Isn't YMZ263 a 12bit DAC ADC with adpcm chip with some volume control and uart/joystick? From what I see in ADG it relies very much on filtering for the different sampling/playback frequencies.
It has a mixer for other for other features like mic surround, etc. I tested the OPL3 part which also has some heavy filtering. From what I see, what contributes for its typical sound is not only the filtering , but also its tonal control chip TDA8425. It gives a deep and warm sound. It would be interesting to see if there are any differences between those chips. Hardware wise this card was very good. If it had been a 16bit card, we wouldn't be having this conversation now, nor we would know creative as it is now.
Other good cards are the Mediavision, the first cards before the jazz chipset. More integrated but with the same concept as ADG. I would like to see more stuff about these cards as well.

Marmes wrote on 2026-07-27, 09:44:

Isn't YMZ263 a 12bit DAC ADC with adpcm chip with some volume control and uart/joystick?

Mostly, yes. It also handles MIDI UART duty (but is not MPU-401-compatible), also with FIFO functionality, like they use for PCM/ADPCM recording and playback. All of the Crystal-like CODECs make use of FIFOs to guard against brief interruptions in data transfer, but I am not sure they are quite as flexible.

Marmes wrote on 2026-07-27, 09:44:

If it had been a 16bit card, we wouldn't be having this conversation now, nor we would know creative as it is now.

The interesting thing is that the YMZ263 can play back 16-bit PCM-encoded audio, though it's not entirely clear if it uses all of the sample data, or throws away the "extra" bits and treats the samples as 12-bit. I don't have any Creative audio products any more, but I don't remember their playback, even the "16-bit" cards, sounding better than the Gold. In some ways, because of the many "DSP" defects, they were worse.

I have tests that play back 8- and 16-bit data on the Gold, and the results are very good for a design from 1991. From a technical and sound-quality standpoint, it put the Sound Blaster Pro to shame.

640K!enough wrote on Yesterday, 05:49:

The interesting thing is that the YMZ263 can play back 16-bit PCM-encoded audio, though it's not entirely clear if it uses all of the sample data, or throws away the "extra" bits and treats the samples as 12-bit.

According to page 237/238 in the Developer toolkit the chip truncates/ignores the lowest four bits on 16-bit PCM playback.

640K!enough wrote on Yesterday, 05:49:

The interesting thing is that the YMZ263 can play back 16-bit PCM-encoded audio, though it's not entirely clear if it uses all of the sample data, or throws away the "extra" bits and treats the samples as 12-bit. I don't have any Creative audio products any more, but I don't remember their playback, even the "16-bit" cards, sounding better than the Gold. In some ways, because of the many "DSP" defects, they were worse.

Realistically, the SB16 when orignally released was too noisy to take advantage of a 16-bit signal. You got like 10-bits of depth at most once in a game, running inside an EMI filled computer. It got better with later models. I expect the Gold with 12-bit and a better analog section was objectively better than an original SB16. Personally I don't think 16-bit became truly utilised until the AWE64, that's when noise levels dropped to a level where >12-bit is useful.

NeoG_ wrote on Yesterday, 07:49:

I expect the Gold with 12-bit and a better analog section was objectively better than an original SB16.

That's an interesting claim, though I have always agreed, having owned both cards in the early 90s. I still remember a magazine comparison that said that "we don't know" why anyone would ever want to buy an Ad Lib Gold, given it "only" had 12-bit sampling, among many other complaints and criticisms. In the same feature, they showered the SB16 with praise for its 16-bit playback quality and the "innovative" ASP that, among other things, allowed ADPCM compression/de-compression, taking much less space, while preserving audio quality. They conveniently neglected to mention that many other cards of the time could do the same, without requiring an optional DSP chip. One can only conclude that Creative included a generous cheque with the evaluation unit.

From memory, they weren't overly impressed with the GUS or PAS16, either, both of which handily trounce the SB16 in every respect that matters, including 16-bit playback quality.

SB16 Chip for 16bit was from AKM for 16bit DAC/ADC, on paper it was good, but it was noisy, don't know if it was a design flaw. The 16bit sound doesn't feel normal. I rather have the 12bit from ADG .
But from what I heard around, usually good 18bit DACs give me a more natural sound. Not 20, 24 or whatever give me the good feeling of 18bit DACs.
I think AKM is an I2S chip controlled by a DSP and a protocol converter. DSP also has the basic functions of a SB2 with a Philips 16bit DAC for 8bit fake stereo sound.
So comparing SB16 to an ADG is like comparing pears with apples. ADG is far superior.

640K!enough wrote on 2026-07-25, 09:04:

In what may be the beginning of a more substantial effort, I recently decided to start tinkering with the Ad Lib Gold. For a de […]
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In what may be the beginning of a more substantial effort, I recently decided to start tinkering with the Ad Lib Gold. For a design from 1991, I have to say that it had some interesting design ideas, some of which I don't think were ever adopted anywhere else; not even Creative bothered to steal them.

I'm not offering anything particularly compelling yet, but for anyone who would care to try it, a small application is attached. If it works, it should display some information, then play a simple test clip. It would be interesting to know what you see and/or hear. I don't think it displays one critical detail: press q when you have had enough and want to quit.

It wasn't specifically designed to support them, but it may even partially work on some of the other non-Ad Lib GSS cards of the 1990s. If it does at all, the resources it claims should be nonsensical.

It would also be interesting to know whether the card you are using has a YMZ263 or YMZ263B. I think all genuine, shipping Ad Lib cards of the time used the former. I don't own any hardware with the B chip, but I suspect there are some behavioural differences between the two. At some point, that might be an interesting thing to investigate.

A brief summary of your system configuration would also be appreciated.

It is important to recommend that you not use headphones. Cheap powered speakers with the volume set to a modest level are recommended, just in case the only thing you get out of it is loud noise.

The PCM data on the sample clip is signed right? From my experience when i developed the MSS3 driver everything unsigned results in distorted playback on the Adlib Gold. Simon the Sorcerer, Return of the Phantom are 2 game examples that have the distorted sound on the Gold. Something i would like to fix but hard to.

640K!enough wrote on Yesterday, 05:49:

The interesting thing is that the YMZ263 can play back 16-bit PCM-encoded audio, though it's not entirely clear if it uses all of the sample data, or throws away the "extra" bits and treats the samples as 12-bit. I don't have any Creative audio products any more, but I don't remember their playback, even the "16-bit" cards, sounding better than the Gold. In some ways, because of the many "DSP" defects, they were worse.

I have tests that play back 8- and 16-bit data on the Gold, and the results are very good for a design from 1991. From a technical and sound-quality standpoint, it put the Sound Blaster Pro to shame.

As Tiido noted MMA set to format 2 should be ideal to play 16 bit samples on the Gold.