Usenet 1994 January/usenetsourcesnewsgroupsinfomagicjanuary1994.iso/answers/PCsoundcards/soundcard-faq

Internet Message Format | 1993-11-23 | 73KB

Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!noc.near.net!delphi.bc.edu!delphi!morgan
From: [e-mail] (Morgan Stair)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard,comp.answers,news.answers
Subject: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard FAQ
Followup-To: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard
Date: 22 Nov 1993 15:24:44 GMT
Organization: Boston College / ISR
Lines: 1811
Approved: [e-mail]
Distribution: world
Expires: 15 Dec 1993 00:00:00 GMT
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
NNTP-Posting-Host: dl5000.bc.edu
Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked Questions
         (and their answers) about soundcards.  It should be read by
         anyone who wishes to post to the comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard
         group.
Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard:26717 comp.answers:2739 news.answers:14970

Archive-name: PCsoundcards/soundcard-faq
Last-modified: 19-Nov-1993
Version: 1.00
X-Posting-Frequency:  Semi-monthly until 1-Jan-1993, then monthly

* Introduction

 *****************************************************************
 **                                                             **
 **     The comprehensive "comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard" FAQ       **
 **                        Version - 1.00                       **
 **                                                             **
 *****************************************************************

This article contains the answers to some Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs) seen in comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.  It is posted to help reduce
volume in this newsgroup and to provide hard-to-find information of
general interest.  Unfortunately this document is just about
guaranteed to have mistakes and be out of date.  If you'd like to help
me keep it as close to updated and accurate as possible, send me
corrections and updates PLEASE.

If a question/answer is either useful to everyone, or specific to only
one soundcard but truly frequently asked, an answer will hopefully be
provided here.  To save space, the reader may be referred to a more
appropriate document, if one is available.

For a more general introduction to the USENET news group
"comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard" without the brand-specific information
found here, try looking at the "Generic IBM PC Soundcard FAQ"
maintained by [e-mail] (Joel Plutchak).

                Please redistribute this article!

This FAQ is currently maintained by [e-mail] (Morgan
Stair).  Send updates and corrections to that email address, and
include "FAQ" in the subject.

Thanks,
  Morgan

PS - I tried spell checking this thing and felt it was a lost cause.
     If anyone would like to spell check it for me, let know, I'll
     send you the latest copy, and you can send me back the diffs!  :^)

 .....................................................................
** 0.1) Question / Answer Policies
Whenever possible, question/answer sources will be credited.  If you
want a comment of yours removed, let me know and I'll remove it.  If
you think someone elses comment(s) should be removed tell me why, or
offer a replacement comment.  While this document should present a
neutral perspective, it can only contain what people have sent, and
what I know.

Only in the most extreme cases will comments be paraphrased,
summarized, or tabulated.
 .....................................................................
** 0.2) DISCLAIMER

The maintainer of this FAQ claims ABSOLUTELY no responsibility for the
information in this article.  If you act on any of this information
you do so at your own risk because you're hereby warned that that it
may be completely wrong.

 .....................................................................
** 0.3) Table of Contents

NOTE:

This section is produced by typing:

     grep '^\*' comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard-FAQ-1.00 | sed 's/\*/  /g'

So if there's an error or addition to make, make it in the body of the
FAQ, not here.

 .....................................................................
   Introduction
     0.1) Question / Answer Policies
     0.2) DISCLAIMER
     0.3) Table of Contents
   Part 1 - General Information
     1.1)  What are the major FTP sites?
     1.2)  What MAILING LISTS are available and how can I join them?
     1.3)  What FAQs and INFO files are available and where can I get them?
     1.4)  Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ?
   Part 2 - Term and Technologies
     2.1)  What is Wavetable Synthesis?
     2.2)  What is FM Synthesis?
     2.3)  What is GS / GM?
     2.4)  What is MPU-401?
     2.5)  What is PCM?
   Part 3 - Existing Companies:  BACKGROUND, POLICIES, and CONTACT info
     3.1)  What can you tell me about Adlib?
     3.2)  What can you tell me about Advanced Gravis?
     3.3)  What can you tell me about ATI?
     3.4)  What can you tell me about Cardinal Technologies?
     3.5)  What can you tell me about Covox?
     3.6)  What can you tell me about Creative Labs?
     3.7)  What can you tell me about Media Vision?
     3.8)  What can you tell me about Roland?
     3.9)  What can you tell me about Turtle Beach?
     3.10) What can you tell me about Voyetra?
   Part 4 - Existing Hardware
     4.1)  What are the ATI Stereo F/X products and how good are they?
     4.2)  What is the Cardinal DSP 16 [Plus] and how good is it?
     4.3)  What is the GUS and how good is it?
     4.4)  What is the Diamond SonicSound?
     4.5)  What is the Logitech Soundman 16 and how good is it?
     4.6)  What is the Multisound and how good is it?
     4.7)  What is the PAS 16 and how good is it?
     4.8)  What is the Roland SCC-1 and how good is it?
     4.9)  What is the Roland Sound Canvas SC-7 and how good is it?
     4.10) What is the SB and how good is it?
     4.11) What is the SB Pro and how good is it?
     4.12) What are the SB16, SB16Basic, and SB16Asp/Csp and how good are they?
     4.13) What is the ViVa Maestro?
     4.14) What is the WaveBlaster and how good is it?
     4.15) What is the IBM Windsurfer and how good is it?
     4.16) What is the Yamaha Hello Music CBX301 and how good is it?
     4.17) What wavetable synthesis cards are CURRENTLY AVAILABLE?
     4.18) What sound options are there for MicroChannel?
     4.19) What sound options are there for LAPTOPS?
   Part 5 - Existing Software (no games)
     5.1)  How can I convert between sound formats / how does SOX work?
     5.2)  What are SBOS, MEGAEM, and ULTRAMID?
     5.3)  What is voice recognition software is available?
     5.4)  What programs can play what music files on what soundcards?
   Part 6 - Vaporware (Expected "REAL SOON NOW")
     6.1)  What is the AVM Altra Pro?
     6.2)  What is the Aztech WavePower?
     6.3)  What is the Ensonic SoundScape?
     6.4)  What is the Genoa AudioBahn 16 Pro?
     6.5)  What is the GUS-MAX?
     6.6)  What is the MidiBlaster?
     6.7)  What is the Orchid SoundWave 32?
     6.8)  What is the PAS 16XL?
     6.9)  What is the PCM Midi Image?
     6.10) What is the Turtle Beach Systems Maui and how good is it?
     6.11) What is the WaveBlaster 2?
   Appendix A - Unanswered Questions
     - What is the Sound Galaxy and how good is it?
     - What is music composition software is available?
     - What is music playing software is available?
     - What is speech synthesis software is available?
     - What is the Roland TAP-10?
     - What is the Roland LAPC1?
   End of FAQ
     Credits and Special Thanks
     EMACS outline-mode automation
 .....................................................................

======================================================================

* Part 1 - General Information

 .....................................................................
** 1.1)  What are the major FTP sites?

Special thanks to Joel Plutchak <[e-mail]> and
the "Generic PC Soundcard FAQ".

Since archive IP names are usually aliases, and IP numbers may change,
the IP number should only be used as a backup (when nameservers are
failing to properly resolve the IP name into an IP number).

If any of the information here is wrong, or is expected to change,
please let me know at <[e-mail]>.


KEYWORDS   HOSTNAME                 IP NUMBER      DIRECTORY
======================================================================
pas        ftp.uwp.edu              131.210.1.4    /pub/msdos/proaudio
gus        archive.epas.utoronto.ca 128.100.160.36 /pub/pc/ultrasound
msdos      wuarchive.wustl.edu      128.252.135.4  /mirrors/msdos
faqs       rtfm.mit.edu             18.70.0.209    /pub/usenet
mods       ftp.brad.ac.uk           143.53.2.5
sb-prog    ftp.cco.caltech.edu      131.215.139.2  /pub/heathh
cmf+rol    ftp.ulowell.edu          128.63.32.1
sound      garbo.uwasa.fi           128.214.87.1
midi       louie.udel.edu           128.175.1.3
sb-freedom nic.funet.fi             128.214.6.100
sb+adlib   ftp.mcs.kent.edu         131.123.2.222
midi+doc   sol.cs.ruu.nl            131.211.80.17
everything wuarchive.wustl.edu      128.252.135.4

 .....................................................................
** 1.2)  What MAILING LISTS are available and how can I join them?

Special thanks to Joel Plutchak <[e-mail]> and
the "Generic PC Soundcard FAQ".

All the mailing lists are joined by sending a control command to a
list server of some kind.  When sending the mail commands:

  - Replace <your-full-name> with your name (no angle brackets).
  - "Body:" lines should not include the word "Body:"
  - If "Body:", "Subject:" or anything else is not specified in the
    instructions, it isn't used by the server and should be left
    blank if possible.

For example, if John Doe wanted to subscribe to the Sound Blaster
Programmers list, his message MIGHT look like this (see actual
directions below):

        To: [e-mail]
        Subject:                                <-- Yes this is blank
        subscribe blaster John Doe

If John Doe wanted to subscribe to the GUS General Digest, his message
MIGHT look like this:

        To: [e-mail]
        Subject: subscribe
                                                <-- No, there's no body

 .....................................................................
All these lists should send you instructions on how to post when you
join (that's also how you know you've joined correctly).  Now that
THAT'S out of the way, the following lists are known to exist:

IBM Sound Mailing List              To: [e-mail]
                                    Body: subscribe IBMSND-L <your-full-name>

GUS Daily Digest                    To: [e-mail]
                                    Subject: subscribe

GUS Programmer's Digest             To: [e-mail]
                                    Subject: subscribe

GUS Musician's Digest               To: [e-mail]
                                    Subject: subscribe

PAS Lovers List                     To: [e-mail]
                                    Subject: ADD

Sound Blaster Programmers           To: [e-mail]
                                    Body: subscribe blaster <your-full-name>

TurtleBeach Multisound Programmers   To: [e-mail]
                                    Body: subscribe multisound <your-full-name>

There's also supposedly, an MSDOS Sound Card Forum for PC sound card
discussions and info.  This is all I know about it:

    Commands should be sent to the [e-mail] address,
    while the list address itself is [e-mail].

 .....................................................................
** 1.3)  What FAQs and INFO files are available and where can I get them?

Special thanks to Mark Garlanger <[e-mail]> and Tim
<[e-mail]>.

All FAQs posted to USENET news.announce can be found in the FAQ
archive "rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/news.answers".  Some interesting
directories to look into: audio-fmts, dsp-faq, comp-speech-faq (this
one's a file).

The sound file formats FAQ can also be found on ftp.cs.ruu.nl
[131.211.80.17] in the directory MIDI/DOC/archives.

The "Gravis Ultrasound (GUS) FAQ" can also be found on
archive.epas.utoronto.ca in the directory /pub/pc/ultrasound/info, or
by sending an email message to the GUS mail server at
<[e-mail]> with "Subject: FAQ" (the FAQ will be
send to you).

The "List of All PAS Programs and Drivers" can be found in the PAS
archive "ftp.uwp.edu:/pub/msdos/proaudio".  It is also posted to
comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard once a month, and available on request from
<[e-mail]>.

 .....................................................................
** 1.4)  Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ?

This FAQ is posted monthly to the USENET news group,
"comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard", and it is in the FAQ archive at
"rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard/".

 .....................................................................

======================================================================

* Part 2 - Term and Technologies
 .....................................................................
** 2.1)  What is Wavetable Synthesis?

        [From the Gravis Ultrasound FAQ]

Written By: [e-mail] (Francois Dion)

        ....The first generation of wavetable synthesis was actually a
_digitally_ controlled _analog_ oscillator(s) where parameters
controlling the waveform were kept in memory. The curtis based synths
and some others are directly derived from this concept.

        The second generation of wavetable synthesis uses a digital
oscillator, with the waveform held in memory in it's basic form (one
period usually).  Parameters to alter the oscillator behaviour are
also in memory.  I use the general term "memory" instead of RAM,
because in some case it's actually ROM, FlashROM, PROM, EPROM,
switches, buffers etc... The Ensoniq chip found in the Macintosh Plus
is an example (8 bit, 4 oscillators, 4096 byte wavetable).

        The third generation of wavetable synthesis which can be found
in two flavors (RAM or ROM) is based on the second generation, but
uses bigger wavetables to hold the waveform (either in single period
or multi period format) including this time the attack and release....

 .....................................................................
** 2.2)  What is FM Synthesis?

        [From the PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide]

        "FM Synthesis" simulates music instruments by using a sine wave
(operator) to modify another. Sound quality depends, among other
things, on the number of operators used.  The poplular Yamaha OPL2
chip uses two operators, the OPL3 chip found in most recent cards uses
four operators.
 .....................................................................
** 2.3)  What is GS / GM?

-The GS Format-

GS is a format developed by Roland Corporation for sound generating
devices that allows for the addressing of a very large number of sounds
(16,384 total possibilities) while still completely complying with the
General MIDI System.  It also defines many other details for expressive
nuances that can be implemented during performance.

-GS Features-

Effects processing:  Integrated Reverb and Chorus, eight models for each,
                     adjustable for each part.

Tone selection:  These are selected using the Program Change message and a
                 control change message.  The Program Change message can
                 be a value between 0 and 127, likewise for the Control
                 Change method.  Hence, 128x128 possible sounds.

Maximum polyphony:  24 voices minimum.  GS also defines a Voice Priority
                    Ranking so that it is possible to write pieces with
                    a greater polyphony than what the device can handle
                    and have it play back reasonably intact, given the
                    important parts are written for the high priority
                    channels.

Parts:  16

Drums:  Sets are selectable via program change messages.  Roland modules
        typically have 8-9 drums sets.

                        -Peter McCombs <[e-mail]>
 .....................................................................
** 2.4)  What is MPU-401?

        The Roland MPU-401 is the industry standard MIDI interface card.
It is used to communicate between a computer and a MIDI compatible sound
device.  The MPU-401 has an on-board co-processor which allows the card
to operate using minimal CPU resources while in intelligent mode.  It
also includes a "dumb" UART mode which is basically a pass-through mode.
Intelligent mode causes the interface to interrupt the computer only when
new data is required.

                        -Peter McCombs <[e-mail]>
 .....................................................................
** 2.5)  What is PCM?

        PCM stands for pulse coded modulation.  It is the method used
by most sound cards to record, and playback recorded sound.  Since
computers can't directly manipulate analog sources, devices most
convert analog signals to digital signals with an A/D converter for
the computer to use and opposite needs to occur so that we can
understand the signal (D/A converter).

        There are two main parameters that effect the quality of the
sound.  First is the sampling rate.  This is measured in Hertz(Hz) or
KiloHertz (kHz= 1,000 Hz), typical values include: 4 kHz, 8 kHz,
11.025 kHz, 22.05 kHz, 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz.  In theory signals upto
one half of the sampling rate can be reconstructed for the recorded
signal(look for references by C. E. Shannon for a proof).  Since no
one can create ideal electronic components, the sampling rate is
typically slightly higher the maximum reproduced signal.  The second
parameter that affects the quality is the number of bits per sample.
Typically they are 8 and 16-bits/sample.  The number of bits affect
the dynamic range of the sample and the signal to noise ratio.

        There are many other things in life that use PCM, two of the
most common are telephone communication and CDs.  Due to the cost
benefits of electronic switching over manually switching, your voice
is sample by the telephone company (7 or 8-bits/sample and 8 kHz) and
before it heads down the line to the other person it is then converted
back to an analog signal.  The phones provide reasonable quality for
voice signals.  They allow for signals upto about 4 kHz and a dynamic
range of about 42-48 decibles (dB).  If you you try and listen to
someone's radio over the phone you'll see how poor it is for that type
of signal.  But it only requires 8 Kbytes/second.  CDs provide much
better quality with 16-bits/sample and a 44.1 kHz sampling rate.  This
gives them 96 dB of dynamic range and they are able to play signals
between 20 Hz and 20 kHz.  This is the 'typical' listener's hearing
ability.  The cost is that it requires about 178
Kbytes/second(16-bits/sample * 1/8 bytes/bit * 44100 samples/second *
2 channels(left & right)).

                        --Mark Garlanger <[e-mail]>

        The American digital telephony standard uses a process called
mu-law companding to generate eight-bit PCM samples (mu as in the
Greek letter).  The quantization (assignment of digital codes to
analog amplitudes) is not uniform, but is skewed so that the signal is
sampled with greater resolution when the amplitude is less.  The
rationale is that a low-amplitude signal requires greater resolution
for good analog reconstruction than a high-amplitude signal.  The
result is that the equivalent of 14 bits of dynamic range is
compressed into 8 bits.  The European telephony standard uses a
similar encoding scheme, called A-law companding.

        A reference is:  Gibson, Jerry D.  _Principles of Digital and
Analog Communications_, New York: Macmillan, 1989.  pp. 276-7.

                        --Mike Long <[e-mail]>
 .....................................................................

======================================================================

* Part 3 - Existing Companies:  BACKGROUND, POLICIES, and CONTACT info

  In trying to be useful and fair (not as easy as you might
think) I've decided to format each company entry as follows.

  First, comes the full company name, address, techsupport numbers,
etc (all the official stuff).

  Then I'll allow people to enter their comments, with a MAXIMUM of
three lines!  Your name, email address, and the date will be put in
with your comments, so keep it clean.
 .....................................................................
** 3.1)  What can you tell me about Adlib?
BACKGROUND:

Theirs was the first soundcard standard.  When some hardware is
"AdLib" compatible, it's supporting 7-11 voice FM synth and no digital
output.

Creative Labs then took the lead with their "Sound Blaster" which was
basically and AdLib card + DAC.

POLICIES: ?
CONTACT: (verified 15-Nov-93)

Adlib Multimedia Inc.
220 Grande Allee East, Suite 850
Quebec, QC
Canada G1R 2J1

Phone: [phone]
       [phone]

 .....................................................................
** 3.2)  What can you tell me about Advanced Gravis?

BACKGROUND: ?
POLICIES:

Barring occasional MAJOR exceptions, their tech support tends to be
excellent and well informed, but it's not toll free.  They update
their software frequently and as of this writing have been in the
habit of sending updates to registered users free and often being
asked to do so.  They have a strong internet presence, answering
questions via email and Usenet, and the GUS daily digest.  Their tech
support follows the "GUS digest" carefully, and posts it on the wall
in their office daily!

CONTACT:

USA OFFICE                      CANADIAN OFFICE
1790 Midway Lane                101-3750 North Fraser Way
Bellingham,WA                   Burnaby,BC
98226                           V5J 5E9

Phone Numbers:
Tech Support: [phone]
Sales:        [phone]
BBS:          [phone]

Internet:
Tech Support:     [e-mail]
                  [e-mail]
Sales:            [e-mail]
 .....................................................................
** 3.3)  What can you tell me about ATI?

BACKGROUND: ?
POLICIES: ?
CONTACT:

> Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1993 16:18:16 -0500
> From: Steve DeGroof <[e-mail]>
>
> ... (product info removed) ...
> If you want more information, the following internet addresses
> can be used to contact ATI:
>
> [e-mail]        - Customer Support
> [e-mail]       - Marketing
>
> Phone numbers:
> [phone]          - main switchboard
> [phone]          - Customer Support
> [phone]          - BBS (9600/2400/1200, 8 bit, no parity, 1 stop)
>
> Mailing address:
>
> ATI Technologies Inc.
> 33 Commerce Valley Drive East
> Thornhill, Ontario, L3T 7N6
> Canada
>
> SD
 .....................................................................
** 3.4)  What can you tell me about Cardinal Technologies?

BACKGROUND: ?
POLICIES: ?

CONTACT:

Cardinal Technologies
1827 Freedom Rd.
Lancaster, PA 17601

General: [phone]
Customer service: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
BBS: [phone]
Tech Support: [phone], 9-5 EST Mon.-Fri.

 .....................................................................
** 3.5)  What can you tell me about Covox?

BACKGROUND: ?
POLICIES:   ?
CONTACT:

Covox Inc.
675 Conger Street
Eugene, OR 97402

         Main:    [phone]
         FAX:     [phone]
         BBS:     [phone]
         Email:   [e-mail]

 .....................................................................
** 3.6)  What can you tell me about Creative Labs?

BACKGROUND: ?
POLICIES:   ?
CONTACT:

Creative Labs
1901 McCarthy Blvd
Milpitas, CA 95035
Main: 408-428-6600
Sales: 800-998-5227
Customer Support: 800-998-1000
Tech Support: 405-742-6622  (note: 405, NOT 408)
Tech Support Fax: [phone]
Tech Support BBS: 405-742-6660
Tech Support hours are 8:00am-10:00pm CST, 7 days a week

 .....................................................................
** 3.7)  What can you tell me about Media Vision?

BACKGROUND: ?
POLICY:

Noone has spoken up about Media Vision (PAS) as a company, except for
one person, Linda Thomas <[e-mail]>, who said "...their
technical support is mediocre to pathetic".  I'd be glad to include
specifics from MediaVision if they'll send me something.

CONTACT:

Media Vision, Inc.
47221 Fremont Boulvard
Fremont, CA  94538

Technical support: [phone]
BBS:               [phone]
Fax:               [phone]

 .....................................................................
** 3.8)  What can you tell me about Roland?

BACKGROUND:

        Roland is a company specializing in electronic/digital musical
instruments.  In 1982 Roland, along with a group of other musical
instrument vendors, pioneered the MIDI standard.  Their products range
from effects processing units, to add-on sound boards for the PC, to
expensive studio equipment such as samplers and keyboards.

        There are several subsidiaries of Roland corporation, notably
Boss and Rhodes (though I believe Rhodes has since been phased out).

        Most Boss products fall into the synthesizer, drum machine,
controller, and effects processing areas.  I am not aware of any sound
cards for the PC from this company.

        Rhodes specialized in keyboards only, from what I know of the
company.  The vintage Rhodes sound has been integrated into most Roland
sound devices.  The classic ballad-synth sound, real pretty.

                        -Peter McCombs <[e-mail]>

POLICIES: (unknown)
CONTACT:

Roland Corporation
7200 Dominion Circle
Los Angeles, CA 90040-3647
[phone]
 .....................................................................
** 3.9)  What can you tell me about Turtle Beach?

BACKGROUND:
POLICIES:
CONTACT:

If you need to contact Turtle Beach, you can reach them by e-mail at

           [e-mail] (Turtle Beach*Roy Smith)
or         [e-mail] (Jon Victor/Turtle Tech.)
or         [e-mail] (Curtis Crowe)

or you can write to them at

                   Turtle Beach Systems
                   PO BOX 5074
                   York, PA 17405
                       [phone]
                   FAX [phone]

Turtle Beach also runs a support BBS for users of their products.  The
BBS number is [phone] (8N1).
 .....................................................................
** 3.10) What can you tell me about Voyetra?
BACKGROUND: ?
POLICIES: ?

CONTACT:

    Voyetra
    333 Fith Avenue
    Pelham, NY
    [phone] (US only)
    [phone] (From anywhere)
    [phone] (FAX)
 .....................................................................

======================================================================

* Part 4 - Existing Hardware

 .....................................................................
** 4.1)  What are the ATI Stereo F/X products and how good are they?

Here's a list of ATI sound products:

STEREO-F/X
- low cost SB compatible with stereo capability
- 22KHz stereo record
- 44KHz stereo playback

VGASTEREO-F/X
- STEREO-F/X combined with super-VGA

STEREO F/X CD
- SB compatible
- programmable mixer
- CDROM interface
- OPL3

CD SOUND DIMENSION
- multimedia upgrade kit
- STEREO F/X CD packaged with CDROM drive and CDROMs

                        --Steve DeGroof <[e-mail]>


 .....................................................................
** 4.2)  What is the Cardinal DSP 16 [Plus] and how good is it?

Special thanks to Mike Long <[e-mail]> for getting this
information!

Data on the Cardinal Digital Sound Pro (DSP) 16 [Plus] Sound Card
                (AKA MPC700 and MPC700+)

Cardinal seems to be wary of saying too much about the card in any one
place, but if you look at the board, and read through the manual and sales
literature you can glean a lot of info:

HARDWARE INFO
-------------

16-bit board based around:

        Digital Signal Processor:  Analog Devices ADSP-2115
        CODEC:                     Analog Devices AD1848KP "SoundPort"
        SCSI Interface (PLUS only):   Adaptec AL-6260/AL-6360 (from literature)
        plus a large chip with a paper "Cardinal" label on it, presumably
        an ASIC.

Connections
External        Line Input (Stereo)
                Mic Input (mono)
                Line Out (Stereo)
                PC Speaker
                Joystick/Midi
Internal:       CD Sound Input (four pin)
                PC speaker Input/Output
                Sony "CDU31A compatible" 34-PinCD
                SCSI 50-Pin CD (Plus only)
                ROM Socket for Wavetable Synthesis

Jumpers:        Base Address (220 or 240)
                SCSI CD ROM Address (340 or 140)
                All other Addresses, IRQs, DMAs, are software set

Cables Provided:  MIDI/Joystic breakout cable (Plus Only)

NOTES:
        Requires a separate three-connector cable to play PC speaker sounds
        via the sound card.  It is Listed as an option, but is easy to put
        together from reasonably readily available parts.

        Line input and CD Sound input may be electrically identical; at
        least the mixer software uses a single control for both.  Only a
        single input (line/CD or microphone) can be used to record at a time.

        Claims that SCSI controller is identical to the Adaptec 1510.

        CD-ROM sound input connector is said to be identical to Sound
        Blaster connector.  Anyone know where I can get a female connector
        of this type?

ELECTRICAL/PERFORMANCE SPECS
----------------------------
(Literature Claims the following as "typical", which presumably means
some boards don't meet all the specs.

20-20K Hz frequency Resp (+/- 3db on line out, +/- 5 db on speakers)
0.0225% Total Harmonic Distortion on line out
0.2% Total Harmonic Distortion on Speaker jack
Microphone 600Ohm Dynamic
Line In Jack 5KOhm Impedence
Amplifier Output 4 Watts per Channel
5 Watt power consumption (typical, power amp not in use)
10-50 Degrees C Operating Environment
FCC Class B Approval
7.6" X 4.2" Dimensions

SOUND INFO
----------

8 and 16 Bit record/play
5.5 - 48 KHZ sampling rates
8-bit A-Law and U-Law Hardware compression
11-Voice Stereo Basic Music Synthesis
24-Voice Wavetable Music Synthesis is optional

Sound Standards supported:

Microsoft Windows 3.1
Microsoft Windows Sound System
AdLib
Sound Blaster
MPC (level 1 & 2)
Compaq Business Audio
MPU-401 [Does not specify what modes]

CONFIGURATION
-------------

The following is mostly from the manual:


IRQs:                   Default         Options
        Sound Blaster   7               5, 3
        Winodws Sound   11              7, 9, 10, 11, disabled
        MPU-401 *       5               3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 disabled
        SCSI            10              9, 11, 12, disabled
        Sony CD         10              9, 11, 12, disabled
        Mitsumi CD      10              3, 5, 9, 11, disabled

 *= not from manual, from Windows Setup

DMA:
        Sound Blaster   1               0
        Windows Sound   0               1, 3

I/O Addresses:
        Game port       200-201         disabled
        Synthesizer (SB)388-38B         none
        Dig. Audio (SB) 220-23F         240-25F
        Windows Sound   530-537         640-647, EB0-EB7, F40-F47, disabled
        MPU-401         330-337         any? 210-217, 230-237, 310-317, disabled
        SCSI            340-34F         140-14F, disabled
        Sony/Mitsumi-CD 300-30F         3x0-3xF, disabled

NOTES:  Box claims high-number (16-bit) DMA support, but the board/software
        does not seem to do so.

        SCSI controller uses PIO, not DMA.

        At least some DOS Voyetra software (e.g, Mixer, Soundscript) will
        not work without a valid MPU IRQ and Port.

        Use of Port 330 for MPU-401 appears to be incompatible with Reader
        Rabbit 1 and 2.

SOFTWARE
--------

Basic Board "driver" loads board DSP firmware, including Soundblaster Mode
and exits.

Comes with Adaptec ASPI2DOS.SYS and ASPICD.SYS drivers (Plus MSCDEX)
Supplied ASPICD.SYS driver does NOT support CD-XA, or at least not Kodak
Photo CD.

Comes with drivers for Sony and Mitsumi drives.

Sound software comes from Voyetra and includes:

DOS:    DOSDAT "Digital Audio Transport"
        DOSMIX Mixer
        SoundScript sound/fli script file interpreter
        Simple command line MID and WAV/VOC players
        Various drivers used by the above

Windows:AudioStation; includes Mixer, CD control Module (with playlists),
                Digital Audio Transport VOC/WAV Play/Record module, and MIDI
                Play/Record module
        Record/Playback volume applet
        WinDAT Digital Audio Editor
        Midi Orchestrator MIDI Editor
        Say It Voice Annotator
        Voyetra Jukebox for Windows
        Various drivers used by the above

Plus    A small collection each of .MID and .WAV files

Notes:  As of Mid Sept. the software disks were up to rev 2.03.  These disks
        are available for downloading from the bulletin board, but see below.
        Much of the software on these disks has early August dates.

        The mixers do NOT include a "Master" volume control, despite the
        literature to the contrary.  There is a separate Windows applet
        for "master" volume, but it appears to reset ALL volume controls to
        the same position, so it is not a true "Master" control (but I have
        not played around with this much, so I may be missing something).
        There is no DOS Master control at all.

        There is no DOS command-line method for setting volumes; you must use
        the Mixer.  Actually it is possible to kludge a way of setting the
        volume in DOS via .bat files, but it isn't pretty.

        Early versions of the SW disks did not include the Windows master
        volume applet, but did include a dos midi sequencer that was never
        supported and is not  supplied on more recent disks.

        The manual tells you that you can upgrade a lot of the Voyetra Apps
        (for more money of course).

        A whole bunch of the program names above are Trademarks of Voyetra
        Technologies; Voyetra is a Registered Trademark thererof.

OPTIONS
-------

The Pro Plus adds a SCSI interface and a MIDI/Joystick breakout cable.

Wavetable ROM with 128 General MIDI patches; supports up to 24 simultaneous
voices

Various cable kits

MISC INFO/PRICES
----------------

3 Year Warantee, based on sales receipt.  Cardinal does not register
ownership, however, Voyetra does ask you to register.

Cardinal has a bulletin board, [phone].  It is hard to get through,
and even when it answers, does not seem to connect successfully much of the
time.

Phone support 9-5 Eastern Time, Weekdays [phone] The best way to get
support is to call, leave a message and the WILL get back to you (if you
are at the phone when they call).  You can also FAX your questions.

Main Number [phone]

Prices as of July '93
                        List    Avail
Sound Pro               $159    $129(Computer City)
Sound Pro Plus          $229    $169(Dell)
MIDI Wavetable ROM      $99      ??

A DSP software developers kit is said to be in Beta Test (as of early Sept'93).

GENERAL IMPRESSIONS
-------------------

I am not an audiophile, so I cannot claim to seriously rate the board's
audio qualities.  On a locally assembled 386/40 ISA system I was able to
record WAV files with reasonable success at nearly all rates except full
44KHz/Stereo/16-bit.  Some samples were notceably hissy, but I did not play
around enough to see if this could be easily eliminated.  The Basic Sound
Synthesis sounds, well, basic.  It pretends to support all 128 General Midi
patches, but some of them sound far from the names attached to them.  I
assume that the Wavetable ROM fixes this, but I know little about what I
should be expecting here and haven't bought the ROM.

I have relatively few software programs, and none of the "serious" games to
really test it out.  It worked successfully with all my current software,
both hard disk based (e.g., the basic Carmen) and CD ROM base (e.g., Just
Grandma and me, Toolworks Windows Encyclopedia), except for one Shareware
children's program (Animated Words) that uses something called "Real
Sound".

Overall, this appears to be a generally reasonable quality board, with a
few corners cut here and there to keep the price down, and it would appear
to be a reasonable choice for a home user or someone who wants to do some
playing around.  There is significant promise in the fact that the DSP is a
commercial part and that Cardinal has been updating the software.  The
board is brand new (first non-SCSI boards probably shipped in June, first
SCSI boards appear to have shipped around the beginning of August) and has
not made it to any reviews that I know of yet.

                                Hal Lichtin
                                Open Software Foundation
                                [e-mail]  [phone]
 .....................................................................
** 4.3)  What is the GUS and how good is it?

This answer has been compiled from information in the "GUS FAQ", the
"PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide", and personal notes from Tom
Klok <[e-mail]>.

Company:           Advanced Gravis Technologies
Product:           Gravis UltraSound
Street Price:      US$125
Summary:           RAM based wavetable synthesis soundcard

Dig. Playback:     16 bit, 44.1KHz, stereo
Dig. Record:       8 bit (16 w/daughter card), 44.1KHz, stereo
External Ports:    line-in, line-out, ampl-out, mic-in, game (MIDI w/adapter)
Instruments:       128 General MIDI
Internal Ports:    CD audio in, optional daughter cards, unexplained pins
Synthesis Method:  Wavetable
Voices:            32 total polyphonic notes and voices (maximum 14 at 44.1KHz)

Effects:           None
External Control:  No
Patch Editting:    Yes
S/N Ration:        Excellent (numbers anyone? <[e-mail]>)
Sample Pool:       5MB stored on disk
Synthesis Chip:    Gravis/Forte GF1 (ICS cutom ASIC).
WTS RAM:           256KB RAM (expandable to 1MB for about $35), no ROM

GM Compatible:     Yes (TSR emulator required in DOS)
GS:                Yes (TSR emulator required in DOS)
MPU-401:           Yes (TSR emulator required in DOS)
MT-32:             Yes (TSR emulator required in DOS)
SB:                Yes (DOS only and via TSR emulator)
SC Modules:        ?
SCC-1:             Yes (TSR emulator required in DOS)

NT support:        No
OS/2 support:      No ("It's under developement")
UNIX-ish support:  Linux, 386BSD
Windows support:   100% (386 enhanced mode only)

Notes and Quotes:

        GM/SCC1 + SB combined support is expected in 15-Nov-93 MegaEm
release.  The SBOS TSR emulates the SB very well for about 90% of the
games.  Often the patches you hear will be SB-PRO stereo due to a side
effect of a game's SB-PRO support.  Often the patches will sound
better than the SB does.  Then again there's the 10% of the games that
don't run, or run poorly with SBOS.  You should see if MEGAEM or the
AIL drivers will work before sinking to SB emulation, anyway.
                        --Morgan Stair <[e-mail]>

        As a pround GUS owner, I think it is mandatory to mention that
the GUS is currently (and has been for over a year) the ONLY wavetable
on the market with RAM for under $200. Because of this, more and more
musicians have begun to pay attention to this growing niche.
        A GUS Software Development Kit exists for programmers who want
to tap the potential of the GUS, or write new applications for it. The
SDK has considerable support (some tech. staff, but mostly end-users
and other such hackers).
        Many game companies are now writing their code with AIL/MILES
drivers in cognito (expl. of AIL and MILES goes here...) which allows
wavetable owners to experience better-than- FM sound.
                        --Steve Bongos Larson <[e-mail]>

        Each voice also has 16 panning positions.  By ganging two
voices together, you can effectively have 4096 pan positions.  The GUS
has automated volume-ramping that can be used as one-shot or
oscillating volume modulators.  Thus, amplitude envelopes use very
little CPU horsepower.
                        --Tom Klok <[e-mail]>

 .....................................................................
** 4.4)  What is the Diamond SonicSound?

About compatibility much can be said, the most important being:

- Sound Blaster 1.5 compatible except for SBMidi, Composite Speech and
  hardware compression of digital audio functions. (This means that
  e.g. in The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes you don't hear any
  voices.)
- Sound Blaster reproduction quality excellent except for .voc files,
  which sound very distorted. (This means that e.g. voices in King's
  Quest VI sound distorted and you wish you hadn't bought a
  SonicSound.)
- 100% compatible with Windows 3.1 and General Midi.

If you want more info about the Diamond SonicSound E-Mail me.

                        --Daniel Tauritz <[e-mail]>

        [From The PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide]

    Diamond SonicSound. Wavetable Synthesis with DSP,
    synthesizer chip is Sierra Aria. 32 voices, 128 General
    MIDI instruments. 512k of sample ROM upgradable to 1MB.
    General MIDI, SoundBlaster, and MPU-401 compatible. $190
    est. st. price.
 .....................................................................
** 4.5)  What is the Logitech Soundman 16 and how good is it?

> From: [e-mail] (Edwin L. Wilson Jr.)
> Date: 5 Nov 1993 08:30:14 GMT
>
> I know it's the exact same board as the PAS 16, without the CD-ROM interface
> or the extra software. Everything written for the PAS 16 runs fine on it;
> and I haven't found any problems with its Soundblaster emulation. On my
> system (486-33 EISA, 8M ram, 24bit video) it runs fine; I put it in the f
> farthest slot from the other cards to minimize interference. YMMV. I don't
> know the S/N ratio or the THD; my samples sound pretty good from DOS,
> Windows samples don't sound so hot. I also have a lot of ham radio gear
> in the same room, so there's a big possibility for interference. I'm
> pleased with it; for $99 at Wal Mart it's not bad. I wish there was a MOD
> editor that took advantage of its capabilities, tho.
 .....................................................................
** 4.6)  What is the Multisound and how good is it?

(Anyone care to fill out a questionaire on this one?)

Company:           Turtle Beach Systems
Product:           Multisound
Street Price:      $520
Summary:           ?

Dig. Playback:     ?
Dig. Record:       ?
External Ports:    ?
Instruments:       ?
Internal Ports:    ?
Synthesis Method:  Sample Playback with DSP
Voices:            20+

Effects:           ?
External Control:  ?
Patch Editting:    ?
S/N Ration:        ?
Sample Pool:       ?
Synthesis Chip:    ?
WTS RAM:           ?

GM Compatible:     ?
GS:                ?
MPU-401:           ?
MT-32:             ?
SB:                ?
SC Modules:        ?
SCC-1:             ?

NT support:        ?
OS/2 support:      ?
UNIX-ish support:  ?
Windows support:   Yes

Notes and Quotes:

The Multisound is shipped with a set of 128 General Midi patches
(instruments)...  The latest drivers for the Multisound provide
limited MPU-401 emulation under Windows 386 enhanced mode...
The Multisound is really only usable under Windows.  There are some
DOS command-line utilities provided that allow recording and playback
of samples, and the internal Proteus can be set up to respond over the
MIDI interface just like an external Proteus sound module would, but
the Multisound is basically a Windows product.
                                        [e-mail]


 .....................................................................
** 4.7)  What is the PAS 16 and how good is it?

Special thanks to Linda Thomas <[e-mail]>.

Like the SB16 section, I don't know what to do with some of these
questions that have simple clear answers with the WT cards, but not
for the FM cards.

Company:           Media Vision
Product:           Pro Audio Spectrum 16
Street Price:      ?
Summary:           16 bit FM synthesis soundcard

Dig. Playback:     16 bit, mono, 44.1KHz
Dig. Record:       16 bit, mono, 44.1KHz
External Ports:    mic-in, line-in, line-out, game
Instruments:       ?
Internal Ports:    CD-audio-in
Synthesis Method:  FM
Voices:            ?

Effects:           None
External Control:  No
S/N Ration:        ?
Synthesis Chip:    Yamahz OPL3

GM Compatible:     Yes
GS:                ?
MPU-401:           ?
MT-32:             ?
SB:                Yes
SC Modules:        ?
SCC-1:             ?

NT support:        ?
OS/2 support:      ?
UNIX-ish support:  Linux, 386BSD
Windows support:   Yes

Notes and Quotes:

The board sounds pretty good.  Sampled sound at 16 bits, 44Khz sounds
wonderful!  The on-board midi is, like the soundblaster family, not
particularly exciting.  I do get a fair amount of his if the mixer volume
is up over 85% and the board isn't playing anything.

The soundblaster compatibility is excellent.  Most games, especially older
games don't support the pas-16 directly, but the sb compatibility works
very well though it sounds no better than a sb.

The pas-16 comes with lots of software most of which is pretty cheesy.  The
pro audio studio 16 is the same board with more cheesy software.

Since the card is essentially two soundcards on one board, it requires two
interrupts:  one for pas stuff, one for sb stuff.  Could be a problem for
systems tight on irq's.

There are three versions of this board sold: basic (sound only),
normal (sound + scsi), studio (sound + scsi + even more software +
mic).
                                --Linda Thomas <[e-mail]>
 .....................................................................
** 4.8)  What is the Roland SCC-1 and how good is it?

Special thanks to Peter McCombs <[e-mail]> and the
"PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide".

Company:          Roland Corporation
Product:          SCC-1
Street Price:     $315 (Masters Software 714-479-0999)
Summary:          A GM/GS/MPU-401, PCM ROM based, wavetable soundcard.

Dig. Playback:    None
Dig. Record:      None
External Ports:   MIDI in/out, stereo audio outs, and earphones.
Instruments:      317 Samples and 9 drum sets
Internal Ports:   None
Synthesis Method: Custom (It's wavetable-like, but Roland won't say)
Voices:           16 parts and 24 voice polyphony

Effects:          8 reverb and 8 chorus models.
External Control: Yes
Patch Editting:   Yes
S/N Ration:       Excellent (numbers anybody?)
Sample Pool:      4MB stored in ROM
Synthesis Chip:   ?
WTS RAM:          None (ROM only)

GM Compatible:    100%
GS:               100%
MPU-401:          100% (integrated smart mode interface)
MT-32:            100%
SB:               No
SC Modules:       Yes
SCC-1:            100%

Windows support:  100%
OS/2 support:     ?
NT support:       ?
UNIX-ish support: ?

Notes and Quotes:

        No doubt one of the best sounding synthesizers on the market.
Go for it if you can afford it.
                                --PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide

       The SCC-1 makes an ideal base for expanding your music set up.  You
can interface and control external modules using it's built-in MPU-401.
It can also be controlled from an external source.  More professional
MIDI software supports the MPU-401 interface than any other sound card
MIDI interface, making this card a top choice for musicians.

       The sound quality is excellent.  Many patches, in my opinion, could
hardly be improved.  The card sounds very professional and offers a wide
variety of sounds for all types of music.

       All in all, the SCC-1 is a great card for musicians.  The SCC-1 can
also work side by side with another sound card.

        You can modify all sorts of attributes, such as envelopes,
using the SCC-1's System Exclusive language.  I've only done actual
patch editing on my LAPC-1, but the SCC-1 has a much greater ability
for this, judging by the size of the technical part of my manual
dealing with SysEx messages.  What happens in the case of the LAPC-1
is that the attributes are stored in RAM, but the actual samples are
in ROM.  So when I make a new patch, I must save it to disk in SysEx
form if I want to keep it.  The SysEx basically tells it which PCM
samples to use and what the envelopes, etc, are going to be.  So
you're actually modifying _existing_ ROM patches.

        As far as noise, it must be pretty minimal since I don't
notice any until I turn my amp up past 10:00.  Of course, since I have
a modular GM/GS synth, it may sound a bit cleaner since it not
touching the computer chassis.  I've heard noisier CD's.

                                --Peter McCombs <[e-mail]>
 .....................................................................
** 4.9)  What is the Roland Sound Canvas SC-7 and how good is it?
    Roland Sound Canvas SC-7. Wavetable Synthesis. Samples
    stored in ROM. General MIDI, ? compatible. Module can be
    added to any sound card. $279 at ComputAbility
    800-554-9924.
                                --PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide
 .....................................................................
** 4.10) What is the SB and how good is it?
The Creative Labs Sound Blaster is the defacto industry standard.  It
in an 8-bit, mono, 2 operation, 7-11 voice, FM synthesis card with an
8 bit DAC... BUT IT'S ABSOLUTELY 100% SOUNDBLASTER COMPATIBLE!!!
 .....................................................................
** 4.11) What is the SB Pro and how good is it?
        Stereo, 8-bit sound, with a mixer chip. Yamaha OPL3 (although
an earlier version used two OPL2 chips).  Also has a proprietary
cd-rom interface (for Panasonic/Creative Labs CD-ROMs).
                        --Jennifer Smith <[e-mail]>
 .....................................................................
** 4.12) What are the SB16, SB16Basic, and SB16Asp/Csp and how good are they?
Special thanks to Jennifer Smith <[e-mail]> and
Linda Thomas <[e-mail]> for their input.

Let me know which "?" entries I can delete.  There's some I was afraid
to get rid of... for now... like instruments.  How many DISTINCT
instruments does this card have when doing their GM thing.  I assume
they can do GM?

Company:           Creative Labs
Product:           SB16/ SB16-Basic/ SB16-CSP
Street Price:      (see below)
Summary:           3 operator, stereo, 12 bit soundcards.

Dig. Playback:     12 Bit
Dig. Record:       12 Bit
External Ports:    line-in, line-out, mic-in, amp-out, game,
                   PROPRIETARY CD-ROM interface
Instruments:       ?
Internal Ports:    ?
Synthesis Method:  FM
Voices:            18-22

Effects:           N/A
Extern Controlled: No
Patch Editting:    No
S/N Ration:        N/A
Sample Pool:       N/A
Synthesis Chip:    OPL3
WTS RAM:           N/A

GM Compatible:     ?
GS:                ?
MPU-401:           ?
MT-32:             ?
SB:                Yes
SC Modules:        No
SCC-1:             ?

Windows support:  100%
OS/2 support:     100%
NT support:       Beta
UNIX-ish support: Linux, 386BSD

Notes and Quotes:

ALL prices in US Dollars!

                     With ASP          Without the ASP
--------------+-----------+--------+-----------+---------+-------------------
Model         | Suggested | Street | Suggested | Street  | CD Rom
              |   Price   |  Price |   Price   |  Price  | Connector
--------------+-----------+--------+-----------+---------+--------------------
 SB16 ASP     |   349.95  |   219  |    ???    |   115   | Same as Basic ???
--------------+-----------+--------+-----------+---------+--------------------
 SB16 Basic   |  N/A - ?! | N/A-?! |   199.95  |   129   | CreativeLabs &
              |           |        |           |         |   Panasonic.
 SB16 MultiCD |   299.95  |   195  |   249.95  |   159   | Sony, Mitsumi,
              |           |        |           |         |  and same as Basic
 SB16 SCSI-2  |   329.93  |   209  |   279.92  |   179   | Any SCSI/SCSI-2
--------------+-----------+--------+-----------+---------+--------------------
 Waveblaster  |   249.95  |   179  | WB doesn't need ASP |
--------------+-----------+--------+---------------------+

     Some old stores still have the SB16 ASP. Ask specifically what
   model the store has before you buy!

   Suggested price from:
      Creative Labs Ad in Nov 9/1993 PC Magazine

   Street price from:
      Comput Ability Ad in Nov 9/1993, PC Magazine
      1-800-554-9930.
      Mon-Fri 8am-8pm.
      Add 5% for Shippinbg hardware - min $5

                        --Michael Pohoreski <[e-mail]>

Boards without an asp chip can be upgraded simply by adding the chip;
cost about $70... It's supposed to add hardware compression... The
sb16 is compatable (though not 100%) with the sb-pro.  It performed
almost identically to my pas-16 for both sampled sound and midi.
                        --Linda Thomas <[e-mail]>

There is now a SB16 SCSI-2 and a SB16 MCD (Multi CD), both with or
without CSP chips. The SCSI-2 has an Adaptec chipset on it, and the
MCD supports Sony CDU31A, CDU31-003, Mitsumi CRMC-LU005, -FX001,
-FX001D, Panasonic CDR-523, -563.  (From CL Ad, PC Mag, Nov 9/93)
                        --Jennifer Smith <[e-mail]>

 .....................................................................
** 4.13) What is the ViVa Maestro?
    ViVa Maestro 16 (note the spelling and upper/lower case) is
certainly available. one of my friends bought it in sweden some months
ago, so i guess it should have been available in the states a long time
ago.
        specs:
    uses the aria chipset, so all aria specs apply.
    comes in 0.5mb and 1mb versions (rom size, that is).

        impressions:
    wts instruments weren't that great. they sounded better than
opl2 and opl3, but much worse than gus default gm patch set.
    the card (probably dsp programs) was awfully buggy. maybe it
was just my setup, but every 20 minutes 'something happened'. like
the card refused to make any sound and only power-off helped. or
some software crashed. or the card felt that it was a proper place
to make a 10khz 1 sec beep.
    opl2 emulation wasn't that great. the instruments sounded like
they were synthesized at 22 or 16 khz, i.e. no high end. this was
annoying, because fm instruments have usually much high end.

                                --Ahti Heinla <[e-mail]>
 .....................................................................
** 4.14) What is the WaveBlaster and how good is it?

        [From The PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide]
        [Revise by Sea/n Mi/chea/l McCrea/ry <[e-mail]>]

    Creative Labs WaveBlaster. Wavetable Synthesis,
    uses same ROM samples as E-mu Proteus 1. 32 Voices, 128
    General MIDI instruments, 18 drum presets, 40 effects.
    4MB of sample ROM. General MIDI and MPU-401 (dumb mode)
    compatible. Daughterboard for SoundBlaster 16 or Aztech
    NX Pro 16. $209 est. st. price...  Driven by a Motorola
    68000 CPU chip.

> Date: Thu, 4 Nov 93 11:02:01 EST
> From: Linda Thomas <[e-mail]>
>
> The wave blaster is a general midi compatible wave table midi daughtercard
> for the sb16.  It sounds very good.  I played lots of midi files through it
> and they all sounded great!  It is supposed to work with games that are gm
> compatible and most that use MT-32.  I could not get the board to work with
> a single game.  It invariable locked up the system.  Creative Labs tech
> support were very nice but not too helpful.  They said it ought to work,
> but nothing we tried did.
>
> It has 4mb of samples in rom.  No sample ram.
 .....................................................................
** 4.15) What is the IBM Windsurfer and how good is it?

It is available in both MCA and ISA version from IBM Direct >today<

IBM Windsurfer
--------------

1) Works under Windows, OS/2 support will be available "soon"
2) Provides sampling/playback at stereo, 16bit, 44.1 kHz
3) Full MIDI support (synthesis and recording)
4) Wavetable MIDI, not synthesizer
5) 14.4 (V.32bis) modem w/ compression and error-correction
6) FAX machine (9600 bps)
7) Telephone Answering capabilities

It ships with applications that enable all of the functions. It has
soundblaster capability in a Windows DOS Box and is software
upgradeable. The modem will support V.34 (V.fast) once the standard
is available and 14.4 FAX will also be available soon.

The same technology is being brought to market by Best Data through
their ACE card, which will be available around Dec. 15.

All of this is made possible through MWave DSP technology.

                        --Erik Troan <[e-mail]>

 .....................................................................
** 4.16) What is the Yamaha Hellow Music CBX301 and how good is it?

        [From The PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide]

    Yamaha Hello Music CBX301. Wavetable Synthesis,
    synthesizer chip is Yamaha CBX-T3. 192 General MIDI
    instruments, 10 drum sets. Samples stored in ROM.
    General MIDI compatible. External module via serial
    port, can be added to any sound card. $279 at Tiger
    Software.
 .....................................................................

======================================================================
** 4.17) What wavetable synthesis cards are CURRENTLY AVAILABLE?

This is a partial list of wavetable synthesis cards available as of
November 1993.  For more information on a card, see the PC Wavetable
Synthesis Hardware Guide, or it's FAQ entry if it exists.  If the FAQ
entry doesn't exist... send me the info and I'll put it in the FAQ
verbatim (probably).

NO VAPORWARE belongs in this list.

Company                 Product                 Price
Name                    Name                    Retail/Street/Lowest
======================================================================
Advanced Gravis         UltraSound (GUS)        $199  / $125 / $109
Creative Labs           WaveBlaster             ?     / $209 / ?
Roland                  SCC-1                   ?     / $315 / ?
Roland                  SC-7                    ?     / $279 / ?
Turtle Beach Systems    Multisound              $599  / $520 / $499
Yamaha                  Hello Music CBX301      ?     / $279 / ?
ViVa                    Maestro 16              ?     / ?    / ?
IBM                     Windsurfer              ?     / ?    / ?
 .....................................................................
** 4.18) What sound options are there for MicroChannel?
        There used to be a MicroChannel version of the Sound Blaster,
but that has been discontinued, so until recently there has been no
soundcards available for MicroChannel than I know of.  Now the "IBM
Windsurfer" is the only card in production for MicroChannel that I
know of.
                        --Morgan Stair <[e-mail]>
 .....................................................................
** 4.19) What sound options are there for LAPTOPS?

        Look into the Disney Sound Source, and other things that hang
off of the parallel port.
                        --Mike Long <[e-mail]>
 .....................................................................

======================================================================

* Part 5 - Existing Software (no games)
 .....................................................................
** 5.1)  How can I convert between sound formats / how does SOX work?

> Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1993 21:44:01 GMT
> From: Technically Sweet <[e-mail]>
> Subject: SOX Cheat Sheet
>
> Reprint From: alt.binaries.sounds.d, comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard,
>               alt.binaries.sounds.misc.d
>
> Hi-
>
> Here is the long-promised SOX cheat sheet.  Every command
> invocation you ever wanted to know.
>
> --------------------snippity-snip-snip-----------------------
>
> This is a cheat sheet of examples using SOX to
> do various common sound file conversions.
>
> Notes:
>
> The SUN examples all assume the old SUN voice-quality 8khz u-law
> hardware.  If the .AU file doesn't have a proper header,
> you'll need the second command line.  If you don't want the
> old format, you can remove the "-r 8012 -U -b" in front of
> "file.au" when converting TO SUN .au files.  Note that
> you'll need newer SUN sound hardware to successfully
> play these files.
>
> VOC has a similar problem.  All VOC files have a correct
> header, but older hardware (and software) only knows
> about samples made of unsigned bytes.
> VOC files come from the Sound Blaster and compatible
> cards on the IBM PC.  These cards can play many
> sample rates; not quite a continuous spectrum
> but close enough.
>
> The Mac sound hardware traditionally has been capable of
> sample rates 5012, 1025, and 22050, but only with unsigned
> bytes.  Recent models support CD-quality sound.
>
> SUN .au to Mac .snd:
>
>         sox file.au -r 11025 -t ub file.snd
> or:
>         sox -t ul -r 8012 file.au -r 11025 -t ub file.snd
>
> When you copy the file to the Mac, you'll have to set
> the sample rate by hand.
>
> Mac .snd to SUN .au
>
>         sox -r 11025 -t ub file.snd -r 8012 -U -b file.au
>
> The Mac file might also be at sample rates 5012, 22050, or 44100.
>
> PC .voc to SUN .au
>
>         sox file.voc -r 8012 -U -b file.au
>
> SUN .au to PC .voc
>
>         sox file.au file.voc
> or:
>         sox -r 8012 -t ul file.au file.voc
>
> SUN .au to WAV - without clipping
>
>         sox file.au -s -w file.wav
> or:
>         sox -t ul -r 8012 file.au -s -w file.wav
>
> WAV to SUN .au
>
>         sox file.wav -r 8012 -U -b file.au
>
> WAV to VOC
>         sox file.wav -u -b file.voc
>
> VOC to WAV
>         sox file.voc file.wav
>
> --------------------snippity-snip-snip-----------------------
> --
>
> Lance Norskog
> [e-mail]
> Data is not information is not knowledge is not wisdom.
 .....................................................................
** 5.2)  What are SBOS, MEGAEM, and ULTRAMID?
        SBOS is the program to make the Gravis Ultrasound card emulate
a soundblaster.  MEGAEM makes it emulate a GM (MIDI) device or the
Roland SCC-1.  ULTRAMID is used for GUS AIL driver support.  For more
information see the Gravis Ultrasound FAQ.
 .....................................................................
** 5.3)  What is voice recognition software is available?
        There's Voice Assist, by Creative Labs, for nearly all
soundcards, but I don't have a spec sheet handy. I have used it, and
it's quite good in the voice recognition area.  It's only for Windows,
however, which to me severely limits its usefulness, but it *is*
pretty expandable with regard to adding functions/commands (basically
macros) for new applications that it doesn't already know about.
                        --Jennifer Smith <[e-mail]>
 .....................................................................
** 5.4)  What programs can play what music files on what soundcards?

Special thanks to Joel Plutchak <[e-mail]> and
the "General Soundcard FAQ".

      CD-Box - plays most sound files, needs supporting drivers (shareware)
      DIGIStudio - VGA MOD editor for COVOX & Soundblaster (freeware?)
      DIGITRAK - VGA MOD player for the GUS (freeware?)
      DMP - plays MOD files on most sound boards (shareware)
      GUSMOD 2.11 - MOD player, text mode for the GUS (freeware)
      Modplay Pro - plays MOD files on Soundblaster & compatibles
         and parallel port DACs (shareware)
      Muzika - Windows MIDI editor (freeware)
      P669 - 669 player for the GUS (freeware)
      PLAY410 - VGA raw sound file player (freeware?)
      ScopeTrax - plays VOC, raw, and Amiga files on Soundblaster,
         parallel port DACs, or the PC speaker (freeware)
      SOX/Soundtool - converts between various sound file formats
         (freeware, portable source distributed)
      ULTRA Tracker - 16-bit Tracker composer for the GUS (shareware)
      Visual Player - plays MOD files on Soundblaster (shareware)
      Windows 3.1 - plays WAV and MID files on most sound boards ($$$)
      WOWII - plays MOD files on Soundblaster and compatibles (freeware?)

   Note: Past issues of The Sound Site Newsletter contain much more
         exhaustive lists of music players.
 .....................................................................

======================================================================

* Part 6 - Vaporware (Expected "REAL SOON NOW")

This section is dedicated to all nonexistant hardware and software,
thus dubbed "Vaporware".

Hopefully this will set RUMORS straight concerning projects that never
existed, set the RECORD straight for products promised but
undelivered, and raise our EXPECTATIONS for those few products truely
under developement that look awesome!

Until I hear that a product can be acquired by the average user
(ie. no beta testers) I have to consider it VAPORWARE and keep it on
this list.  This means that some cards on this list may be available.
If this happens, let me know and I'll move it to its proper place.
 .....................................................................
** 6.1)  What is the AVM Altra Pro?

An "Aria" based soundcard with 1MB ROM and an estimated street
price of $280.
 .....................................................................
** 6.2)  What is the Aztech WavePower?

        [From The PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide]

    Aztech WavePower. Wavetable Synthesis, synthesizer chip
    is Ensoniq. 32 voices, 128 General MIDI instruments. 4MB
    of sample ROM. General MIDI compatible. Daughterboard
    for Aztech NX Pro 16 or SoundBlaster 16. $159 est. st.
    price.
 .....................................................................
** 6.3)  What is the Ensonic SoundScape?

        [From the PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide]

    Ensonic SoundScape. Wavetable Synthesis, synthesizer
    chip is Ensoniq. 32 voices, 128 General MIDI
    instruments. 1-4MB of sample ROM. General MIDI, MPU-401
    and SB compatible. FM emulation. On-board Motorola 68000
    CPU.
 .....................................................................
** 6.4)  What is the Genoa AudioBahn 16 Pro?

An "Aria" based soundcard with 1MB ROM and an estimated street
price of $280.
 .....................................................................
** 6.5)  What is the GUS-MAX?

The "GUS-MAX" hoped to arrive by Christmas, 1993 from Advanced Gravis
Technologies.  It will incorporate all the features of their Gravis
UltraSound card, but will be supplied with 1MB of RAM, a SCSI port,
and 16 bit recording capabilities.
                        --Morgan Stair <[e-mail]>

Digital audio capabilities:
        digital-audio chipset--Gravis GF-1
        Max. stereo sampling res/rate--16 bit/48 khz
        Max. stereo playback-------16 bit/48 khz
        Direct to disk recording---yes
Synthesized audio capabilities
        Type of synthesis----------Wavetable
        Synthesizer chipset--------GF-1
        MIDI ports------------optional(I/I/I)
   Much more but no time to write it all. Pretty much like the regular
ultrasound though. Cd rom controller is scsi and has voice recognition.
Price is listed $299US with the regular Ultrasound listed as $199US. I don't
own a sound card yet but am deffinately leaning toward the gravis.
                        --Jam <[e-mail]>


In the vapourware arena, the GUS MAX is touted as also boasting
hardware filtering, and even higher S/N ratio than the GUS.
                        --Steve Bongos Larson <[e-mail]>

 .....................................................................
** 6.6)  What is the MidiBlaster?

        [From The PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide]

    Creative Labs MidiBlaster. Wavetable Synthesis,
    synthesizer chip is E-mu Proteus XR. 32 Voices, 128
    General MIDI instruments. 4MB of sample ROM. General
    MIDI compatible. Unlike WaveBlaster, this can be added
    to any sound card. $180 est. st. price. Sound quality is
    reported by a beta tester to be impressive. Creative
    Labs rep I talked to didn't have any more info, but I
    let you when they send me the specs.
 .....................................................................
** 6.7)  What is the Orchid SoundWave 32?

        [From The PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide]

    Orchid SoundWave 32. Wavetable Synthesis. Has Analog
    Devices DSP. 32 voices, 128 General MIDI instruments.
    2MB of samples compressed to 1MB of ROM, decompressed on
    the fly by the DSP. General MIDI, MT32, and SoundBlaster
    compatible. CD-ROM interface. $190 est. st. price.
 .....................................................................
** 6.8)  What is the PAS 16XL?

        [From the PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide]

    MediaVision Pro Audio Spectrum 16XL. Wavetable
    Synthesis, synthesizer chip is Korg. 48KHz, 16bit. 32
    voices, 128 General MIDI instruments, digital reverb,
    and chorus. Voice recognition. 4MB of sample ROM.
    General MIDI, PAS 16, SB, and Adlib compatible. Game
    port, SCSI CD-ROM interface. Joint development with
    Korg. $319 est. st. price.  Has not hit the market yet,
    estimated 1st quarter '94.
 .....................................................................
** 6.9)  What is the PCM Midi Image?

        [From The PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide]

    PCM Midi Image. Wavetable Synthesis. 24 polyphonic
    voices, 128 General MIDI instruments plus multiple
    drumlets and variations. 317 sounds in 8MB of sample
    ROM.  General MIDI, Roland GS, MT-32, SCC-1, and MPU-401
    (UART mode) compatible. 16 bit 44.1 Khz sampling rate.
 .....................................................................
** 6.10) What is the Turtle Beach Systems Maui and how good is it?

        [From The PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide]

    Turtle Beach Systems Maui. Wavetable Synthesis,
    synthesizer chip is ICS 2115. 24 voices, 128 General
    MIDI instruments. 2MB of sample ROM. 256k RAM
    (expandable to 8MB) for SampleStore technology (samples
    can loaded into RAM, any WAV file can be used as a
    sample). General MIDI, MT32, and MPU-401 compatible. Can
    be added to any sound card. $159 at ComputAbility
    800-554-9924. Very promising. Has not hit the market
    yet, expected to debut in December, according to Turtle
    Beach.
 .....................................................................
** 6.11) What is the WaveBlaster 2?

This is all I've got on it (from early November '93) -

In article <[e-mail]>
[e-mail] (Anand Ramakrishnan) writes:
>
>       I just got off the phone with a Creative Labs sales rep who
>confirmed that a new WaveBlaster with RAM + ROM is in the works and
>should be released in a few months.  It really seems like the guys
>at Creative Inc. are making up for past mistakes this year. (i.e. true
>SCSI ports on the SB16, and now this. :0

======================================================================

* Appendix A - Unanswered Questions

If you feel like writing an answer to one of these questions, PLEASE
go for it and send me the result!  Also, don't forget that MANY of the
other answers are incomplete, or could do with MAJOR improvement.

 <[e-mail]>.

** - What is the Sound Galaxy and how good is it?
** - What is music composition software is available?
** - What is music playing software is available?
** - What is speech synthesis software is available?
** - What is the Roland TAP-10?
** - What is the Roland LAPC1?

* End of FAQ
 .....................................................................
** Credits and Special Thanks

  PC Wavetable Synthesis Hardware Guide by Steve McMahon
  Gravis Ultrasound FAQ
  Francois Dion <[e-mail]>
 .....................................................................
** EMACS outline-mode automation

Local Variables:
mode: outline
outline-regexp: "\*"
eval: (hide-body)
End:
--
____________________________________________________________________
Morgan Stair             Boston College           Desk: 617-552-8783
Software Engineer        4 Alfred Cir STE 2       Fax:  [phone]
[e-mail]     Bedford MA 01730-2363