Those three short ones with IDE are not sound cards, rather they just wire IDE to the ISA slot with minimum logic, and route the analog audio CD output to those jacks on the bracket.

There is a whole rabbit-hole you can go down here... for some keywords to search for past debates: genuine OPL3 vs. CQM, left/right stereo channels reversed, hanging note bug, cards that require -5V on the slot (sometimes missing when using ATX-AT adapter).

Some cards have more annoying configuration programs or drivers than others, but Unisound has helped a lot with that.

The third image looks like it might be a pair of Media Vision sound cards and a Creative Labs CT2890.

Not sure exactly what Media Vision cards those are though. The labels on them look like they might read "Pro Audio 16"?

I can see two PAS16 cards there - they are somewhat precious.

Aztech seems to be NX Pro - a nice card, with Covox and Disney compatibility, the lack of volume knob is not a big problem, as it's easier to use the knob on the speakers anyway...

SB Pro 2 is another nice classic.

Vibra and Opti are common and cheap.

I recommend the CT1600 and the Vibra16S. The former is the golden standard for DOS compatibility and FM music.
The Vibra16S is also an excellent Sound Blaster 16 knock off that has OPL3 on it and with less noise than typical SB16s.
Both are good choices for early-mid DOS gaming.

Number 1 is AZTech Sound Galaxy NX II Extra SCSI (minus the SCSI chip)
The last one of the 4, I just about make out Opti, some nice Opti's?

The cards in the 1st and 3rd pictures are worth getting.

Thanks guys for your opinions.

What sort of games/software do you want to use?

This is a very diverse bag of cards, each with different functionalities and different quality per functionality. Particularly in DOS, games don't address a card generically, but directly address such a functionality.

What I would do would be to make a matrix of card vs functionality, and wherever the functionality is present, figure out whether it's good, average or bad.

The functionalities present on these cards include:

- OPL3 FM synth
- Covox/Disney digital audio
- SoundBlaster Pro2 digital audio
- Soundblaster 16 digital audio
- Pro Audio Spectrum 16 digital audio (technically very similar to SB16, but not compatible; game support fairly common 1993/1994)
- WSS digital audio (also very similar to SB16, again not compatible, game support common after 1994)
- MPU-401 MIDI UART

Additionally there can be SCSI/CDRom interfaces in different flavours, but I'm assuming that won't be necessary.

Just a quick run-down of what I can make out from the pics:

Aztech NX Pro:
- OPL3 - Good, real Yamaha OPL3
- Covox/Disney - Good, it's probably the unique selling point of this card.
- SBPro2 - Average, compatibility is good but this is a fairly noisy card.
- No SB16, PAS16, WSS or MPU401

CT1600 SBPro2
- OPL3 - Good, real Yamaha OPL3
- SBPro2 - Perfect, this is the original SBPro2
- No Covox, SB16, PAS16, WSS or (full hardware) MPU401

Pro Audio Spectrum 16 (2x)
- OPL3 - Good, real Yamaha OPL3
- SBPro2 - None, these cards only support (mono) OG Sound Blaster
-PAS16 - Perfect - this is the PAS16 (and the reproduction is really clear too)
- MPU401 - Poor; present but buggy (hanging notes)
- No Covox,SBPro2, SB16, WSS

CT2890 Sound Blaster 16 Vibra, CT4170 Sound Blaster 16 WavEffects and CT4180 Sound Blaster Vibra 16 (despite different design and chip generations, these cards share all relevant features)
- OPL3 - Average, Creative's unloved CQM FM alternative
- SBPro2 - Average, this is an SB16 and the DAC has low self-noise, but all Vibra chips have clipping and hissing artefacts
- SB16 - Average, this is an SB16 and the DAC has low self-noise, but all Vibra chips have clipping and hissing artefacts
- MPU401 - Poor - present but buggy (hanging notes and slowdowns when high-quality audio is being played)
- No Covox, PAS16 or WSS

Generic Opti 82C931 card (2x)
- OPL3 - Average to bad, OPTi's justly unloved OPTiFM
- SBPro2 - Good compatibility, sound quality depends on implementation (these look like cheap cards with ditto components)
- WSS - Good, but can't coexist with SBPro2; card must be initialized with one or the other and can only switch after reboot.
- MPU401 - Good, no hanging notes or slowdowns.
- No Covox, PAS16 or SB16

The other three narrow cards with an internal 40p header and two external IEC audio connectors are just CDRom interface cards, with no sound card functionality.

Basically what you have here:
- one relatively high-end but niche card (the PAS16) offering great OPL3 and PAS16 but limited compatibility beyond that
- one valuable collectable (the CT1600 SBPro2) that however doesn't offer anything the other cards don't do too
- one oddball low-end card with very wide compatibility for early games (NXPro)
- three low-end SB16 Vibra cards with average to poor sound quality, but the only ones here to offer SB16 digital audio
- two very low-end OPTi cards with decent late DOS and early Windows compatibility and the only ones out of the bunch with a reliable MPU-401 MIDI interface

What to choose depends on what you want to do. There is no single 'one card to rule them all' - definitely not in this bunch. You can however combine different cards...

First fundamental question: do you want to use an MPU-401 MIDI interface? (eg for a Wavetable module or an external MIDI sound modume). If so, one of the OPTi cards needs to be part of the build. That also gives you decent SBPro2 or WSS, but not much else. I'd combine it with either the PAS16 for perfect OPL3 and good 16b native PAS16 audio, or with the NXPro for OPL3 and Covox, or one of the Vibras if I really don't care about FM synth and want SB16 digital audio (even if it hisses and clips).

If no MPU-401 needed, there's no reason to use one of the OPTi cards. Then I'd combine any two of NXPro, PAS16 and/or Vibra, again depending on what functionalities my games want. I'd swap sell the CT1600 and use the proceeds to get a more interesting sound card 😉

Oh wow, that's a very detailed and informative answer. I really appreciate your effort. Thank you so much for that.

I don't need an MPU-401 MIDI interface, so I'll go with the first ones you mentioned.

Thanks again!

dionb wrote on 2026-07-22, 09:55:

CT2890 Sound Blaster 16 Vibra, CT4170 Sound Blaster 16 WavEffects and CT4180 Sound Blaster Vibra 16 (despite different design and chip generations, these cards share all relevant features)
- OPL3 - Average, Creative's unloved CQM FM alternative

Generally yes, except for the Vibra16S, which has an authentic OPL3 chip, not CQM. That's why I recommend it (not 16, 16C nor 16VX... just 16S). It is a plug-and-play ISA card. Its compatibility is as good as any other SB16 card. It is cheap and overlooked exactly for the reason of it being mistaken with its other Vibra variants.. but in reality it's as good as any non-Vibra PnP SB16 with OPL3.

Arguably every ISA sound card is collectible if you like to compare them. If they're being offered for free I would take all of them. Otherwise they might end up in the trash and nobody wants that.