busko@stsci.EDU (Ivo Busko) (11/22/89)
I'm looking for "cheap" IBM-PC add-on boards capable of either (i) synthesizing sounds from an internal generator device, or (ii) from digital samples. I'm aware of the Ad-Lib system (type i) and the Covox Sound Master (type ii). Anyone out there has knowledge of other similar devices in the same price range (< US$200) ? What about sound quality ? Since these devices have at most 8-bit resolution in amplitude, what can I expect from pluging their output on my stereo home system ? Any advice will be appreciated. Ivo Busko
met@fenicks.UUCP (MaryEllen Travers) (01/05/90)
>From: busko@stsci.EDU (Ivo Busko) >I'm looking for "cheap" IBM-PC add-on boards capable of either (i) >synthesizing sounds from an internal generator device, or (ii) from >digital samples. I'm aware of the Ad-Lib system (type i) and the Covox >Sound Master (type ii). >Anyone out there has knowledge of other similar devices in the same >price range (< US$200) ? What about sound quality ? Since these >devices have at most 8-bit resolution in amplitude, what can I >expect from plugging their output on my stereo home system ? >Any advice will be appreciated. >Ivo Busko There is an add-on board for the IBM PC XT/AT and compatibles that does both (i) and (ii). It is called the Audio F/X card and is made by a company in Rochester N.Y called FORTE. The address is: FORTE 72 Karenlee Drive Rochester, N.Y. 14618 (716) 427-8595 Here is a synopsis of the Audio F/X capabilities. - Digital recording & playback under DMA control (or polled if you want) - Sampling rates from 30 Hz to 80Khz (software control) - Built in stereo sound synthesizers. (6 voices) - On board amplifiers for direct cabling to speakers. (or stereo) - Complete software control of all sound parameters. - volume,balance,attack,decay,sustain,release,filters,resonance,freq, waveform, pulse width etc - On-board Z-80 processor & OS to remove burden of generating synthesized sound from the PC. - Unlimited recording & playback time (limited only by storage media size) - Software that is included: SONATA - Full featured music editor. NOTE: - Can take its input from either a mouse/keyboard or an option MIDI. (Roland MPU 401 compatible). Audio F/X does NOT have a MIDI interface. SOUND EDITOR - Digital sound editor. Record/Cut/Paste sampled recordings. - Also can do echo,reverb etc. SYNCOM - Utility to play and record files and 'tweak' sound parameters interactively. Will also let you 'compile' sounds into a file that can be sent to the card by an application that wants to make a sound at a particular time (i.e. games etc) SYNTALK - TSR used by all applications to communicate with the card. - Optional software available: DJFX - digital reel-to-reel Spelling Voice - Teach spelling Annotator - Voice comment text Comments: The Audio F/X recording quality is far superior to the Covox products. The card can be set up to filter the playback and add resonance to increase the quality to recordings mad under less than perfect conditions. The variable record/playback rates allow for tailoring the quality you want to the amount of storage you can spare. It is an 8 bit sampler, but I think you would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between it and a 16 bit sampler. The DMA control allows you to play digital files in background with very little effect on your system. The Audio F/X is superior to the Ad-Lib in both quality and flexibility. Since the burden of sound generation is taken off the PC, many sounds can be made, not just music. For instance, frequency sweeps, volume sweeps and balance sweeps can be done without PC overhead. (Also many more than can be mentioned here) Also, SONATA comes with it. Nothing extra to buy. It is a little more expensive than the others (@$300), but is a bargain when you consider the quality of sound , number of features, and amount of software that comes with it. (P.S. This is being posted for me by a friend. Please send any e-mail responses to rutgers!rochester!tropix!yodaroc!mt) Mike Travers
edwardm@hpcuhc.HP.COM (Edward McClanahan) (01/05/90)
MaryEllen Travers for Mike Travers (rutgers!rochester!tropix!yodaroc!mt) writes: > There is an add-on board for the IBM PC XT/AT and compatibles that does > both (i) and (ii). It is called the Audio F/X card and is made by a company > in Rochester N.Y called FORTE. The address is: > FORTE > 72 Karenlee Drive > Rochester, N.Y. 14618 > (716) 427-8595 > Here is a synopsis of the Audio F/X capabilities. > ... > - Optional software available: > DJFX - digital reel-to-reel > Spelling Voice - Teach spelling > Annotator - Voice comment text > It is an 8 bit sampler, but I think you would be > hard-pressed to tell the difference between it and a 16 bit sampler. The DMA > control allows you to play digital files in background with very little > effect on your system. > ... > (P.S. This is being posted for me by a friend. Please send any e-mail > responses to rutgers!rochester!tropix!yodaroc!mt) Does anyone know of a similar product that implements 16 bit sampling/playback? I'm not so concerned with 16 bit sampling, but 16 bit playback would be nice. I agree that microphone/room distortions, etc... can make 16 bit sampling not greatly superior to 8 bit sampling, but for direct synthesis and playback, 16 bits is a vast improvement (especially in dynamic material). Ed "budding synthesist on a budget" McClanahan