Which soundcard to go with? Yamaha OPL-3 SAx or SB16?

[DesignDawg]

Hey all,

First of all, I am NOT BUYING A SOUND CARD. I already have an SBLive! in my home system. I just happen to have 2 other sound cards lying around. Don't recommend an SBLive. That's not the point.

OK...here's the point:
I am building a second computer for my office, and I have an old ISA SB16 lying around, and I have a Yamaha OPL-3 SAx. I don't think the "x" is really part of the product number, but rather a variable, like Win9x, Windows 3.1x, etc.... So, it's probably either an OPL-3 SA2 or SA3. At any rate, it's also an ISA sound card. Now, the question is, which do I put in my system? Anyone have experiences with either card? I know the Yamaha has a proprietary 3D thing "Y-immersion", but since this machine will be a dual processor Windows 2000 box, I don't know if there are drivers that will allow me to use that.
So, there are the details. SB16 or OPL-3 SAx in Win2K?

TIA,

Ricky
DesignDawg

 

[DesignDawg]

Come on, mayne.

Ricky
DesignDawg

 

[AngelOfDeath]

I can assure you that you will regret it if you buy the yamaha. My friend has it in his second system, and it sucks hard. Go for the SB16...My 2 cents.

AoD

 

[AndyHui]

Stick with the old "industry standard" SB16. I've had troubles with the Yamaha drivers and sometimes the cards do all sorts of strange things.

 

[Doomguy]

The opl-3 SAx is a very widely supported card and is great for the price. Dont listen to these SB zealots i've used the opl-3 sax in windows and in linux.

 

[oldfart]

I actually have both of them installed in the kids PC's. The Yamaha card has better sound than the SB. I looked at the Web sites and neither has Win 2k drivers.

 

[DesignDawg]

Me:

<< First of all, I am NOT BUYING A SOUND CARD....I just happen to have 2 other sound cards lying around. >>


AoD:

<< I can assure you that you will regret it if you buy the yamaha. >>


!!!!! Geez. OK.... I have used both cards in two machines for about 2 years straight with zero problems on both. That is running Win98. Andy, what OS have you had &quot;all sorts of troubles&quot; with the Yamaha? And what are those troubles? I know this is a minor decision, but I don't want to take it too lightly. My main concern about the SB16 is that it may not have the same sound quality as the Yamaha. (which seems to be a newer card.)

Ricky
DesignDawg

 

[DesignDawg]

Actually, Old Fart...

Both are natively supported by Win2K.

Ricky
DesignDawg

 

[oldfart]

Hmm, ok then. Of the two, I like the Yamaha. BTW, I've also had both of these cards for a long time. Both of them work fine. No problems what so ever.

 

[andri]

The three Yamaha cards I have heard all suck bigtime. The quality is worse than a old radio... I'd say go for SB16...

 

[DesignDawg]

So, sound wuality is better on the Yamaha? I can't find any info on S/N ratio or anything for the cards, but I suspected the quality of the Yamaha may be a little better.... Anyone else have a reason why I should NOT go with the OPL-3?

Ricky
DesignDawg

 

[oldfart]

IMHO, yes. The Yamaha is better. Like I said before, I have both of them running now in the kids PC's (win95B). Neither compare to my MX300, but the Yamaha seems a little cleaner. Also, if you play a MIDI, the Yamaha sounds much better than the SB16.

 

[DesignDawg]

Hehe....MIDI.

HAHA. Well, I just checked out the Yamaha in one of my other systems... I used headphones to get the best indicator of quality. I was NOT impressed. The noise of that card was unreal. I may just be used to my SBLive....but checking that out has led me to do what I was hoping not to have to do: I'm gonna just try them both on the system I am building and pick the better one. I personally love NOTHING MORE than having a squeaky-clean OS install where NO hardware has been installed except what is IN THE MACHINE. I guess I'll just install the OS, check both sound cards, make my choice, re-format, and install it again with the card I pick. It's a pain, but I just bought a decent pair of speakers for that machine, and I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't find out for sure which I liked better.

So, thanks everyone with the suggestions. Here's to hoping the SB16 doesn't hiss as badly as that Yamaha.

Ricky
DesignDawg

P.S.-- I know the MIDI on SB16's is HORRENDOUS, but, about 3 years ago, when I COLLECTED MIDI's (yes, that's right), I bought an Ensoniq MIDI daughterboard for my SB16. It sounded 100% better! I couldn't believe it! --So I still have that lying around. I also later found a program that replaces your MIDI instruments with wavetable sounds in SOFTWARE (Winboogie, I believe?). It actually sounded even better than the daughterboard did! At any rate, I can assure you, there will NOT be any MIDI-playing on this computer. It is strictly a 3D animation workstation, with sound just so I can listen to music while I work and play the occasional late night game.

 

[AndyHui]

DesignDawg...

I had all sorts of glitches....sometimes it wouldn't work straight from a fresh install of Win95 until I played around with the resources...sometimes the passthrough from the CD did not work, other times wavs would not play and then the MIDI would die. Maybe I just had a bad card or something. There was always some part that did not seem to work properly.

If you are worried about MIDI, grab the Yamaha SY-XG50 software wavetable that ships with ASUS motherboards now....or get it from Final Fantasy VII.

 

[PowerJoe]

I've worked with many SB16's, and several OPL3's (mostly on Intel motherboards). I can't really comment on the sound quality, but as for compatibility:

SB16
- Has Win2K native support through WDM, so you can play multiple sounds simultaneously
- Has Win95/98 native support, no WDM
- Has DOS native support

Yamaha OPL3
- Has Win98/2K native support through WDM, so you can play multiple sounds simultaneously
- No native Win95 support, but there is an downloadable driver

Regarding MIDI, both only have FM-synthesis, which is unacceptable. However, regardless of your card, you can install some soft-MIDI driver (like the Yamaha XG-50), and enjoy real wavetable MIDI, with the expense of little CPU power.

-PJ