Installing the 2020 Orpheus Sound Blaster-compatible ISA Card
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- I was sent an Orpheus 1 sound card, so let's take a look at it with some DOS games! It's got a Crystal CS4237B taking care of 16-bit PCM sound, a real YMF289B OPL3 chip for FM, built-in MPU-401 intelligent MIDI, S/PDIF digital output and more.
Also testing the Yucatan FX wavetable daughterboard sold by Serdaco!
More info can be found here:
orpheus-soundca...
LGR in a nutshell: "Here's some old tech, let's see how Duke3D, Commander Keen 4, Doom, and Jill of the Jungle run with it"
Truth
But that’s why we come back here?
And yet I’ll never stop watching it
I would be doing the same as LGR.
You gotta admit there's only one place to get it that way....should be let's go retro instead of lazy game reviews.....everytime I load my computer I must put down the red bowl of chips, the mug of sodapop, and 1 napkin
Kinda enjoyed the glare. The ominous reflective image of Clint. He's always there. There is no escape...
Oh no. That reminds me...
Christmas Clint is coming. You cannot stop him. XD
Christmas?
No recourse or intervention could work in this place!
Al Clintaida
That beard from the earliest days of LGR seems to be creeping back.
Thanks Clint - The Blerbs keep me going through lockdown.
The burps help me too :}
@@Dennis-ws7tv The Blerbs, the burps... and especially the derps. 🤦♂️
ME TOO I TYPE IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE OF MY BAD EYESIGHT
I loved that movie
The yucatan will be configured for general listening, whilst the SC55 is meant for studio work and thus needs a flatter response. I can understand why they sound different, and IMO no one should really be complaining about it. The SC55 was never made to be a computer soundcard.
True that! I really like the way the Yucatan sounds on old computer speakers, even if the balance of certain voices differs.
@@LGRBlerbs The balance is certainly an issue, but hopefully that's just a software (firmware?) issue. The card overall is still super impressive all things considered.
I love those old ISA slits. The first card I ever added was a ISA Sound Blaster 16 Value. I was so nervouse. But turned out great. Miss those days.
Many Soundblaster and AWE32 ISA cards had a S/PDIF out, but it was on a pair of pins on the board, meaning You had to make a lead terminating at a phono or EBU/XLR socket. The output mirrored the analogue outs.
Two videos on the same day about the same thing. Neat!
Those are Nichicon Fine Gold caps, the same ones I put in multi-thousand-dollar vintage audio gear.
This is a really cool board - except for one thing: It’s not a Sound Blaster. I really wish I could be content with clones, but I find myself scouting eBay for CRTs, big box games on 5.25” disks, Matsushita 2x CD-ROM drives, WD Caviar IDE HDDs, and authentic period sound cards.
This is better in pretty much every way. So is a Gotek, and an SD card, and a Mister. But it just isn’t the same.
that Yucatan sounds really good, it's a bit bassier but it sounds kind of awesome in duke3d. I still prefer the brighter sound of the sc-55 but only barely
Its 'new' ....that is very important. So it will long outlive a lot of those old sound cards.
I fell into a short music coma during the Tyrian part. Still some of the best game music ever made.
man what a classic setup good stuff man
There is no "perfect" DOS sound card. This is pretty damned close though. I'm impressed and I want one. Xargon/Jill of the Jungle are my standards for "does it work well enough", and it does (they're effectively the same engine so I test whichever one I'm feeling like today.) The ESS Audiodrive is more or less my go-to choice for "good enough", but … It works with some things most don't like Duke Nukem 2, with pretty clean audio out … but Crystal's OPL emulation is … definitely emulation. This solves that problem. And intelligent MPU? Yes please. And the option of an also good-enough SoundCanvas? Seriously, I've got one or two other cards I can swap in for specific titles that need specific cards … but this would be my default.
When you get hit on Xargon the edges of the screen blink red. Just like on Crystal Caves when you've collected ALL crystals the edges turn green. That feature does not work on DosBox.
Yes indeed! I think it works on DOSBox-X though, if I remember correctly.
I’m waiting for a modern developed ATX compatible 486DX2/4 board and processor with ISA slots (preferably a VESA or two). Until then, I have to use my constantly torn down version with a degrading HDD and an improvised ATX case.
Yay! Something from Greece :))
Hi! Of course does the card work with digital output=disabled. It's the variable for the spdif digital out. But I can't tell why only PCM is silent when enabled
Maybe WSS mode in DOS would work out better in the one that doesn't like Soundblaster?
Big question: if you configure a game to do Sound Canvas sound, when you turn on the SC-55 (or any other sound canvases), do you need to put it in GS Mode? I always thought that the "default" mode (meaning, you do nothing) when you turn on the module was the correct one for Sound Canvas and that the GS was just for... let´s say, for when you select General Midi instead of Sound Canvas in the setup of a game.
Love this Nuevo tech
For that price, i'd expect it to be flawless and without any quirks! Enthusiasts do Test their stuff right?
u and rmc posting a video about the same topic in the same day???
What does that Turtle Beach card do? Maybe I missed it.
The seller's website is a wall of text with an "under construction" gif at the top. Almost perfection.
If only it were hosted on Geocities...
The great thing is, you could use this website to make your soundcard order right from the 486 PC you're buying it for :) Love it.
You playing SC2000 with your face reflecting off the monitor gives a whole evil overlord vibe. ;)
Dungeon Keeper with that same glare LOL
This is why I love more people being brought into retro computing. Those of us who missed a lot of this great hardware back in the day can still experience these great items in all of their glory with these newer productions. I wasn't aware of this card being made so thank you for covering it.
I compare it to car enthusiasts looking for spares online and at swap meets. I started fixing up an old d630 laptop (even if it isn't THAT old) and I'm having great fun trying to source the parts to max it out!
@Guy Incognito Yeah - in a way this is all wrong...
Back in the day it was a different config.sys and autoexec for each game, not one for all! For me a universal boot configuration was a holy grail.
It's 90s NOS chips though, so it's not exactly a renaissance. There's only so many of those cards you'll ever be able to make.
On one hand, it gets very talented people to learn and contribute to the community with products like this card. On the other, it could turn it into yet another TikTok trend which long term does a lot of harm to hobbies and especially equipment.
I feel this should be on the main channel. This isn't just a blerb, it's a momentous occasion.
I suppose it's here because this is the test rather than the full review - I would expect a proper review may be on its way.
I agree this deserves to be on the main channel... fantastic sound card!
@@Lukeno52 That makes sense.
@@BrunoFonsecaPT Yeah this is so awesome for DOS emulation as well because well, now the sounds will become much more accurate for people who use DOS-box and D-Fend Reloaded. Exciting time to be alive.
I agree. I enjoyed it, but a 4 min video is a "blurb". A 40 min video is not really a "blurb". If it is than "blurb" has lost all meaning.
With Clint's beard like that, he'd fit right into a classic episode of The Computer Chronicles.
Glad to see the beard is coming back. He doesn't look right w/o one.
Oh man, what a great show! Would certainly enjoy seeing Clint react to some of his favorite moments of that one
@@TheLegoPerson Would be cool to see Clint green screen himself onto an episode and chat away about DOS. That would be epic.
Clint should steal the electronic themes of Computer Chronicles as a music bed. Bib-bib be beep be be-bip in the background would be sweet..
Two Orpheus videos on one day, RMC and LGR deliver as usual!
And it's not like anybody has a problem watching two of these videos end-to-end.
@@graealex Indeed not :)
@@graealex Watched them end to end??? I watched them side by side like a boss :-p ;-)
And both of them immediately went to DN3D as their first demo, haha.
Honestly.. his voice is so calming, that I often use a playlist of his videos to put me to sleep. I'm not saying it's boring, because it's stuff I'm interested in from my past. It's just so non abrasive and pretty relaxing.
Just had to say, He should do those self help audio books that people sleep to.
I get you, have the same on a Friday evening watching this getting completely in a zone ready to sleep.
BEARDY CLINT IS BACK!
Or as I like to say, the Daniel Bryan Beard returns!
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
"This is beard!"
I miss seeing store sections dedicated to PC speakers and sound cards. All those Altec Lansing speakers for every budget then JBLs then Creative Labs then Logitech (which still exists in Best Buy).
I still ROCK my 2.1 Altec Lansing set. They sounded fantastic for my desktop back in the day and they just keep chugging along. Everyone is shocked to find out I spent $50 on them in like 2001 with how good they sound.
@@rapids444 I still have my Creative Labs Inspire T5400 that I bought back in 2005 from CompUSA for $65. I wanted to upgrade them to the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 or get a Logitech THX set but my speakers refuse to die. Ah, the old days of buying PC peripherals
A Video about the different Soundblaster Cards maybe interesting, it is totally new to me that some Chipsets Had Bugs, Like hanging Notes ...
Search youtube for Phil Computers Lab, he has nice retro sound card reviews.
That Yucatan FX seems particularly tempting. I'm guessing you can just plug that into the wavetable header on any Sound Blaster that sports one, and it'll work just fine, will it?
Correct!
@@LGRBlerbs Alright, nice. Very handy to know if I end up building a Win98 machine in the future, 'cause I dunno if I'll be going with a motherboard that has ISA slots. (Of course, if there's a PCI version of this Orpheus card in the works, then that would be an absolute no-brainer for me.)
Just keep in mind that the notorious hanging note bug on many SB16, 32 and AWE32 cards also affects the wavetable header. This isn't an issue on any PCI cards, but for DOS games it's highly recommended to stick to ISA for best compatibility.
It’s crazy how “meaty” Jill feels like thanks to the sound effects. That thud when you jump etc.
Mmmm....Jill meat...
Fubuki Kai agreed I remember playing Jill of the jungle when I was 12 in 1996 a neighbor had the game installed on their pc it was a fun dos game 😌
I know I'm in the minority, but I always found the Jill sound FX to be a bit obnoxious. Like, it's cool for five minutes, but they start getting grating after an hour.
My mind threw that first sentence in a completely different direction... I'll see myself out...
@@jasonblalock4429agreed. My poorly configured sound blaster with no sound effects is a blessing.
I guess the card is voiced to sound good on normal computer speakers. Quite a nice idea, although maybe having a kind of "flat EQ" mode selectable in the INI file would be a good additional feature, in case you wanted to use the card with a more full-range sound system.
Saying that though, I would always prefer bass-heavy to lacking bass. You can always turn the bass down on your stereo system but if it isn't there to begin with, well, it isn't there. :-D
I initially thought you were going to put it in the 486SBC.
He still should
@@lucyinchat I agree. I can understand putting it in the Compaq 425, though.
17:43 shooting a fire extinguisher with a shotgun doesn't apply explosive damage to you. Fixed in modern ports, but still an issue in old DOS versions.
WSS would have been good to try in Tyrian2k!
I did but cut that section out of the video since it didn't work. Turns out I needed to adjust some settings :)
RMC has just covered this soundcard today. 👍
@Guy Incognito Formerly Known as retro Mann cave
This is probably the best way to mix the "talking head" shot with the stuff shown on the display. Best of both worlds. One might even say that it is an "on-screen personality"? ... *crickets* ... I'll let myself out.
I saw Greek postal stamps and I was like ...
So someone in my country builds those?
Oh yeah
Yeap me too. I didn't expect someone around here to be so hardcore about retro pcs
Maybe he will make his fellow Greek a discount ?
@@Wok_Agenda you can send Santa a letter
@@JustForFun-dn1gi I tried many times but I haven't heard from him the last 25 years
Waiting for the next batch, can't wait to get my hands on it and install it into my 486 rig 😁
You should try to attempt to play some Amiga MOD files using DMP 4.00 player. It was notorious for not working with sound cards, so that would be a challenge for this card if it would work, and work correctly.
I wonder how many times in Clint's life has he loaded up Duke Nukem 3d? Lol
He seems to boot it up every time he makes a build lol
Get some
Nice review but I was really hoping to hear the direct audio feed, rather than room mic recording of it playing through small computer speakers.
A new ISA Sound Card in 2020 sounds about right to me. This is beautiful. I hope they continue to make these for a while. I'm tapped out at the moment with a new PC build and wouldn't mind upgrading my Orchid Soundwave 32 to this in my Pentium with MMX system.
Would be a nice upgrade over my Vibra 16.
I fear the caps are going because im starting to hear heavy static.
Capacitors are pretty easy to replace if you know what you're doing, or you could get someone to do it for you for probably not too much money (certainly cheaper than buying one of these anyway lol).
Saw this on RMC earlier today
I didn't because I don't watch Retro Man Cave, or "RMC - The Cave" which he changed his name to... for some reason.
@@RWL2012 the first comments there were about LGR so there are many people who watch both
this would be the best sound card to play DooM and DooM II as it came from The Hell(enic Republic)
Hecklands heck yeah
😎
Orpheus, Morpheus, Orifices, Walruses.
seashells by the seashorpheus
this comment made me want to drink a 40 in a death basket
Yucatan sounded much richer in bass and midrange here much better depth in my system pioneer vsx 1018 ah, 5 large speakers home cinema, roland sounded tinny. I vote for Yucatan although I think I heard an additional instrument with Roland
Literally just finished watching RMC's video on this very card lol. This looks like an awesome card, fortunately I was able to pick up an AWE64 Gold card for what I thought was a pretty good price earlier in the year, otherwise this would be very tempting.
Rockin that quarantine-beard, I dig it.
Only see a gaul person, probably from the village where Asterix lives.
Why isn't anyone adding Gravis Ultrasound support to these "ultimate" retro sound cards? Sure, the GUS is a bit more niche, but there was *no* better way to play tracker/MOD music. It seems like the same people paying big money to make Duke Nukem sound perfect would be just as interested in getting the best experience from something like Epic Pinball or One Must Fall 2097. (not to mention classic 90s demos...)
I took a stroll through eBay and yeah, a lot of them are kinda filthy looking, probably need new caps, and I forgot how many SB16 models there actually were to the point I'm not sure if I'm looking at ones with real OPL3 chipsets or not. Orpheus seems to have a lot going for it with the nicer caps, real OPL3 chipset, seemingly cleaner audio based on the above and wavetable options. The price isn't too offputting given how much SB16's were new (adjusting for inflation). I recall wavetable stuff was SUPER expensive back in the day as well. Seems like a great value!
My only gripe based on the above is the ISA connector looks pretty sharp over a more "proper" connector (which I believe has some tapered edges and things)? I know a lot of niche cards like this have that problem (since making a proper connector is, I would guess, expensive or just unavailable at the fab houses being used). But it's the one thing that make me a little concerned.
Otherwise this sure does seem like it'd make live a little easier in the vintage realm!
Love Your work!!! From 🇳🇿
I'm watching from there too
Thanks to GOG and Steam was able to snag those titles I see in your videos. Especially since the Epic Megagames Compilation CD I scored and few games like Epic Pinball ended up being shareware and not full game. Interesting sound card.
Games like TekWar give a msg saying SCSI Drive found playing this game on a SCSI Drive can hurt your drive , Is this true? The installer used was used in other games and would say the same even when you did not have a SCSI drive.
This is an incredible achievement! My sincere kudos to the engineers who put this together! Also, I'm a huge sucker for a glossy finish on soldermask :)
I'm wondering if you could reduce glare from sunlight by applying some self-adhesive polarising film to your windows. Not sure if you'd need a linear polarising lens filter on the camera, or if it works with a circular polarising filter though.
Anyway, the card is pretty awesome! Definitely useful for someone who doesn't have access to a SB card for a reasonable price. Although I'm pretty sure what they're charging even for the base card, you could easily find a SB card for less with an eBay saved search and a little patience. That being said, I know how difficult it can be to source chips that have been out of production since the 90s or early 2000s, so the price isn't that unreasonable.
Hearing those MIDI examples makes me want to hear two other games with professional MIDI music on it: Wacky Wheels and Transport Tycoon Deluxe.
Duke Nukem 3D on the Sound Canvas emulation reminded me of the ultimate soundcard of the day that I had:- The Gravis Ultrasound. 😎 The Ultrasound was an absolutely amazing sounding soundcard. It was such a shame that it did not get the support it deserved.
Ah, that Lytro box. They were doing such neat things before the closed.
The last time I tampered with an .INI file must've been 1996 and around the time the original cards were gracing the pages of magazines and Roland MT32's were kicking about!
I feel old!
Sooo... We aren't getting The Christmas Clint at LGR Blerbs?
Sounds like sample truncation. That can be caused by mismatched sample rate, or simply a driver bug where the sample length is wrong. Maybe the buffer size is configured wrong. Basically, a sound is abruptly ended early, which can make some samples 'pop', leading to that crunchy sound.
You get the same CRUNCHY / CRACKLING sound after playing Hocus Pocus on DosBox after a while when you set the music and sfx to Sound Blaster. I believe it's solved if you set the music to Gravis. On my gameplay recordings (on which I prefered SB) I recorded the game music seperately and edited it in in post.
for a card that purported to be a perfect soundblaster, the flaws that occur with older titles make it a meaningless product
It's always struck me how clipped/distorted the sound effects are in Duke3D, at least in the atomic edition. I actually noticed this in 1997 when I bought the atomic edition new, coming from the shareware version (on floppies no less!). For some reason the shareware version had noticeably cleaner and higher quality sound effects, and even as a stupid teenager who wouldn't know high quality sound if it came up and bit be on the butt I remember feeling somewhat let down.
It's great that two guys could build something like this.
Yeah, it's not cheap, but I paid 120 eur for PC MIDI standalone, so 180 eur for a combo card doesn't sound so bad. This Crystal chip has its own OPL implementation, but it sounds different from the real thing, so the fact that it also has a real Yamaha chip makes the Crystal+YMF+MPU combo a pretty good purchase imo. But yeah, the price is still a bit high for an average enthusiast.
These “blerbs” are getting longer than regular LGR videos and thats fine
These were all soldered by Leo .You can't even tell if it is done by a machine or by hand .
Mouse ball is dirty, can't see through the screen glare, laggy connection, movement bound to a USB steering wheel, little brother was playing
Sounds like someone's been playing Dark Souls.
i really like how restrained they were in making this board. i tend to avoid putting modern parts in my vintage equipment, but this would be one of the rare parts i could reconsider if i decide to hook up one of my PCs to my main speakers (to use SPDIF and avoid noise).
9:39 Someone is trying to exit 2020 early.
EH?
@@death2all79zx Look at the January 2021 date-stamps of the files.
I only noticed that at 14:22
We al know Clint is a time traveler! How else would he have all those 5150's?!
It's like someone added a compressor to those Yucatan 808 drums. I've always enjoyed a thick low end though so it isn't a big deal for me if not preferable!
love your work, greetings from 🇷🇺
I think it's awesome that the community has built something like this. Really shows the love for the search for the perfect sound card for 1990s machines. Any chance the community might consider doing something similar for VLB graphics cards?
One thing I find interesting is the ISA edge connector. Usually the contracts are squared off, but these are little round blobs. The PCB edge doesn't look like it's milled down either, or at least not much.
AC97 is nice, but I prefer Hong Kong 97!!!
also back in the day ... we didn't know how crisp highs did really sound like .. so nostalgia memory warp is a possible factor. Also the card may be tuned for modern speakers ( in theory )
27:00 love these tunes 😆
This should be in the main channel... do not understand why it is here.
Great video and amazing that this card exists! Would have loved to hear ROTT with the midi music (honestly the music in that game is just amazing!)
ROTT? I feel like I should recognize that but I don't... Return of.. The something?
Was anyone’s favourite part of Duke Nukem 3D was shooting the toilets and urinals and watch the water spray?
and drinking it
Gulp. aaaaaaah.
Are you going to join in on DOScember?
Being a PnP card kinda changes the calculus. This card looks super attractive, but since I already have PnP Soundblaster cards, I don't think I could justify the expense of a new card, even if I kinda want the card. Still really admire what they've done here.
The card looks great and with intelligent MPU worth it! However as you stated the crystal chips are not my favourite.
"I like your funny words, computer man!"
same, i dont understand like 90% of what he said in the beginning but its still neat haha
Whenever i feel like everything is too much or im lost in politics and other crap, clint has a way of washing it all away and helping me escape.
Great video as always, but what about that lytro illum camera in the back. Very curious about your opinion about it... Anyway cheers!
Hes just casually flexing the Illum
Got an LGR video planned, stay tuned 👍
Fun looking in the monitor reflection sometimes 😅
Honestly I've never been a fan of the YMF289 chip. Everything sounds on a slightly lower pitch than it should. I think the average person wouldn't tell, but if you are into these chips a lot or you have a more developed ear, it's noticeable
Used Nichicon Fine Gold capacitors, nice quality parts!
I like how Clint has to stop himself from playing Sim city. Was almost in the zone there.
never heard about Xargon .. but triggers some fine dune/blackthorne memories... i'll definitely check it out
I think you have to set OPLBASE to 300, from what I saw on the RMC video
never mind, I was wrong :p