Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!sigma
From: sigma@sun.ipl.rpi.edu (Kevin Martin)
Subject: Re: Sound cards-sound blaster, adlib, roland..
Message-ID: <116g..m@rpi.edu>
Nntp-Posting-Host: ipl.rpi.edu
References: <jayh.673378215@s.ms.uky.edu> <1991May4.221340.12097@d.cs.okstate.edu> <1991May6.173335.6553@cs.cornell.edu>
Distribution: comp
Date: 6 May 91 18:35:43 GMT
Lines: 49

lrj@CS.Cornell.EDU (Lew Jansen) writes:
>In article <1991May4.221340.12097@d.cs.okstate.edu> ong@d.cs.okstate.edu (ONG ENG TENG) writes:
>>All in all, due to the popularity of Sound Blaster (about 100,000 in the US),
>>and its power in population growth (good hardware at cheap price, 
>>a simple Adlib used to cost $400, now SB is only $150), game makers will
>>always has SB in their mind when designing game.

>  Just to fight a little bit of misinformation here...  Street prices
>of Adlib and SB are as follows (Electronics Boutique, 6 May 1991):
>	Adlib:	$120
>	SB:	$180

No.  Electronics Boutique != street prices.  Close, but not good enough.  I
got my Soundblaster for $150 from Sierra, when they were selling them at
minimum price over Xmas.  You can find a dozen mail-order dealers who will
do the same any time of the year.  Adlib should be about $99 from the same
people.  The box comes tightly packed and shrinkwrapped; it's unlikely it
makes any difference where you buy yours, except that older cards have the
CMS chips included for free.

>  I don't have any numbers as to how many Adlib cards are out there,
>but it can't be a small number if the SB card emulates it. :)

The SB card emulates it because the Adlib came first.  Programming for the
Adlib is also easier and in some cases cheaper, since Creative Labs do
charge a fair bit for their developer's kit.

>  Also, isn't there some additional $30 or $50 chipset you have to buy
>in order to do some of the voice stuff (input or output?) on the SB?
>I'm sure someone will be able to give the info.  Don't you also have
>to put some driver in your config.sys with the SB?  I may be wrong on
>this.  Adlib is plug'n'play.

No.  The additional chipset enables a couple of extra melody channels, or
something like that.  I think it's for Gameblaster compatibility.  Someone
can correct me here.  My card doesn't have these chips, and it can do voice
input/output quite nicely.  My config.sys has no driver in it.  I do have
'SET SOUND=C:\SOUND\SB' in case some program wants to load a driver, but
the drivers are then un-loadable, and most games come with the software
built in.  (Regrettably so, since newer drivers are more compatible.)
Soundblaster is plug'n'play.

Note: I did spend an extra $40 on a pair of 20w speakers, and I have yet to
regret that.  The sound is fantastic.

-- 
Kevin Martin
sigma@ipl.rpi.edu
"Can I kiss one of the bridesmaids instead?"
