#Sound cards
4 messages in this thread
OK Youse guys……
I need some quick educatin' here. I am aware of 3 sound boards for the PC
(well 4 if you count both versions of the Sound Blaster card.) We got the
Sound Blaster and the SBPRO cards, the ADLIB card and a Roland card. OF
these cards, the only one I know anything about is the Sound Blaster card,
and what I know is that it comes with stereo speaker hook ups, a MIDI
interface (or connection) and a game port.
Now……..What are the advantages and drawbacks to each of the cards, is
there one that sounds better or has more software support than the others,
what price ranges are we talking about with these cards, do they really
work, what are your preferences, am I diddling myself…<grin>.
Are these enough questions to get a good discussion going ??????
Joe:
Both Sound Blasters and the AdLib board are similar (although a bit
different) and most programs that support one support the other. The Roland
products, on the other hand, are considerably different in that they support
the MPU401 interface specification (which is based on a Roland chip). Most
MIDI software used by professional musicians and serious hobbiest require
(or required) MPU401. That's been changing, however, thanks in part to the
prevalence of the other boards. Several "serious" programs now support the
Sound Blaster.
When I bought my MIDI gear I bought a Sound Blaster and a MPU401-compatible
board. I think that's probably less of a requirement now. But the sound
quality out of the Roland products is probably still better than AdLib or
SoundBlaster.
David
Joe,
None of the audio cards you mentioned are contenders any longer. Today, you
should be looking for an MPC compatable audio card at the very least. The
reason? When you upgrade to Windows 3.n (or so I've heard) you'll need to
have an MPC compatible card to be used as a system resource. There are a
few MPC compatable audio cards out there today:
Soundblaster II – $295
Pro Audio Spectrum from Media Vision – $395
Ad Lib Gold card – (Still not shipping)
These are just a few of the many. I'm sure others will chime in on what
their favourite cards are. I, of course, must stand back from such
recomendations 8-).
John
John:
Seriously? I know a lot of owners of SounderBlaster cards who will be
*very* disappointed!
Larry