So, given all of the new information that people have been digging up about these ESS cards and Yamaha ISA cards, where do we stand when it comes to the "most versatile, least problematic" DOS gaming sound card? It seems like the AWE64 is favored, as well as the YMF7xx and now ES1688 cards... but how do I tell which to use? I know "DOS" covers a huge span of time, but I think its reasonable for one card to be able to successfully play anything from the "Sound Blaster" era until the start of the Windows 9x era. Its barely 6 years.
To me, the card that offers the most features (that are actually used) and the fewest problems (that actually effect games that are going to be played) would be the winner here.
For example, I don't play Doom or other similar FPS games, so the largest bugs that are known for plaguing those games (mostly on Sound Blasters) have no impact on me. However, if those bugs are "sometimes" going to crop up in other games at random, then it's still a big deal, because the goal is to have the least problematic sound solution possible.
Also, I've come to find that as much as I appreciate accurate sound representation, with an MT32 and an MT200 at my disposal I'm not likely to NEED a perfect OPL3 implementation. It is rarely if ever going to sound "better" than an MT32 or GM\GS, and there are very few DOS games that I played over the years with FM sound some very early ones would have been on a Packard Bell that most likely had an Aztech card with a real OPL3, but most later games would have been played with some kind of software synth under Windows 98 or with some kind of Ensoniq FM implementation. So I most likely would only use OPL3 music in games that had no other option (not many).
High quality output is important (I play on a TDA7492 amp connected to a pair of Pioneer BS21s), but most of all, avoiding bugs and lost features takes precedent over minor differences in background noise.
I do have a midiman MM401 non-PNP midi interface too, but if one card could handle it all without any problems, I'd prefer to go that route.
SBPro compatibility is often talked about, and the idea that "no game uses SBPro features that doesn't also use SB16's" often comes up. Is this true? Does SBPro compatibility actually matter at all for SB16 cards? Or does SB and SB16 compatibility offer an equal or better experience in all games?
Lastly, and this goes along with the previous question... are there any DOS games that actually use the features of the SB16 (presumably, 16bit audio) to the extent that it is a noticeable improvement over a non-SB16 card? I remember 16bit wav files being a big deal back in the late 90s, but that was well into the native Windows 9x era.
