This thread might provide some answers: Sound Blaster: From best to worst

And if you intend to use an external MIDI device or a wavetable daughterboard with those cards, you should read this as well: Sound Blaster 16 Bugs and Deficiencies Summary

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-04-06, 09:12:

This thread might provide some answers: Sound Blaster: From best to worst

And if you intend to use an external MIDI device or a wavetable daughterboard with those cards, you should read this as well: Sound Blaster 16 Bugs and Deficiencies Summary

Thank you, no I do not plan to use daugherboards or midi devices.

I use CT4170 from time to time. It is a CQM card. I happen to like the sound of CQM but not everyone will agree.
I find this board amongst the most compatible all around, with a very clean output.
Not what you want if you are after OPL.

I was thinking to keep the following:
CT2770 because it's paired with the cd drive
CT2950 which seem a better vesion of the ct2940
Probably the CT4170 but i'm looking for more information about it

Xanxi wrote on 2023-04-06, 13:00:

I use CT4170 from time to time. It is a CQM card. I happen to like the sound of CQM but not everyone will agree.
I find this board amongst the most compatible all around, with a very clean output.
Not what you want if you are after OPL.

Only problem is the CT4170 doesn't support high dma (can't use dma 5 -7 ). So you will have a problem with some games like Duke3d, Blood etc using Sb16 settings (they will work in SB Pro mode). I had the problem and tried a CT4180 which does support high dma and low noise.
The CT4170 can come in handy on a 286 with 8 bit ISA slots. ter SB16s.

Can't provide an advice, either, I'm sorry. My favorite SB16 isn't on the list.

Jo22 wrote on 2023-04-09, 21:08:

Can't provide an advice, either, I'm sorry. My favorite SB16 isn't on the list.

I'm sorry if I do not have your favourite sb16 in this list. I just needed to know which are better of the ones I own.

Nemo1985 wrote on 2023-04-10, 00:06:

Jo22 wrote on 2023-04-09, 21:08:

Can't provide an advice, either, I'm sorry. My favorite SB16 isn't on the list.

I'm sorry if I do not have your favourite sb16 in this list. I just needed to know which are better of the ones I own.

Ah sorry, that's not what I meant to say. 😓
I rather meant I would like to help, but that I'm sadly not familiar with the later Plug&Pray versions of the SB16, they look all the same to me. 😅
With the exception of the CT2770, maybe, which is half-PnP, according to the web.

Edit: How about the SB32 or the AWE32? They're at least not using that weird DMA thing.
Some SB32 models have a real OPL3, too, I vaguely remember.
And what about the Creative Phone Blasters? Wasn't at least one model based on SB32 or AWE32?

Jo22 wrote on 2023-04-10, 07:21:

Edit: How about the SB32 or the AWE32? They're at least not using that weird DMA thing.
Some SB32 models have a real OPL3, too, I vaguely remember.

The name SB32 was used for marketing the low-end editions of the SB AWE32. For example, the name SB32 was commonly used for cards that didn't have the 512K onboard memory (but they generally had upgrade sockets). I doubt that Creative used genuine OPL3 on cards targeted to price-sensitive customers. AWE32 cards with genuine OPL3 are a high-demand item currently, and ebay prices (especially the buy-it-now offers) for them are extremely expensive.

mkarcher wrote on 2023-04-10, 07:35:

Jo22 wrote on 2023-04-10, 07:21:

Edit: How about the SB32 or the AWE32? They're at least not using that weird DMA thing.
Some SB32 models have a real OPL3, too, I vaguely remember.

The name SB32 was used for marketing the low-end editions of the SB AWE32. For example, the name SB32 was commonly used for cards that didn't have the 512K onboard memory (but they generally had upgrade sockets). I doubt that Creative used genuine OPL3 on cards targeted to price-sensitive customers. AWE32 cards with genuine OPL3 are a high-demand item currently, and ebay prices (especially the buy-it-now offers) for them are extremely expensive.

"Yamaha OPL3 or CQM?

Non-PnP models have a CT-1747 bus interface chip which integrates a licensed Yamaha OPL3 core. They sound true to the Ad Lib and earlier Sound Blasters, but people have individual preferences of which card they like.

All the PnP models of the AWE32 and Sound Blaster 32 have the option to use Creative Quadrature Modulaton (CQM) synthesis or Yamaha FM synthesis. On boards using CQM, there will be a CT-1978 chip. CQM is generally not objectionable to the untrained ear, but it often sounds harsher and more metallic but slightly crisper compared to a Yamaha FM chip. Most boards have a silkscreen for a Yamaha YMF-278 and its DAC (very small chips). Finding boards with the CQM chips are much more common. However, if you find a board with the Yamaha chip, note that you will not be able to run the chip through the EMU-8000 effects processor.

AWEUTIL is used on the AWE cards to initialize the FM synthesis output and can be used to apply reverb and chorus effects on the CT-1747 cards through the EMU-8000 chip. I am uncertain whether cards with a discrete YMF-278 can do that, and the AWE32 Upgrade cards probably cannot as well.

AWEUTIL is also needed for General MIDI support under DOS to work. "

https://dosdays.co.uk/topics/sb_awe32_64.php