VOGONS


First post, by CJ Grass

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Hi,
I’ve been reading up on it and watching reviews, and I’m thinking about buying one (I have an ESS AudioDrive ES1868F [BTC 1853L]), but as the posts and review videos are quite old, I’m wondering whether it’s still worth buying today, or whether something else, perhaps better, has come out in the meantime?
Is Serdashop the only shop that sells it?
Thank you for your advice and best regards.

Reply 1 of 8, by MadMac_5

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

Based on what I can see, there isn't really anything else out there in the same price range as the S2 that's any better. If you can pay a bit more then the E-Wave (also from Serdashop) sounds a bit better (at least in the demos I've seen/heard), but for ~35 Euros it's hard to beat the S2 even though it's getting older!

Reply 3 of 8, by SuperDeadite

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

If you have no other modules, I'd say one of the Dreamblaster X2GS varients would be the best choice. Proper GS bank for the intended sound, plus a few user banks for when you get bored. S2 sounds lovely, but I feel it is most pleasing as an alternative sound as opposed to a main.

CM-64, CM-500, SC-55MkII, SC-88 Pro, SY22, TG100, MU2000EX, PLG100-SG, PLG150-DR, PLG150-AN, SG01k, NS5R, GZ-50M, SN-U110-07, SN-U110-10, Pocket Studio 5, DreamBlaster S2, X2, McFly, E-Wave, QWave, CrystalBlaster C2, Yucatan FX, BeepBlaster, SuperOctet!

Reply 4 of 8, by fosterwj03

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

I have a S2, and I like it quite a bit. I think you could live with it if it's the only wavetable you ever own.

I agree with the earlier comment though, the X2GS is superior and worth the extra cost.

I've actually grown quite fond of the Wavetable Pi. It has an excellent GM soundfont standard, plus the ability to use other soundfonts, plus MT-32 emulation. A tricked out, pre-assembled Wavetable Pi costs about as much as the X2GS.

Reply 5 of 8, by NeoG_

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
fosterwj03 wrote on 2026-05-01, 02:53:

I've actually grown quite fond of the Wavetable Pi. It has an excellent GM soundfont standard, plus the ability to use other soundfonts, plus MT-32 emulation. A tricked out, pre-assembled Wavetable Pi costs about as much as the X2GS.

Same, I have the WP32 version and the GeneralUserGS sample set when updated to the latest version satisifies my quality requirements for GM and I enjoy the MT-32 soundtracks as well which wouldn't work well or at all on the X2

98/DOS Rig: BabyAT AladdinV, K6-2+/550, V3 2000, 128MB PC100, 20GB HDD, 128GB SD2IDE, SB Live!, SB16-SCSI, PicoGUS, WP32 McCake, iNFRA CD, ZIP100
XP Rig: Lian Li PC-10 ATX, Gigabyte X38-DQ6, Core2Duo E6850, ATi HD5870, 2GB DDR2, 2TB HDD, X-Fi XtremeGamer

Reply 6 of 8, by DevanWolf

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

I got the standalone smallest MIDI sound module on board equivalent of it: MIDI-Guy 2.1 (bought on Tindie)

Reply 7 of 8, by NeoG_

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
DevanWolf wrote on 2026-08-18, 23:18:

I got the standalone smallest MIDI sound module on board equivalent of it: MIDI-Guy 2.1 (bought on Tindie)

The sound is pretty good considering the price you get can these for, seems like an easy recommendation for someone looking for basic but good quality GM wavetable

98/DOS Rig: BabyAT AladdinV, K6-2+/550, V3 2000, 128MB PC100, 20GB HDD, 128GB SD2IDE, SB Live!, SB16-SCSI, PicoGUS, WP32 McCake, iNFRA CD, ZIP100
XP Rig: Lian Li PC-10 ATX, Gigabyte X38-DQ6, Core2Duo E6850, ATi HD5870, 2GB DDR2, 2TB HDD, X-Fi XtremeGamer

Reply 8 of 8, by akimmet

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

I have two of the Little Dreamer boards from TexElec. They work really well with my sound cards and motherboards with a wavetable header, including a BTC 1853L.

I vastly prefer the samples used on the SAM2695, over the ESS ES692S used on the Serdaco E-Wave. I don't particularly like the samples on AdMOS QDSP chips either.
For the price, there is nothing as good as one of these SAM2695 based wabetable boards. Since your profile says you are in Poland, try Lotherek. https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=377

If you are willing to spend quite a bit more, the Serdaco X2GS is incredible. It comes pre-loaded with very high quality Roland samples. I am very happy with the one I have.