Ensoniq

From Vogons Wiki
Revision as of 08:25, 21 February 2013 by Swaaye (Talk | contribs) (Comparison table)

Jump to: navigation, search

Cards

Soundscape S-2000

Based upon the Otto/Sequoia/MC68EC000 chipset and an AD1848KP DAC/ADC, the Soundscape S-2000 was a high quality wavetable sound card in 1994. I/O ports are configured by jumpers. DMA, IRQ, SB emulation and some other settings are software configurable.

Soundscape DB

This is a Waveblaster-compatible daughtercard with the Otto/Sequoia/MC68EC000 chipset on board with 1 or 2MB ROM.

Soundscape PnP / OPUS

This card is an OEM cost-reduced product with similar specifications to the S-2000 but with some changes. It uses the AD1845JP and a MIDI chipset consisting of Cow and Opus. It has some compatibility problems with games because of the use of I/O ports atypical for the S-2000 (games don't always support them). Settings are configured by PnP and by the SSINIT program.

Soundscape Elite

Essentially revision 2 of the S-2000, but with the addition of an effects DSP daughtercard and a revised sample ROM. Based upon the Otto and Sequoia MIDI chipset and an Analog Devices AD1848KP DAC/ADC. Released in 1995. I/O ports are configured by jumpers. DMA, IRQ, SB emulation and some other settings are software configurable.

Soundscape VIVO 90

This card uses the Mark 5 / OttoR2 MIDI chipset and an AD1845JP DAC/ADC. This card replaced the Opus card as an OEM favorite. It was also available at retail. It is less capable and less flexible than the large Soundscape boards based on Otto and Sequoia. Settings are configured by PnP and by the SSINIT program.

AudioPCI

The final sound card from Ensoniq is a very cost-reduced PCI card that is almost entirely host-driven (software-based). MIDI is a soft-synth in both Windows and DOS and has limitations that make it impossible to produce a patch set that rivals the older cards with 2 megabyte ROMs.

When Creative purchased Ensoniq, a driver update was released renaming the card to Sound Blaster PCI 64. This also added some new features. In Windows 9x it has rudimentary DirectSound3D 4-speaker support and minimal A3D/EAX emulation.

Comparison table

Name Model Release Date Chipset PCM MPU-401 Patch Set EMM386 req'd Standards SNR I/O CD Interface OS Support Notes
Soundscape S-2000 S2016 1994 OttoR2B, Sequoia, MC68EC000, AD1848KP 16-bit 48 kHz hardware 1, 2 MB No SB 2.0, Adlib, MT-32, General MIDI, WSS 83db aux-in, line-in/mic, line-out, gameport/MIDI Panasonic, Sony, Mitsumi DOS, W3.x, W9x, NT4, OS/2 CD interfaces optional. OEM models may have 1MB ROM.
Soundscape DB SSDB 1994 OttoR2, Sequoia, MC68EC000 16-bit 48 kHz hardware 1, 2 MB No General MIDI waveblaster port - -
Soundscape OPUS S3016 1995 Opus, Cow, MC68EC000, AD1845JP 16-bit 48 kHz hardware 1 MB No SB 2.0, Adlib, MT-32, General MIDI, WSS aux-in, line-in/mic, line-out, gameport/MIDI - DOS, W3.x, W9x, NT4, OS/2 PnP
Soundscape Elite S2016-II 1995 OttoR2C, Sequoia, MC68EC000, AD1848KP 16-bit 48 kHz hardware 2 MB No SB 2.0, Adlib, MT-32, General MIDI, WSS 83db aux-in, line-in/mic, line-out, gameport/MIDI IDE, Panasonic, Sony, Mitsumi DOS, W3.x, W9x, NT4, OS/2 effects processor daughtercard. New 2MB ROM.
Soundscape II S2016-II 1995 OttoR2, Sequoia, MC68EC000, AD1848KP 16-bit 48 kHz hardware 2 MB No SB 2.0, Adlib, MT-32, General MIDI, WSS 83db aux-in, line-in/mic, line-out, gameport/MIDI IDE, Panasonic, Sony, Mitsumi DOS, W3.x, W9x, NT4, OS/2 Elite minus ESP
Soundscape VIVO 90 VIVO-90DB 1996 Mark 5, OttoR2C, AD1845JP 16-bit 48 kHz software 1 MB Yes SB Pro 2, Adlib, MT-32, General MIDI, WSS 90db aux-in, line-in/mic, line-out, gameport/MIDI - DOS, W3.x, W9x, NT4
AudioPCI 3000 1997 ES1370, AK4531 16-bit 48 kHz software 2, 4, 8 MB Yes SB Pro 2, Adlib, MT-32, General MIDI, WSS, Soundscape 90db aux-in, line-in/mic, line-out, gameport/MIDI - DOS, W3.x, W9x, NT4-6, OS/2 MIDI FX in W9x. DS3D 2/4-speaker, EAX and A3D with SBPCI64 driver.

Related links