Second part...

Don't know what you want to do with all those cards but if DOS gaming is important than an Advance Logic ALS4000 is nice to have. Similar to the the ESS Solo 1 in many regards.

About the ESS cards. The ESS FM chip is quite capable.
https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=96920

Yoghoo wrote on Yesterday, 21:28:

Don't know what you want to do with all those cards but if DOS gaming is important than an Advance Logic ALS4000 is nice to have. Similar to the the ESS Solo 1 in many regards.

I do absolutly nothing with these cards. It s just a collection of mine. Always passionate about pc sound. I have never owned a pc with no dedicated sound card , currently using a SB AE-7...

Dos gaming under windows is important. I will never run true dos for playing games. It s just too complicated and can t be bothered. In fact , don t really care about true dos itself.

Your Advance Logic ALS4000 is very good , thank you. I see them cards not expensive at all... like 10 15 quid... so will make a purchase of one very soon. Nice to add something new to the collection.

Jo22 wrote on Yesterday, 21:31:

About the ESS cards. The ESS FM chip is quite capable.
https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=96920

By far my fav sound card company. Such a shame they left the game in the late 90s...

But they are still around today , making DACs for sound cards and proffesional sound cards. INFACT , my SB AE-7 has a ESS dac in it.

bitzu101 wrote on Yesterday, 20:44:

Second part...

The black Yamaha-based sound card looks gorgeous, but it has a faulty PCB. 🙁
Re: Yamaha YMF7x4 Guide

Speaking of "Yamaha based sound cards", anyone have recommendations of what are the best drivers/software for this "Labway" card?

Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today

I will be using it in DOS (if possible) ... but I pretty much only have experience using "Sound Blaster" cards in that environment

shevalier wrote on Today, 10:29:

bitzu101 wrote on Yesterday, 20:44:

Second part...

The black Yamaha-based sound card looks gorgeous, but it has a faulty PCB. 🙁
Re: Yamaha YMF7x4 Guide

you mean my yamaha one has a faulty pcb?

DaveDDS wrote on Today, 10:43:

Speaking of "Yamaha based sound cards", anyone have recommendations of what are the best drivers/software for this "Labway" card?

Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today

I will be using it in DOS (if possible) ... but I pretty much only have experience using "Sound Blaster" cards in that environment

i ve downloaded this cd and written it to disk

https://archive.org/details/yamaha-xg-ymf-series-c-104-0102

Works great with my card.

bitzu101 wrote on Today, 14:07:

shevalier wrote on Today, 10:29:

bitzu101 wrote on Yesterday, 20:44:

Second part...

The black Yamaha-based sound card looks gorgeous, but it has a faulty PCB. 🙁
Re: Yamaha YMF7x4 Guide

you mean my yamaha one has a faulty pcb?

It is possible that this card had a corrected revision, but I doubt it.
This is very easy to check with a multimeter.
Move the jumpers from the "Line" position to the "Power Amp" position.
Then measure the resistance of the jumper to ground (Without inserted jack)
The right channel will be shorted to ground The main problem is that TEA does not burn up completely.
Instead, it undergoes irreversible degradation.

shevalier wrote on Today, 14:32:

It is possible that this card had a corrected revision, but I doubt it. This is very easy to check with a multimeter. Move the j […]
Show full quote

bitzu101 wrote on Today, 14:07:

shevalier wrote on Today, 10:29:

The black Yamaha-based sound card looks gorgeous, but it has a faulty PCB. 🙁
Re: Yamaha YMF7x4 Guide

you mean my yamaha one has a faulty pcb?

It is possible that this card had a corrected revision, but I doubt it.
This is very easy to check with a multimeter.
Move the jumpers from the "Line" position to the "Power Amp" position.
Then measure the resistance of the jumper to ground (Without inserted jack)
The right channel will be shorted to ground The main problem is that TEA does not burn up completely.
Instead, it undergoes irreversible degradation.

Mate , i have no clue on how do any of that. I don t own a multimeter. I am not good with stuff like that.

I have used the card and it works just fine. I am not electrician and don t understand lines , power amps , teas , etc. very sorry... It s like looking at a movie in a foreign language 😀)

Here are a few PCI sound cards not mentioned in this thread so far, that are worth checking out:

Turtle Beach Santa Cruz (Crystal 4630). Excellent Windows 9x to XP card, some DOS compatibility (poor FM synthesizer).
Envy42 based cards. Great Windows card, no DOS compatibility.
FM801-AU based cards. Surprisingly decent budget PCI card, above average DOS compatibility (hardware FM synthesizer).

bitzu101 wrote on Today, 15:13:

shevalier wrote on Today, 14:32:

It is possible that this card had a corrected revision, but I doubt it. This is very easy to check with a multimeter. Move the j […]
Show full quote

bitzu101 wrote on Today, 14:07:

you mean my yamaha one has a faulty pcb?

It is possible that this card had a corrected revision, but I doubt it.
This is very easy to check with a multimeter.
Move the jumpers from the "Line" position to the "Power Amp" position.
Then measure the resistance of the jumper to ground (Without inserted jack)
The right channel will be shorted to ground The main problem is that TEA does not burn up completely.
Instead, it undergoes irreversible degradation.

Mate , i have no clue on how do any of that. I don t own a multimeter. I am not good with stuff like that.

I have used the card and it works just fine. I am not electrician and don t understand lines , power amps , teas , etc. very sorry... It s like looking at a movie in a foreign language 😀)

No problem 😀

If you start getting a periodic crackling in the right channel with headphones in sync with the CPU/GPU load - kind of an annoying "retro sound"
I wouldn't bother changing drivers, messing with interrupts, or moving the card to different slots, as it's a pointless waste of time.
Better buy another one while they are still somewhat available.

PS Here, your Vortex 2 is a more better than my Diamond MX300.
I recommend getting an Audigy 4 Pro (a mega rarity) and a Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro if you get the chance.
And Prodigy from Audiotrak/ESI.
This is effectively the end of PCI sound cards.
Nothing more or less comparable was ever made.
https://www.esi-audio.com/products/prodigyhd2/

akimmet wrote on Today, 15:22:

Here are a few PCI sound cards not mentioned in this thread so far, that are worth checking out: […]
Show full quote

Here are a few PCI sound cards not mentioned in this thread so far, that are worth checking out:

Turtle Beach Santa Cruz (Crystal 4630). Excellent Windows 9x to XP card, some DOS compatibility (poor FM synthesizer).
Envy42 based cards. Great Windows card, no DOS compatibility.
FM801-AU based cards. Surprisingly decent budget PCI card, above average DOS compatibility (hardware FM synthesizer).

the fm 801 sound good... hw synth... might have a look for one...

shevalier wrote on Today, 15:40:

No problem :-) […]
Show full quote

bitzu101 wrote on Today, 15:13:

shevalier wrote on Today, 14:32:

It is possible that this card had a corrected revision, but I doubt it. This is very easy to check with a multimeter. Move the j […]
Show full quote

It is possible that this card had a corrected revision, but I doubt it.
This is very easy to check with a multimeter.
Move the jumpers from the "Line" position to the "Power Amp" position.
Then measure the resistance of the jumper to ground (Without inserted jack)
The right channel will be shorted to ground The main problem is that TEA does not burn up completely.
Instead, it undergoes irreversible degradation.

Mate , i have no clue on how do any of that. I don t own a multimeter. I am not good with stuff like that.

I have used the card and it works just fine. I am not electrician and don t understand lines , power amps , teas , etc. very sorry... It s like looking at a movie in a foreign language 😀)

No problem 😀

If you start getting a periodic crackling in the right channel with headphones in sync with the CPU/GPU load - kind of an annoying "retro sound"
I wouldn't bother changing drivers, messing with interrupts, or moving the card to different slots, as it's a pointless waste of time.
Better buy another one while they are still somewhat available.

PS Here, your Vortex 2 is a more better than my Diamond MX300.
I recommend getting an Audigy 4 Pro (a mega rarity) and a Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro if you get the chance.
And Prodigy from Audiotrak/ESI.
This is effectively the end of PCI sound cards.
Nothing more or less comparable was ever made.
https://www.esi-audio.com/products/prodigyhd2/

Thanks , i will keep an eye out for the issue , see if it presents itself.

I have never seen an Audigy 4 , did not even know they exist... But I did look online , could not find even 1 card.

The Prodigy I can find but they are so expensive... Will see , I found that Advance Logic ALS4000 on ebay for 15 quid , i will get one of them for sure...

At some point i did want to buy a Gravis ultrasound... but.... pffff... 300 pounds and above... no thank you.

bitzu101 wrote on Today, 16:30:

The Prodigy I can find but they are so expensive...

Some sorts of audiophiles still use them on some Atom-CPU motherboards as dedicated network audio players.
The thing is actually pretty decent.
That's why it's still quite expensive even now.

shevalier wrote on Today, 16:56:

Some sorts of audiophiles still use them on some Atom-CPU motherboards as dedicated network audio players. The thing is actual […]
Show full quote

bitzu101 wrote on Today, 16:30:

The Prodigy I can find but they are so expensive...

Some sorts of audiophiles still use them on some Atom-CPU motherboards as dedicated network audio players.
The thing is actually pretty decent.
That's why it's still quite expensive even now.

I believe so , the card looks quite nice and professional. It looks like a quality card. It looks more like a card for pro music or move sound , etc... not for general use...

bitzu101 wrote on Today, 17:24:

shevalier wrote on Today, 16:56:

Some sorts of audiophiles still use them on some Atom-CPU motherboards as dedicated network audio players. The thing is actual […]
Show full quote

bitzu101 wrote on Today, 16:30:

The Prodigy I can find but they are so expensive...

Some sorts of audiophiles still use them on some Atom-CPU motherboards as dedicated network audio players.
The thing is actually pretty decent.
That's why it's still quite expensive even now.

I believe so , the card looks quite nice and professional. It looks like a quality card. It looks more like a card for pro music or move sound , etc... not for general use...

Nope,
This is purely an audiophile card, unlike the rest of Audiotrak's lineup.
Now Juli@—that one is definitely for music recording.
If drivers are making you want to climb the wall, welcome to E-MU products.
It's basically an X-Fi in Audio Creation Mode, just even more unhinged.

bitzu101 wrote on Today, 16:30:

At some point i did want to buy a Gravis ultrasound... but.... pffff... 300 pounds and above... no thank you.

A Gravis Ultrasound is primarily going to be a sound card for certain DOS games, and mod trackers. The drivers are notoriously difficult to install compared to most other sound cards.
If you are truly curious, I recommend trying a PicoGUS. That way you can experience what a Gravis Ultrasound is like before spending big money for an original or reproduction.