LGR 486 Update! Installing a Sound Blaster Pro 2. 0
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Date: 2022-04-14
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Comments and reviews: 10
UpLateGeek
Great video, as always! I just love the sound of these OPL Sound Blasters. I'd be curious if the AWE32 sounds different selecting Adlib or plain old Sound Blaster mode in the game setups? Not sure if it would work, but if it does then it's possible those modes might disable some of the extra -features- of the AWE32.
But yeah, I had similar issues with the sound of my AWE32, so I picked up some other cards to replace it. First one I picked up to replace it was a Vibra 16, but it had a CQM chip instead of an OPL, so it wasn't great. Second card was a Vibra 16 with an OPL chip, which was better. Then I picked up a AWE64 value, which I wasn't that impressed with either. I think they sold for a premium back in the day, so I doubt I'd be that blown away compared to the SB16 I had back then. Next I ventured into some ESS cards, which were interesting and better than expected. I did eventually manage to get my hands on a AWE64 Gold for a reasonable price, but I haven't had a chance to play with it. I also managed to pick up a Pro AudioSpectrum 16 (not for a reasonable price thanks to the cost of re-shipping from the US to Australia, which was the first sound card we got for our family computer when I was a kid, but I also haven't had a chance to play with it either. Still looking for a LMSI interface CD-ROM to go with it, so I can build a machine that more closely matches my childhood family computer.
Anyway, I just picked up a 386 motherboard yesterday that should be working, so maybe I can work on that machine if I get some time this weekend.
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Great video, as always! I just love the sound of these OPL Sound Blasters. I'd be curious if the AWE32 sounds different selecting Adlib or plain old Sound Blaster mode in the game setups? Not sure if it would work, but if it does then it's possible those modes might disable some of the extra -features- of the AWE32.
But yeah, I had similar issues with the sound of my AWE32, so I picked up some other cards to replace it. First one I picked up to replace it was a Vibra 16, but it had a CQM chip instead of an OPL, so it wasn't great. Second card was a Vibra 16 with an OPL chip, which was better. Then I picked up a AWE64 value, which I wasn't that impressed with either. I think they sold for a premium back in the day, so I doubt I'd be that blown away compared to the SB16 I had back then. Next I ventured into some ESS cards, which were interesting and better than expected. I did eventually manage to get my hands on a AWE64 Gold for a reasonable price, but I haven't had a chance to play with it. I also managed to pick up a Pro AudioSpectrum 16 (not for a reasonable price thanks to the cost of re-shipping from the US to Australia, which was the first sound card we got for our family computer when I was a kid, but I also haven't had a chance to play with it either. Still looking for a LMSI interface CD-ROM to go with it, so I can build a machine that more closely matches my childhood family computer.
Anyway, I just picked up a 386 motherboard yesterday that should be working, so maybe I can work on that machine if I get some time this weekend.
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Keith
I had a couple games that kept the music on the CD and would not play audio without the CD audio cable plugged into the sound card. I remember trying to copy the music over to the hard drive but that was what drove me to upgrade from a junkie generic sound card to a sound blaster. It-s funny back in the day it cost a couple thousand dollars to buy a com-utter that cost me about $500 to build from parts bought from local ma and pa computer shops that would advertise their sales in the business section of the Sunday newspaper. All the hundreds of dollars I spent on OEM hardware and software which is pretty much all these ma and pa shops sold, OEM stuff came in a static bag with a white label and no box.
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I had a couple games that kept the music on the CD and would not play audio without the CD audio cable plugged into the sound card. I remember trying to copy the music over to the hard drive but that was what drove me to upgrade from a junkie generic sound card to a sound blaster. It-s funny back in the day it cost a couple thousand dollars to buy a com-utter that cost me about $500 to build from parts bought from local ma and pa computer shops that would advertise their sales in the business section of the Sunday newspaper. All the hundreds of dollars I spent on OEM hardware and software which is pretty much all these ma and pa shops sold, OEM stuff came in a static bag with a white label and no box.
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TheGreatCodeholio
Several things about AWE cards. First is that they don't have an OPL3, they have a clone made by Creative that emulates the OPL3 with a different synthesis engine. Second, AWE cards seem to require their init program on startup (usually added to your AUTOEXEC. BAT) to even enable FM, at least from my testing. Also newer cards use filtering and interpolation that can make older game's lower sample rates sound muffled while SB and SB Pro cards have no such filtering (making them sound more metallic and grungy instead.
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Several things about AWE cards. First is that they don't have an OPL3, they have a clone made by Creative that emulates the OPL3 with a different synthesis engine. Second, AWE cards seem to require their init program on startup (usually added to your AUTOEXEC. BAT) to even enable FM, at least from my testing. Also newer cards use filtering and interpolation that can make older game's lower sample rates sound muffled while SB and SB Pro cards have no such filtering (making them sound more metallic and grungy instead.
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Angela
This is amusing - I love my Creative CT3670, shall we say AWE48 lol, and I enjoy loading different soundfonts to change how these old games sound, but as far as what sounds -normal- to me - it's exactly what you said sounded all wrong when you played the Duke Nukem 3D music on your AWE32. That's how I remember it sounding and it's the Sound Blaster Pro that sounds foreign to my ears. Not bad, probably better in fact, but foreign. Right now I'm enjoying 3Dfx Descent II with a GUS soundfont loaded up.
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This is amusing - I love my Creative CT3670, shall we say AWE48 lol, and I enjoy loading different soundfonts to change how these old games sound, but as far as what sounds -normal- to me - it's exactly what you said sounded all wrong when you played the Duke Nukem 3D music on your AWE32. That's how I remember it sounding and it's the Sound Blaster Pro that sounds foreign to my ears. Not bad, probably better in fact, but foreign. Right now I'm enjoying 3Dfx Descent II with a GUS soundfont loaded up.
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John
That SB board looks like the one I had in my 486sx/25 and had the same games and software, and it had the volume dial on the card, so nice with headphones. I can-t remember if it was a SB-16 or a SB 2. 0 Pro. I remember I would run it in SB16 mode at 44. 1khz playing S3Ms and MODs though when I wasn-t BBSing or SysOping a BBS. That at talking parrot gave me the creeps as a teenager and now as an adult. That OPL3 AdLib is so good. That Jill of the Jungle music should be on a relaxation music app.
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That SB board looks like the one I had in my 486sx/25 and had the same games and software, and it had the volume dial on the card, so nice with headphones. I can-t remember if it was a SB-16 or a SB 2. 0 Pro. I remember I would run it in SB16 mode at 44. 1khz playing S3Ms and MODs though when I wasn-t BBSing or SysOping a BBS. That at talking parrot gave me the creeps as a teenager and now as an adult. That OPL3 AdLib is so good. That Jill of the Jungle music should be on a relaxation music app.
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Eyso
-21: 35 I'm pretty sure there was something wrong with that card; my AWE64 works fine with Duke Nukem 2; though you might want to set the -BLASTER- variable to the basic soundblaster settings like -A220 I5 D1- otherwise there might be options (like for the wavetable) that some games do not recognise, and revert to their default settings, with interrupt 7 instead of 5, with all the strange sounds and random crashes as a result.
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-21: 35 I'm pretty sure there was something wrong with that card; my AWE64 works fine with Duke Nukem 2; though you might want to set the -BLASTER- variable to the basic soundblaster settings like -A220 I5 D1- otherwise there might be options (like for the wavetable) that some games do not recognise, and revert to their default settings, with interrupt 7 instead of 5, with all the strange sounds and random crashes as a result.
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snipe3687
Great build. Inspired me to build my own. I have a GUS as well as an SB Pro 2. 0 but I opted for the SB16. Like you, I had a packard bell back in the day (was a 386 though) and it had no sound card or cd rom just 3. 5- floppy. My mom bought us the Creative bundle with the SB16, Cd rom and speakers and as a result, that is the most nostalgic setup for me but I may explore using the pro because it is such a great card!
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Great build. Inspired me to build my own. I have a GUS as well as an SB Pro 2. 0 but I opted for the SB16. Like you, I had a packard bell back in the day (was a 386 though) and it had no sound card or cd rom just 3. 5- floppy. My mom bought us the Creative bundle with the SB16, Cd rom and speakers and as a result, that is the most nostalgic setup for me but I may explore using the pro because it is such a great card!
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Michael
I remember visiting a creative booth at some random expo back in the 90s with my mom -- and they showing off a new sound card and were bragging about how they removed the volume knob from all their cards going forward -- they had said that it would improve the clarity of the sound coming out of their cards (though I bet that was just marketing bull, and really just a way for them to save $0. 45 per card.
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I remember visiting a creative booth at some random expo back in the 90s with my mom -- and they showing off a new sound card and were bragging about how they removed the volume knob from all their cards going forward -- they had said that it would improve the clarity of the sound coming out of their cards (though I bet that was just marketing bull, and really just a way for them to save $0. 45 per card.
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Todd
You made me want to play some Duke Nukem. I found it on my old computer, along with some other old games, but Winblows 7 just stopped all the games saying it didn't support full screen mode for them. So, play them in windowed mode? Okay, found the setting and it's set for windowed, but it keeps giving the same -can't play in full screen-. (The computer is not plugged into the internet)
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You made me want to play some Duke Nukem. I found it on my old computer, along with some other old games, but Winblows 7 just stopped all the games saying it didn't support full screen mode for them. So, play them in windowed mode? Okay, found the setting and it's set for windowed, but it keeps giving the same -can't play in full screen-. (The computer is not plugged into the internet)
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Rober
just today I took a bunch of old, and some really old, computer and peripherals boards, including my old sound blaster pro, my first sound card, to an electronics recycling center. it was just taking up space. good memories, but no regrets. also not missing at all the struggle to set up IRQs, addresses, cables, EMM, XMS, config. sys, autoexec. bat, etc. etc, of those times
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just today I took a bunch of old, and some really old, computer and peripherals boards, including my old sound blaster pro, my first sound card, to an electronics recycling center. it was just taking up space. good memories, but no regrets. also not missing at all the struggle to set up IRQs, addresses, cables, EMM, XMS, config. sys, autoexec. bat, etc. etc, of those times
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