VOGONS


First post, by skitters

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Are there any advantages to using a Sound Blaster ct1330a over a ct1600 (or vice versa) on a computer with a 486/66 motherboard?

Several years ago I used this ct1330a in a different computer (486/50 motherboard). I replaced the ct1330a with with a ct1600, and couldn't tell any difference in the sound, but maybe I didn't know what to listen for.

Also, is there a difference between a ct1330 and a ct1330a ?

Reply 1 of 10, by keenmaster486

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The difference between the CT1330 and the CT1600, I believe, lies solely in the FM synthesis (someone correct me if there's some other difference). The CT1330 has two OPL2 chips, whereas the CT1600 has one OPL3 chip, which is superior in that it has more waveforms, stereo sound, more voices, etc. You would only hear the difference, though, if you were playing games that had the capability to utilize OPL3. On a 486, you would have a lot of those. Edit: in the music options you would have to select "OPL3" or "4-Operator FM" or "Sound Blaster Pro" instead of "Adlib", though, in order to hear the difference.

I have no idea, though, about the difference between the CT1330 and the CT1330A.

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Reply 2 of 10, by James-F

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The CT1600 is an updated version of the CT1330 with SMT components, OPL3 instead of two OPL2 chips and fixed Reversed Stereo issue.
The CR1330 is referred to as SBPro1 and CT1600 as SBPro2 in games.

The CT1600 had a much longer life span than CT1330 and is much more common, therefor cheaper to find and buy.
IMO, there is no benefit owning the older CT1330 except for historical reasons as the CT1600 is exactly the same card at its core but with SMT components.

EDIT:
keenmaster486 posted while I was typing so the content might look repetitive.


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Reply 3 of 10, by firage

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Well, the dual OPL2 is a little different from OPL3. I know people like the Pro AudioSpectrum for some special soundtracks designed especially for its dual OPL2, and which don't play in stereo on an OPL3.

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Reply 4 of 10, by clueless1

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It seems there are some games out there that support dual OPL2 specifically. Ultima Underworld being one I know of for sure. If you select "Sound Blaster Pro" in UU1 with an OPL3 soundcard, it won't sound right. Some instruments will be too quiet while others too loud. I ended up switching to regular Sound Blaster when I played through UU1.

edit: some more info on the UU1 issue

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OPL3 FM vs. Roland MT-32 vs. General MIDI DOS Game Comparison
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Reply 5 of 10, by PhilsComputerLab

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clueless1 wrote:

It seems there are some games out there that support dual OPL2 specifically. Ultima Underworld being one I know of for sure. If you select "Sound Blaster Pro" in UU1 with an OPL3 soundcard, it won't sound right. Some instruments will be too quiet while others too loud. I ended up switching to regular Sound Blaster when I played through UU1.

edit: some more info on the UU1 issue

You spent quite some time with the UU games. What sound option do you prefer? I'm not sure if you have tried the Roland options, maybe in DOSBox with Munt? DOSBox also emulates the SB Pro (Old) I believe.

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Reply 6 of 10, by clueless1

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PhilsComputerLab wrote:
clueless1 wrote:

It seems there are some games out there that support dual OPL2 specifically. Ultima Underworld being one I know of for sure. If you select "Sound Blaster Pro" in UU1 with an OPL3 soundcard, it won't sound right. Some instruments will be too quiet while others too loud. I ended up switching to regular Sound Blaster when I played through UU1.

edit: some more info on the UU1 issue

You spent quite some time with the UU games. What sound option do you prefer? I'm not sure if you have tried the Roland options, maybe in DOSBox with Munt? DOSBox also emulates the SB Pro (Old) I believe.

I believe this is the dual OPL2 version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrvAfixGu6w
And MT-32:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Kjgglte0M&i … isxyDwur18D5VKQ
Technically, the MT-32 sounds best, and I really like the stereo separation of the SBPro, but it's one of those things where you prefer what you're most used to, and I played the game from beginning to end using Adlib/Sound Blaster music. There is still an issue with the dual OPL2 version "losing" some instruments in the background where they are all equally audible in the Adlib version. There's something gritty and raw about the Adlib version that fits the mood of the game, whereas the orchestral flavor that the MT-32 brings replaces that grit with something more science fiction-like.

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OPL3 FM vs. Roland MT-32 vs. General MIDI DOS Game Comparison
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Reply 7 of 10, by PhilsComputerLab

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Nice. Well that dual OPL2 sounds pretty nice 😀

You do want a CM unit like the CM-32L or the LAPC-I because, at least the first Ultima Underworld, uses some of the 33 extra sound effects. The water sounds for example are absent if you got a MT-32.

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Reply 8 of 10, by skitters

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Thanks for the input.
If I didn't already have both cards I'd definitely go for the CT1600 due to cost.
I'm surprised to see what the CT1330A's sell for now.

Does anyone know why the two OPL2 chips on the CT1330A are covered up with what looks like
black tape with FM1312 printed on it?
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:YM381 … ker_overlay.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/common … /da/CT1330A.jpg

Reply 9 of 10, by firage

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Just an attempt to obfuscate an important off-the-shelf IC, I think.

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Reply 10 of 10, by carlostex

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James-F wrote:

IMO, there is no benefit owning the older CT1330 except for historical reasons as the CT1600 is exactly the same card at its core but with SMT components.

There's a little more to it than that.

Some games were composed specifically for the dual OPL2 in the Sound Blaster Pro CT1330 (and some for the dual OPL2 Pro Audio Spectrum). If the same game was not specifically optimized for the OPL3 consequent playback won't be as good.

https://web.archive.org/web/20120201161213/ht … pic,3341.0.html