Difference between revisions of "Sound Blaster"

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{{Infobox Hardware
 
{{Infobox Hardware
| Title    = Sound Blaster 1.0
+
| Title    = Sound Blaster
| Image    = Sound Blaster 1.0 - Box - Front.jpg
+
| Image    = Sound Blaster 1.0 - Box - Front.jpg
| Developer = [[Creative Labs|Creative Technology, Ltd.]]
+
| Developer = [[Creative Labs|Creative Labs, Inc.]]
| Released  = 1989-??-??
+
| Released  = 1989-??-??
| Type      = Sound Card
+
| Type      = Sound Card
| Slot      = ISA
+
| Slot      = ISA
| Icon      = Sound Blaster
+
| Icon      = Sound Blaster
 +
| Platforms = {{HardwarePlatform|DOS|DOS}} • {{HardwarePlatform|W16|Windows 16}}
 
}}
 
}}
  
The '''''Sound Blaster''''', later called ''''Sound Blaster 1.0'''', is the second sound card developed by [[Creative Labs]]. The card proved immensely successful and laid foundation for the Sound Blaster hardware standard.
+
The '''''Sound Blaster''''' is a sound card released by [[Creative Labs]] near the end of 1989, and the first by the company to use [[FM Synthesis]] for generating audio. The card proved immensely successful and laid the foundation for the Sound Blaster hardware standard. The card was released as an 8-bit ISA card, used a [[Yamaha]] [[YM3812]] (OPL2) audio chip, and had a single-channel digital PCM [[Digital-to-Analog Converter|DAC]]. The Sound Blaster featured a microphone jack, line-out jack, volume dial, and a DA-15 game port.
  
The Sound Blaster 1.0 is an 8-bit ISA card which is a superset of the [[Game Blaster]] aka C/MS. In addition to the C/MS-compatible Philips [[SAA1099]] chips (12 voices of square-wave stereo sound), there is also a Yamaha YM3812 OPL2 FM synth (11 voices), and a single-channel digital PCM DAC/ADC. With a bit of creative license, Creative described the original Sound Blaster as a "24-voice all-in-one sound card".
+
The Sound Blaster came with bundled software including Talking Parrot (which would repeat anything you say into the microphone, as well as several pre-recorded sayings), Intelligent Organ (an "organ" that uses your PC keyboard to play notes), and VoxKit (a [[VOC]] editor). It also included several example songs which have been [[Sound Blaster (DOS)|recorded here]].
  
The known Sound Blaster 1.0 model is CT-1320 with several sub-variants.
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Several versions of the Sound Blaster were released during its lifespan. The early versions were backward compatible with the [[Creative Music System]] / [[Game Blaster]], but later versions removed this capability.
 +
 
 +
==Models==
 +
===CTT 1320===
 +
[[Image:Sound Blaster Prototype - Front.jpg|thumb|CTT 1320]]
 +
 
 +
A prototype of the Sound Blaster was released to various game developers in the mid-1980s with the title, "Killer Card." The board had a model number of CTT 1320. The [[SAA1099]] chips, the [[OPL2]], and the DSP were all soldered onto the board and blacked out to prevent identification from rivals. A sticker on the back promises that a trial board would be out, but it is not known if any other test boards were distributed before the Sound Blaster was released.<br clear="all" />
 +
 
 +
===CT-1320A===
 +
[[Image:Sound Blaster 1.0 - CT1320A.jpg|thumb|CT-1320A]]
 +
 
 +
Now commonly referred to as the ''Sound Blaster 1'', the CT-1320A board was released in late-1989. In order to be fully backward compatible with the Creative Music System, it had two Philips [[SAA1099]] chips built onto the board. Creative described the original Sound Blaster as a "24-voice all-in-one sound card," 12 voices from the SAA1099 chips, 11 from the YM3812, and one from the DAC. This was a little dishonest because, while it may have been possible to use all 24 channels at once, no game ever did.
 +
 
 +
The bundled software included Talking Parrot and VoxKit, but the Intelligent Organ used the SAA1099 chips, not the OPL2.<br clear="all" />
 +
 
 +
===CT-1320B===
 +
[[Image:Sound Blaster 1.5 - CT1320B - With SAA1099s.jpg|thumb|CT-1320B]]
 +
 
 +
Now commonly referred to as the ''Sound Blaster 1.5'', the CT-1320B board was released in 1990. In order to cut costs, the Sound Blaster 1.5 lacked the SAA1099 chips which made the device backward compatible with the Creative Music System. However, the boards did come with two empty sockets where chips purchased from Creative Labs could be inserted, making the board backward compatible once more.
 +
 
 +
Also on the B boards, the DSP chip is socketed and can be replaced by the owner for version 2 chips sold by Creative Labs. The version 2 chips supported auto-initializing DMA. This chips became standard on the [[Sound Blaster 2]], but some of the later model Sound Blaster 1.5 came with them installed for free.
 +
 
 +
The 1.5 bundled software included Talking Parrot, VoxKit, a new Intelligent Organ which now used the OPL2, and Dr. Sbaitso, a weak chatbot psychologist that used text-to-speech.<br clear="all" />
 +
 
 +
===CT-1320C===
 +
[[Image:Sound Blaster 1.5 - CT1320C - Without SAA1099s.jpg|thumb|CT-1320C]]
 +
 
 +
The 1320C is a minor revision to the B board, very little changed in the release.<br clear="all" />
 +
 
 +
===CT-1350===
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* ''See [[Sound Blaster 2]]''.
 +
In 1991, Creative Labs released a redesigned Sound Blaster board.
  
 
==Games==
 
==Games==
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* [[:Category: Games That Use Sound Blaster For Music|Games That Use Sound Blaster For Music]].
 
* [[:Category: Games That Use Sound Blaster For Music|Games That Use Sound Blaster For Music]].
  
==Image Gallery==
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==Picture Gallery==
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
File:Sound Blaster 1.0 - Box - Front.jpg|Front of box (SB 1.0).
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Sound Blaster Prototype - Front.jpg|Front of the prototype board.
File:Sound Blaster 1.0 - Box - Back.jpg|Back of box (SB 1.0).
+
Sound Blaster Prototype - Back.jpg|Back of the prototype board.
File:Sound Blaster 1.5 - Box - Front.jpg|Front of box (SB 1.5).
+
Sound Blaster 1.0 - Box - Front.jpg|Front of box (SB 1.0).
File:Sound Blaster 1.5 - Box - Back.jpg|Back of box (SB 1.5).
+
Sound Blaster 1.0 - Box - Back.jpg|Back of box (SB 1.0).
 +
Sound Blaster 1.0 - CT1320A.jpg|CT-1320A board.
 +
Sound Blaster 1.5 - Box - Front.jpg|Front of box (SB 1.5).
 +
Sound Blaster 1.5 - Box - Back.jpg|Back of box (SB 1.5).
 +
Sound Blaster 1.5 - CT1320B - With SAA1099s.jpg|CT-1320B board with [[SAA1099]]s in their sockets.
 +
Sound Blaster 1.5 - CT1320C - Without SAA1099s.jpg|CT-1320C board with sockets for the SAA1099 chips.
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
 
==Downloads==
 
==Downloads==
* Original Product Disks - [http://www.vgmpf.com/Drivers/Sound%20Blaster%201.0%20Disks.zip Download].
+
{| class="wikitable" |
 +
! Document
 +
! Download
 +
! Notes
 +
|-
 +
| Original Product Disks v1.5
 +
| {{Download|Sound Blaster v1.5 - Drivers.zip}}
 +
| Includes both 3.5" and 5.25" disks.
 +
|}
  
 
==Emulation Status==
 
==Emulation Status==
The Sound Blaster is fully emulated in DOSBox.
+
The Sound Blaster is fully emulated in DOSBox. Aside from emulators, Windows 32-bit NTVDM subsystem also emulates the card's digital DAC without any problems.
  
 
==See Also==
 
==See Also==

Revision as of 18:51, 7 July 2018

Sound Blaster
Sound Blaster 1.0 - Box - Front.jpg
Developer: Creative Labs, Inc.
Released: 1989-??-??
Type: Sound Card
Slot: ISA
Icon:
Icon - Sound Blaster.png
Platforms: Platform - DOS.pngPlatform - W16.png

The Sound Blaster is a sound card released by Creative Labs near the end of 1989, and the first by the company to use FM Synthesis for generating audio. The card proved immensely successful and laid the foundation for the Sound Blaster hardware standard. The card was released as an 8-bit ISA card, used a Yamaha YM3812 (OPL2) audio chip, and had a single-channel digital PCM DAC. The Sound Blaster featured a microphone jack, line-out jack, volume dial, and a DA-15 game port.

The Sound Blaster came with bundled software including Talking Parrot (which would repeat anything you say into the microphone, as well as several pre-recorded sayings), Intelligent Organ (an "organ" that uses your PC keyboard to play notes), and VoxKit (a VOC editor). It also included several example songs which have been recorded here.

Several versions of the Sound Blaster were released during its lifespan. The early versions were backward compatible with the Creative Music System / Game Blaster, but later versions removed this capability.

Models

CTT 1320

CTT 1320

A prototype of the Sound Blaster was released to various game developers in the mid-1980s with the title, "Killer Card." The board had a model number of CTT 1320. The SAA1099 chips, the OPL2, and the DSP were all soldered onto the board and blacked out to prevent identification from rivals. A sticker on the back promises that a trial board would be out, but it is not known if any other test boards were distributed before the Sound Blaster was released.

CT-1320A

CT-1320A

Now commonly referred to as the Sound Blaster 1, the CT-1320A board was released in late-1989. In order to be fully backward compatible with the Creative Music System, it had two Philips SAA1099 chips built onto the board. Creative described the original Sound Blaster as a "24-voice all-in-one sound card," 12 voices from the SAA1099 chips, 11 from the YM3812, and one from the DAC. This was a little dishonest because, while it may have been possible to use all 24 channels at once, no game ever did.

The bundled software included Talking Parrot and VoxKit, but the Intelligent Organ used the SAA1099 chips, not the OPL2.

CT-1320B

CT-1320B

Now commonly referred to as the Sound Blaster 1.5, the CT-1320B board was released in 1990. In order to cut costs, the Sound Blaster 1.5 lacked the SAA1099 chips which made the device backward compatible with the Creative Music System. However, the boards did come with two empty sockets where chips purchased from Creative Labs could be inserted, making the board backward compatible once more.

Also on the B boards, the DSP chip is socketed and can be replaced by the owner for version 2 chips sold by Creative Labs. The version 2 chips supported auto-initializing DMA. This chips became standard on the Sound Blaster 2, but some of the later model Sound Blaster 1.5 came with them installed for free.

The 1.5 bundled software included Talking Parrot, VoxKit, a new Intelligent Organ which now used the OPL2, and Dr. Sbaitso, a weak chatbot psychologist that used text-to-speech.

CT-1320C

CT-1320C

The 1320C is a minor revision to the B board, very little changed in the release.

CT-1350

In 1991, Creative Labs released a redesigned Sound Blaster board.

Games

Picture Gallery

Downloads

Document Download Notes
Original Product Disks v1.5 Download - (info) Includes both 3.5" and 5.25" disks.

Emulation Status

The Sound Blaster is fully emulated in DOSBox. Aside from emulators, Windows 32-bit NTVDM subsystem also emulates the card's digital DAC without any problems.

See Also

Links