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From: pkim@netcom.com (Peter Kim)
Subject: SB32 REVIEW (LONG) - READ IT!
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Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 20:23:43 GMT
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I have purchased a SB32 a few days ago and I present this
preliminary report for the people who are interested in the SB32.

------------------------------------------------------------
My system:

486DX2-66,
Asustek motherboard, SIS chipset, Award BIOS, VLB
16MB RAM
Colorado Tape Backup card
VLB EIDE controller card (HD/FD/S/P) generic
IDE0 primary - 540MB Western Digital
secondary - 210MB Western Digital
IDE1 primary - 540MB Conner
secondary - Sony CDU55E 2X IDE CDROM drive
VLB S3-801 1MB

Soundcard - before: Orchid GW32, after: Creative Labs SB32

Sansui 50W stereo amplifier
Sony 6 1/2" bookshelf speakers
------------------------------------------------------------

***** FEATURES **********************************************************

o Full SB16 compatibility. Uses the VIBRA16 chipset.
o FULL AWE32 compatibility. Uses the identical wavetable synthesis
engine (EMU8000).
o 2 30-pin SIMM slots. Expandable up to 28MB (2 x 16MB SIMMs).
o standard IDE port. Can be configured as IDE0-IDE3.
o Joystick port (doubles as a MIDI port)
o Two kinds of AUDIO-IN jacks available for CD-IN.
o SPDIF jumpers available (output only).
o No wavetable connector.
o No ASP, nor a slot to add one.
o No tone controls via Creative's supplied software.
o No MT32 or GS emulation without a RAM expansion due to lack of onboard
512K RAM (like the AWE32). Gmidi emulation via NMI is allowed (AWEUTIL)
even w/o RAM.
o $169.99. This is the MSRP and you will not see this card going for less.
Creative seems to have a very strong retail influence (shipping late or
shipping a small number of cards to unfavorable retailers) and retailers
basically obey the MSRP. Isn't price fixing illegal?

***** INSTALLATION ******************************************************

The installation was a snap. The manual gave explanations of every
jumpers and every connectors on the board. Even the CDROM AUDIO IN pinout
was available. Physically, the SB32 is about the size of an SB16MCD. The
card size change is a welcomed modification since AWE32 didn't fit in some
chassis. The following steps got me all set up:

o open the computer
o unplug the GW32 from the computer and the other connectors
o look through the jumper settings on the SB32 (default was fine)
o install the two 1MB SIMMs
o plug in the SB32
o plug in the LINE OUT to the stereo
o plug in the CDROM audio cable to SB32

I had a bit of problem with the IDE -> GW32/SB32 audio connector because
Orchid uses the same plug but a different pinout. I had to take apart the
CDROM audio cable plug and rearrange the connectors to make it work for the
SB32. The IDE to soundcard cable originally came configured for the SB16,
but I had to rearrange it for the GW32 back when I bought the GW32. Most
people will not encounter this problem. I left the CDROM connected to my
EIDE controller card and left the SB32 IDE configured for IDE2 interface
(default). This default setting should make the SB32 not interfere with the
number of existing EIDE controllers. I have not tried to use the IDE port
on the SB32.

Software installation went very smoothly as well. SB32 comes with several
disks labeled "SBAWE32" installation disks. My guess is that since SB32
and AWE32 are virtually identical, they simply shipped the SB32s with the
old AWE32 diskettes. It automatically updated the AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS,
and SYSTEM.INI files. It also made a backup in case you needed to go back
for some reason. The only downside of the installation is that it requires
roughly 23MB of hard drive space. Once installed, I ran DIAGNOSE program
which tested the functionality of the soundcard as well as the expansion RAM.
I think the SIMMs have 80ns access times. At any rate, I have not noticed
any problems so far.


***** SOFTWARE ***********************************************************

The following are included in the software installation:

- For Windows

o Creative WaveStudio. A .WAV editor, it allows recording, editing,
playing, and saving .WAV files.
o Creative Ensemble AV. This comprises of EnsembleCD, EnsembleWave,
EnsembleMIDI, and EnsembleRemote. Collectively, they allow the
playback and recording of various audio formats.
o Creative Soundo'LE. This allows audio to be embedded in your data
files in other apps.
o Creative Mixer. This is just a simple mixer w/o the tone controls.
o Creative Mosaic. A very simple Mosaic game.
o TextAssist. This allows the soundcard to read any text to you in
any Windows apps. You can associate different voices to different
applications. They have some preset voice settings in the form of
names, Frank, Ruth, etc.
o AWE Control. This is a control app. that allows the user to switch
in a different Synthesizer Bank, etc. At the most basic level, it
allows you to switch from GM, GS, and MT32. GS and MT32 will require
512K memory. It is unclear if WaveStudio combined with AWE Control
will allow samples to be swapped.

- For DOS

o DIAGNOSE. This is a diagnostic program.
o PLAY, RECORD utilities. These will allow playing just about anything
and also recording to a file. Compression is not allowed since SB32
lacks the ASP.
o SB16SET. This is a DOS mixer, again it lacks tone controls.
o QuickCD. This is a graphical DOS CD player.
o FM Intelligent Organ. An organ player. Why does CL keep including
this in their package?
o AWEUTIL. This is the NMI based MT32/GS/GM emulator for real mode
games/apps. MT32 and GS emulation modes _require_ a minimum of 512K.
I have had mixed results with this utility.

- CDROM

o Warcraft Special Edition
o Descent: Destination Saturn
o Doom: Shareware
o Heretic: Shareware


I think most of the Windows utilities are a basic requirement.
What is missed is the ViennaSF. This program would have allowed me
to edit samples and allow them to be mapped into the synthesizer bank.
Creative does sell the software separately. What I would like to see is
a PD version of this software. TextAssist is close to unusable because
it is hard to understand what it is reading. It has a major problem
with punctuations used for abbreviating (U.S., etc.). It has a
dictionary where you can specifically instruct TextAssist to read
certain instances a specific way when it encounters it the next time.
What I would like is some intelligence added to this program to
interprete or at least guestimate how certain passages should be read.
The singling text demo is a real neat demo, but what good is this anyway?
AWE Control seems to be the only gateway to access the RAM on the card,
but without ViennaSF, the RAM appears to be wasted. I have heard of AWE
MOD players that may make use of the RAM. And at least 512K is useful
since GS and MT32 modes require this much memory as a minimum requirement.
The DOS applications are basic set of apps plus AWEUTIL. PLAY is
basically SB16 PLAY utility plus MIDI capability. It's a nice touch
that you can direct the MIDI instructions either to the built-in synth
or the external synth. Since the SB32 lacks the wavetable daughtercard
connector, I would assume the external MIDI would be directed at the
joystick port. It appears that RECORD is the standard SB16 RECORD
utility. Unfortunately, compression is disallowed without the ASP.
I'm sure a fast processor like the Pentium should be able to handle
real time compression, but RECORD utility is designed with ASP in
mind. I'm sure a somebody will come up with a Windows based com-
pression program that'll handle the compression either real time
or via post-processing.

SB16SET is the basic mixer utility but it lacks the tone
controls and some gain switches. In "SB Explored" article, Daron Myrick
claimed that the Vibra chipset did allow tone controls but only when
certain registers are programmed. My response to this is - what good
is a tone control that exists if I can't control it? But then again the
whole point may be moot since I really don't care about the tone controls
anyway. I have tone controls on the amplifier. It makes little sense
to me for somebody to buy this card and play it using some cheapo walkman
type of speakers. I would recommend investing in a nice set of speakers
and an amp to play this. I was at a local FRY's and noticed that amplified
speakers can go as high as $400-$500. I would strongly recommend a
conventional setup of an amplifier (~$150 for a Kenwood) and a nice set
of bookshelf type speakers (<$200 for a set of Infinity's) for a very
nice sound. This kind of setup would allow for better high fidelity
than those amplified speaker setup aimed specifically at the computer
consumers. As I have done, you can get a high-fidelity setup for as
little as $150-$200 if you look around. IMHO, those people who insist
on using an a walkman type of speakers will never miss the tone controls
nor notice the noise in the on-board amplifier.

FM Intelligent Organ is really stupid. So you get this powerful EMU8000
processor and you let it sit aside while you time-warp back to the 80s
and play with the FM synthesis engine. What a complete waste! This
application should be correctly named FM Unintelligent Organ. Enough said.
AWEUTIL is a very important utility for the gamers. I have had mixed
results with this utility. With AWEUTIL, you can initialize the FM
synth., emulate GM/GS/MT32, and even unload it from memory with a
/U option. I have had it fail on some real-mode games, but protected
games always crash the system when AWEUTIL is used. I think with a
combination of AWEUTIL and AIL substitute drivers, you can probably
manage to get most games to produce the sound through the EMU8000. More
on this later.


***** HARDWARE ***********************************************************

The quality of the sound produced by this soundcard is simply amazing.
So far I have only heard the on-board ROM samples. Since I am upgrading
from a GW32 (ranked last in Rich Heimlich's soundcard review), it probably
doesn't say much. Neverthless, I was amazed at the clarity and realistic
sounding samples. I have yet to play around with the effects to appretiate
the value of having this feature. I think I really need more time to
qualify my opinion about this card. It takes time to obtain quality
.MID files and also I don't know how much of an effect replacement samples
will produce. The card seem to exhibit very low noise. No more noisier
than a typical line out of a hi-fi equipment (CD player, etc.) It was
possible to hear some disk activity with the volume turned all the way up,
but surely the speakers would blow at those volume levels. Even at
fairly loud volume levels, it was very difficult to detect any noise
eminating from the speakers during the soft passages. So far I have not
had any wierd lockup or hardware related problems. My system appears to
be very robust unlike my previous experience with the SB16MCD-OEM.

***** Compatibility *******************************************************

My main reason for buying this card was for a better gaming experience.
So I will explore the results of some of the games I have tried. The basic
approach that I have used is to search for either the protected mode or real
mode AIL drivers and try swapping the AWE32 version in its place. If no
trace of AIL drivers were found, I would use the AWEUTIL to emulate the
MPU401 via NMI. Luckly my motherboard seems to support NMI fine.

4d boxing - AWEUTIL worked for me. MT32 sounds came out beautifully.

Day of the Tentacles CD - AWEUTIL allowed MT32 music to be played.

Descent - Native AWE32 support. Absolutely no problems. No crashes ex-
perienced. The soundtrack for Descent is excellent.

DIG demo (Lucas Arts) - It appears that Lucas Arts is now supporting AWE32
natively in all their new games.

DOOM/DOOM2 - Native AWE32 support. No problems here either.

Elite - The original game. No AIL drivers. Using AWEUTIL produces no music.
The game pauses every fraction of a second. Simple notes are produced when
selecting options. FM works.

Fate of Atlantis (Indiana Jones) CD - AWEUTIL worked perfectly. Gmidi
sounded wierd but MT32 emulation seem to produce what appears to be
the right music. SB16SET had to be used to boost the MIDI volume
compared to the SFX volume.

Gods (Bitmap Brothers) - FM/digital only game. No probs with SB32.

Heretic - Native support. No problems.

Indy500 - FM only game. It worked fine on the SB32.

Indycar - I have found the protected mode AIL drivers. I've replaced the MT32
driver with the AWE32 version. The game works flawlessly. Great music,
great effects, and the extensive use of FM for engine sounds comes through
like a charm.

Life or Death 2 - This is one of the programs that had problems with my GW32.
FM effects came out fine, but GW32 had problems with the digital channel.
SB32 handles this game flawlessly. This is a FM/DIGITAL only game.

Lemmings - FM only game. Music came out fine in FM mode.

Prince of Persia - FM/digital only game. Seems to work. I have crashes with
this game. Then again this game used to crash with my old setup as well.
The cause of the crash is inconclusive.

Prince of Persia 2 - Worked fine with AWEUTIL resident. This program too
crashed once in a while like PoP. The cause of the crash also inconclusive.

Rags to Riches - Replaced the AIL driver, worked perfectly.

Return to Zork CD - I've substituded the AIL drivers and got great sound from
this game. A bit of fiddling with SB16SET was required to get the volume
levels of MIDI and SFX just right.

Sam & Max Hit the Road CD - This is a protected mode game. It does not support
AWE32 natively. I was forced to use the FM synthesis. One interesting thing
about this game is that it gives you an option of choosing OPL4 synthesizer.
It's possible that the game makes use of all 4 operators, but I can't tell
for sure.

Spell Casting 101 - This game expected a response from IRQ2 for MT32 music.
AWEUTIL failed to produce MT32 sounds. FM emulation seems to work.

Strike Commander - This seems to work with AWEUTIL.

Star Control - No AIL drivers, AWEUTIL crashes the game. FM mode works.
Funny, this game used to work in MT32 mode with my GW32.

Star Control 2 - DIGITAL only game. GW32 used to produce no sounds. I got
the sounds back with the SB32. I recall this was one of the finickiest
game for the SB compatibility. It's nice to get the sounds back.

Tie Fighter Demo - AWEUTIL made it work in MT32 mode.

Terminal Velocity - This game used to crash routinely with the GW32, but
SB32 allowed for robust operation. I was also able to move up to 16bit
samples with stereo channels with the SB32. Playing 16bit stereo samples
at 44KHz noticeably slows down the computer however. DIGITAL only game.

Ultima Underworld 2 - AIL drivers found. This game uses obscure filenames
for the drivers however. The README file that came with the AWE32 AIL drivers
give you the precise instructions on how to make this game work with the
SB32. After the replacement, the game appears to work fine except for the
Intro. sequence where the notes seem to mess up very badly. Music is
excellent during the game play however.

Virtual Pool Demo - I think this is an FM/digital only game. NO problems.

Xcom CD (UK version) - AWEUTIL hung the system. FM mode works.

Xwing - AWEUTIL made the game work in MT32 mode.

***** SUMMARY ********************************************************

Basically, I really like the SB32. I think it's built better than
the Creative's previous efforts. I think they're finally catching up with
the rest of the industry in integrating components on their card. This
is a welcomed change since it brings the benefit of smaller physical size,
lower price, and better fidelity (compared to other SB cards and
according to some netters). Compatibility among existing games is
excellent. SB32 is the most solid soundcard that I have used, it is
even more stable than the original SB8 (1.5). I don't kow how much of an
issue the compatibility will be once Windows 95 comes out in Aug 24, but
I do know that no matter what the operating system, Creative products
should enjoy a strong support just due to sheer size of the user base. Even
for a rigid $169.99 MSRP and the fact that the SB32 lacks the wavetable
connector, (IMHO) the bang/buck ratio far exceeds all other cards on
the market, including Creative's own AWE32. And if you want an SPDIF
output, SB32 is currently the cheapest solution on the market.

***** MORE INFO? *****************************************************

There is a WEB page at UK that covers AWE32 extensively. Since SB32
is essentially the AWE32, this web page is highly applicable. It has
very important pointers for AWE32 users (and now the SB32 users).

http://spec.ch.man.ac.uk/~ashley/musicpc.html

***** DISCLAIMER *****************************************************

These are opinions of Peter Kim and no one else's. I am not
affiliated with Creative Technologies in any way other than being
a customer and disliking them for providing shoddy hardware for
too much $$$ for a long time. I cannot be responsible for people
making the wrong decisions by reading this review nor be responsible
for incorrect information contained here. Basically, let the
buyer be aware - you're on your own.