Fujiology Archive/fujiology_archive_v1_0.iso/!MAGS/AUG/AUG1.ZIP/AUG1.MSA/TEXT_SOUNDS/TEXT_SOUNDS

Text File | 1992-01-23 | 9KB | 182 lines

Playback or Monster Sound Cartridge ?
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"There now follows a Party Political Broadcast on behalf of the Sound
Appreciation Society" or in terms that the average ST'er will
understand, "a comparative review of Microdeal's Playback cartridge
and M.P.H.'s Monster Sound Cartridge !!

Enough of the waffle! Let's get on with the reviews starting with the
Monster Sound Cartridge (which I'll describe as the M.S.C. from now
on).

On first appearance the novice could possibly mistake the M.S.C. as a
Blitz Turbo lead since it isn't really a cartridge at all but is, in
fact, a lead made up from a standard parallel printer plug, a loop-
through monitor plug and a couple of standard 3.5 mm jack plugs all
interconnected with an adequate length of cable.

I must say that I was surprised at how "home made" the whole thing
looked with the little (almost invisible) switch housed in the
"printer" plug appearing particularly dodgy!! However, once you get a
hold of the thing it does appear to be reasonably robust so why
complain??

Okay, let's get on with the show!! Upon reading the "instruction"
sheet which accompanies the M.S.C. you will immediately find yourself
looking around the floor in an attempt to FIND the instructions which
you assume have fallen from sight!! Alas, the single sheet of paper
measuring approx. 8" x 5" is all you're going to see so you might as
well stop looking NOW!

On this sheet you are simply told about the three-position switch (on
the "printer" plug) with instructions on what each position is used
for. I would have thought that a little diagram showing you how the
whole thing plugged into your computer would have been useful? Having
used similar "plug in" devices in the past it is usual to tell the
users if there's any danger of plugging the device in with the
computer SWITCHED ON. Unfortunately, no such info. is forthcoming from
this instruction sheet so I would simply advise you to make all
connections with the computer SWITCHED OFF (just to be on the safe
side).

Once you've plugged everything in (including your monitor into the
back of the loop-through plug) then you're all set to run any software
which is compatible with the cartridge.

I received a copy of the official demo disk which features both mono
and stereo samples so I guess I'll use that! On booting the disk a
couple of mono samples are heard which are fairly average as far as
mono samples go but who wants to hear mono sounds? Let's have a
listen to the STEREO sound!!

Personally I must say that I was a little disappointed with the stereo
sample because (as far as I'm concerned) it isn't really stereo but
is, in reality, simply a "distribution" of the ST's sound channels.
There's no effect of one channel coming from BOTH speakers but instead
you can hear one (or more) channel(s) in one speaker and the other
channel(s) in the other speaker. However, this is not to say that the
sound is totally crap!! Not at all! With this distribution you do
get a REASONABLE stereo-type effect which is probably the next best
thing to REAL stereo.

In summary then I would say that the stereo effect is reasonably good
and, for the money, the M.S.C. would be a handy addition to any games
player's hardware set-up as games will definitely be made more
enjoyable (especially with the headphones on). The slightly suspect
look of the whole device causes me a little concern as I'm not sure
how well the little sound switch will stand up to continuous
operation. However, I suspect that most people will be buying the lead
to take advantage of the stereo output so the switch may not be used
much anyway.

Overall, I'd say that the Monster Sound Cartridge is definitely worth
serious consideration although the instructions could certainly be
improved.



Let's have a look at Playback!!

On first appearance you can't help to be anything but impressed with
the construction and presentation of this package with the sturdy box,
detailed instruction manual and the cartridge itself. Like other sound
products from Microdeal (Replay Professional & Replay 4/8) the
cartridge is of the rectangular block variety which plugs directly
into the ST's cartridge port. Extreme care must be taken when plugging
in this device as (when new) you may find it to be a very tight fit.
Care must also be taken to remember to SWITCH OFF your ST BEFORE
plugging in the cartridge otherwise you risk causing severe damage to
both the cartridge and your ST.

Having said that, the manual does give you this information so that's
certainly one plus point for Microdeal. On the down side there's no
lead to connect the cartridge to your sound amplifier (portable tape
recorder, Hi-Fi etc.) so you'll have to find another couple of quid to
buy one for yourself.

Right then, having successfully plugged the cartridge into the
cartridge port and having purchased a suitably long lead (connected to
your amplifier) you can try out the whole set-up!

Once again I am using the demo disk which accompanies the Playback
cartridge so as to maintain a level of consistency between the two
product reviews. Following the simple instructions in the manual you
can run either a mono or colour demo depending upon which type of
monitor you normally use. This makes a change from the usual colour-
only demos and is a credit to Microdeal in that they show some
consideration for the much-ignored mono monitor user (of which I am
frequently one!!).

Anyway, I decided to try the (presumably) more popular COLOUR demo so
promptly double clicked on the appropriate icon on Disk 1. With my
headphones in place I anticipated a spectacular assault on my eardrums
with the volume control cranked well up. Unfortunately, the reality
couldn't be further from the truth!! The sound was basically AWFUL!!
I thought I was getting an ear-bashing of DISTORTION instead of the
supposedly sampled "music" so I checked all the connections and turned
down the volume control a notch or two. On running the demo again
there was little or no difference so I decided to let it run its
course to see if the sound improved.

After a minute or so of completely naff sound I decided that there was
no hope of any improvement so I decided to try out the cartridge with
a copy of Microdeal's other new product, Quartet Stereo (v1.5).

Upon loading the demo on Quartet I was immediately greeted with an
ear-splitting blast of SILENCE!! Bugger it!! What's wrong NOW!!!! A
brief look into the additional instruction sheet that comes with
Quartet informed me that I had to redirect the sound to the cartridge
by pressing function key 4, so I did just that...........and again I
was greatly disappointed!!!!

The sound was fairly dire once again with the "stereo" effect being
especially poor. Instead of having the clear separation as with the
M.S.C., the Playback stereo simply consists of a "switching" effect
which is more akin to having a sound channel switched off every now
and then instead of hearing a distribution of all the sounds. I
suspect that part of the problem lies with the CHOICE of sounds used
with the demo, which appear a little distorted even when played
through a monitor, but even allowing for that I couldn't help but feel
disappointed with the way in which the stereo effect is produced.

I tried the original Playback demo again and, on closer examination,
this "switching" effect is VERY noticeable. Again, the choice of
sample doesn't help so it's difficult to determine if the sound would
improve greatly with a BETTER demo sample. Overall, I feel
disappointed with Playback and can't recommend it based on the demos
supplied with both Playback itself and Quartet.

In summary then there are plus points with the packaging, presentation
and the manual with Playback but, other than that, there's really not
much going for it. I would like to hear a better produced sound demo
before consigning the whole package to the trashcan, but I think that
even with good sound, the product will still be let down by the METHOD
of stereo reproduction.


As a final comparison I have to say that the Monster Sound Cartridge
does a far better job than Playback when it comes down to purely the
stereo sound effect. The demo creation mode of Playback could be
useful if decent samples could be produced (I haven't mentioned this
up 'til now as I'm really only interested in the SOUND produced by the
product with this review) but, overall, I'd opt for the Monster Sound
Cartridge if I had to make a choice.

One other factor to consider is the possible future support from games
manufacturers (who I see as being the major supporters of EITHER sound
device). From what I've heard it seems that several new games will be
made to support the M.S.C. and the STe (as standard) so this would
have to be looked on as another plus point for opting towards the
M.S.C.


Reviewed by Fraser Blacklaws on 17/06/91.

Equipment used:

4 Meg STFM with Philips CM 8833 Colour monitor.
Aiwa Hi-Fi with compatible digital-audio headphones.
The same connection (extension) leads were used throughout.