sounds like very good advice. A few questions if you don't mind. If I understand correctly, skipping on the MT-32(new) is okay because at worst I may experience a little less quality in sound?

The CM-32L and CM-64 effectively function the same as the MT-32 (new), just with additional sound effects. Any game that requires an MT-32(new) should also sound fine on the CM-32L or CM-64, which makes a separate MT-32(new) a bit redundant.

Sound quality on the MT-32 is also fine. It's usually considered inferior in context of more expensive professional synthesizers (like the D-50 / D-550), but for video games it's a lot better than sound cards of the era.

The CM-32L & CM-64 are similar enough in function & quality that using either one is fine, so just get what I can?

Yes, the only reason to specifically get a CM-64 is if you also want the CM-32P for PCM support since the CM-64 is a combined CM-32L and CM-32P.

"Roland SC-55 or equivalent daughtercard with Roland samples" I'm not exactly sure how a daughtercard works. Wikipedia explains its function, but I'm not seeing how it's implemented. Is this like an attachment that goes on certain types of sound cards.

Yes, wavetable daughtercards are separate circuit boards that are designed to attach to sound cards that have a wavetable header. There are also a couple sound modules that can support wavetable daughtercards as well.

For the MT-32 and CM era maybe would be better if you check Phil's guide. Anyway as recommended a few posts earlier the best combination is MT-32 old + CM-32L + SC-55 (or scp-55 if you have a laptop)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLvsaJ4h-VY

nach wrote on 2025-07-30, 05:00:

For the MT-32 and CM era maybe would be better if you check Phil's guide. Anyway as recommended a few posts earlier the best combination is MT-32 old + CM-32L + SC-55 (or scp-55 if you have a laptop)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLvsaJ4h-VY

OP has a Sharp X68000 XVI. For this machine a CM-64 (CM-32P) is ideal and very much worth the effort in aquiring one.

As for GM and GS, it's a toss up. SC-55 is the purist's choice, but more advanced modules are very worth considering. I prefer my MU2000 for most games.

@Shponglefan That certainly clears some thing up, thank you. I'll stick with external devices then as it sounds like that might be the easier way to go.

@nach Thanks, yeah as @SuperDeadite mentioned, since I have a X68k I'll be going with a CM-64 for sure.

I think I have it now. Looks like I'll be going with:
MT-32 (old)
CM-64
SC-55
MU2000

I wonder, is there anything else that's needed to bring this all together? Units, data cables and power cables are currently everything I'm looking for.

Paranoid_Andy wrote on 2025-07-31, 23:17:

@Shponglefan That certainly clears some thing up, thank you. I'll stick with external devices then as it sounds like that might […]
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@Shponglefan That certainly clears some thing up, thank you. I'll stick with external devices then as it sounds like that might be the easier way to go.

@nach Thanks, yeah as @SuperDeadite mentioned, since I have a X68k I'll be going with a CM-64 for sure.

I think I have it now. Looks like I'll be going with:
MT-32 (old)
CM-64
SC-55
MU2000

I wonder, is there anything else that's needed to bring this all together? Units, data cables and power cables are currently everything I'm looking for.

Be aware the MU1000 and MU2000 have the exact same sound hardware. 2000 just adds the sampler and SmartMedia card reader. If you aren't planning to use those features, the 1000 will sound exactly the same and is usually cheaper.

For ease of use with multiple machines, a MIDI patch bay is ideal. Very cheap to very expensive based on features. Also, you absolutely will want a mixer. Typically the module only produces music, while the computer still generates the sfx. But also quite a few X68000 games actually use both MIDI and FM together to make the music, you need to manually mix them to sound correct.

Welcome to the rabbit hole. It's fun, but you will never have money again. Currently replaying my MIDI favorites on the SuperOctet! and loving it myself.

@SuperDeadite Nice! That'll shave off some pennies. Thanks for the tip!

Okay sounds good on a MIDI patch bay and mixer. I'm not really looking for any bells and whistles just as long as it functions well enough.
Do you happen to have any recommendations for those?

Also I already never have the moneys anymore 🤣. I'm into retro console gaming and arcade as well, so yeah I'm broke all the time haha. Speaking of arcade, I think I've seen you on the AP forums possibly.

Paranoid_Andy wrote on 2025-08-01, 00:40:

@SuperDeadite Nice! That'll shave off some pennies. Thanks for the tip! […]
Show full quote

@SuperDeadite Nice! That'll shave off some pennies. Thanks for the tip!

Okay sounds good on a MIDI patch bay and mixer. I'm not really looking for any bells and whistles just as long as it functions well enough.
Do you happen to have any recommendations for those?

Also I already never have the moneys anymore 🤣. I'm into retro console gaming and arcade as well, so yeah I'm broke all the time haha. Speaking of arcade, I think I've seen you on the AP forums possibly.

I use Edirol UM-550. It's sister the UM-880 is the same but even bigger. They are basically the gold standard on patch bays, but the price has gone up a lot over the years.

For linking everything to my modern Win10 PC, I use Yamaha UW500.

I'm sure you've seen me around. I have done a lot vids on MIDI, X68000, MSX, arcade, etc. Rather busy now though.

Paranoid_Andy wrote on 2025-07-25, 20:56:

The only other issue now is I see there is an 'old' and a 'new' model of the MT-32. To be honest, the Wiki page is a bit confusing for me so I'm not really sure. Would it be better for me to get an old or new version or it just really depends on the game? I'm wondering if many people have 2 MT-32s to cover all their bases?

I have both and I switch between them, some games work on the 'new', some on the 'old' and some on both. I use mostly the 'old'.
I have MRD-401x card that I got from eBay (seems to still be there for sale https://www.ebay.com/itm/276946502061?itmmeta … R0AAOSwaF5l0xAT), it works most of the time with the intelligent mode games. I also have joystick-MIDI cable and I use that with SOFTMPU. With this setup most of the games work well but there's still some games like the Gateway that won't work for some reason.