Try raising the Master volume of the YMF to 15 (make sure you don't clip your recording input), this should maximize SNR even more if I'm not mistaken.
But yes, in this demonstration they are very close noise-wise with the CT2230 being slightly quieter because of a different noise type.
Both are much better than what you used before.

The YMF71x is reversed to the CT2230, with the CT2230 being the correct one, so fix that in Audacity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z59AnkxekfI

James-F wrote:

Try raising the Master volume of the YMF to 15 (make sure you don't clip your recording input), this should maximize SNR even mo […]
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Try raising the Master volume of the YMF to 15 (make sure you don't clip your recording input), this should maximize SNR even more if I'm not mistaken.
But yes, in this demonstration they are very close noise-wise with the CT2230 being slightly quieter because of a different noise type.
Both are much better than what you used before.

The YMF71x is reversed to the CT2230, with the CT2230 being the correct one, so fix that in Audacity.

Thanks, James-F. I discovered another factor in the noise, and it was the level input into my recording computer. I thought that I had accounted for it, but I hadn't.

I decided to go with the YMF719E when I can because--even when jumpering for line out--it is simply louder than the CT2230 when the latter's mixer settings are almost maximized.

I did get the Vortex2 to work in DOS, but the noise level is comparable with that of the YMF719E, and the AU30DOS TSR does weird things to Tyrian.

I'll be busy slowly rebuilding my wavetable sample database sans noise. Thanks!

The YMF71x outputs slightly hotter signal than standard line-out when the Master volume is at 15, so once again make absolutely sure you don't clip your recording input.

James-F wrote:

The YMF71x outputs slightly hotter signal than standard line-out when the Master volume is at 15, so once again make absolutely sure you don't clip your recording input.

Can you explain what you mean by "clip your recording input?"

I decided to forego the convenience of the bench and lug out my BX box to use the Vortex2 to host these DBs after all. The sound is just cleaner, IMO.

If your recording device is designed for a standard line level input and it's fed with a significantly higher voltage signal, the input may have sections of audio that exceed the maximum voltage (thus loudness) the recorder can store. The information lost is clipped. While this loss happens, the audio is clipping.

To avoid this problem, your audio output must be set to an appropriate loudness for your audio input.

Thank you. I'm using Audacity, and apparently a red bar marker appears on the recording level meter if the input level goes past 0dB.

I try to keep most of my recordings where only the most intense parts reach the red level (-3 dB to -1 dB), but there was probably a little clipping given that I'm just now learning about the clipping marker on Audacity. I'd say that 95%-99% of input isn't clipped on any given recording, but as I rerecord some samples, this is another thing I will keep in mind.