🚀 go-pugleaf

SUMMARY: Soundcards for OS/2
LAST REVISION: 12/31/95
BY: Rod Smith,
rsmith@psych.colorado.edu

This is a summary of information I've learned about sound cards for use
under OS/2.  This document focuses upon wavetable cards in the $100-$200
range, but cards in other price ranges are also included on a more
sporadic basis.  I update this post as I receive more information, so
please send me any corrections or additional information you may have.
I post this to the comp.os.os2.misc, comp.os.os.multimedia, and
comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.advocacy newsgroups most Sundays.  Anybody
wishing to make this document available via a web server or other means
has my permission to do so, though I ask that you try to keep the
document reasonably up to date with the current release.

                            CHANGE SUMMARY
                            --------------

1) Miscellaneous small textual changes
2) Sound web site at http://wvnvaxa.wvnet.edu/~hrieke/ mentioned
3) More success reports with IBM's MPU-401 driver
4) While beta MPU-401 drivers did work with OPTi 929 boards, the release
   version does NOT
5) One report of success with Reply's Vibra16-based MCA sound card
6) Reports of Reveal's purchase by Creative were premature; that deal
   has now fallen through
7) Aztech recommendation moved from "avoid if at all possible" to
   "also-rans" because of increasing frequency of success reports
   I've received (the newer drivers seem to have improved OS/2
   reliability)

* In the text below, changed or new sections are marked with asterisks
* to the left of the affected lines, like this.

                           GENERAL COMMENTS
                           ----------------

Getting solid information on sound cards under OS/2 has been a VERY
frustrating experience for me.  Tech support people are sometimes
unclear, evasive, or incorrect, and sometimes totally unresponsive. 
Knowledgeable responses from the net have been rare.

In general, it seems that sound card support under OS/2 is spotty at
best.  Many cards have either no drivers or flakey drivers, and many
SoundBlaster-compatible cards don't work with OS/2's SoundBlaster
drivers (one IBM employee says these were written by Creative Labs with
code designed to render the drivers useless for unauthorized SB clones).
Other SoundBlaster-compatible cards require initialization software
which may or may not be available for OS/2.  Fortunately, most of the
manufacturers I contacted said they were working on OS/2 drivers, either
as a first release or to fix buggy or limited drivers.  Unfortunately,
it's hard to say when any given "in progress" driver will become
available because of the notorious slippage of ship dates in the
industry.  I'd therefore recommend going with a card for which OS/2
drivers are available NOW, if at all possible.

Many sound cards these days offer "Windows Sound System" compatibility,
frequently implemented with an AD1848, CS4231, or CS4248 chip.  The IBM
Business Audio AD1848 driver (which comes with OS/2) frequently works
with cards designed for this standard, though one post (from
lad@vnet.ibm.com) mentions adding some (unspecified) parameters to the
driver for CS4231-based boards.  Therefore, if you've got an unsupported
sound card which does support this standard, and if you're having
problems with the SoundBlaster driver, try this one instead.  Similarly,
the Compaq Business Audio driver that comes with OS/2 may work with many
of these boards.  In addition, Turtle Beach has recently placed drivers
written by Crystal Semiconductor for a variety of CS-based boards on
their ftp site.  Check ftp.tbeach.com under /pub/tbeach/os2 for the file
mctz_os2.zip if you have a Microsoft Windows Sound System, Boca Modem,
Acer Magic S20, Gallant, Mozart (OTI601), Crystal Vivaldi, Thinkpad
750C, or Turtle Beach Tropez or Monte Carlo and can't get another driver
to work.  (These drivers are reputedly still a bit buggy and limited.)

* There's a relatively new web site devoted to sound cards, and many OS/2
* drivers can be obtained there, though the last time I checked, the site
* was still very much "under construction."  The URL for this site is
* http://wvnvaxa.wvnet.edu/~hrieke/.

Some of the general information presented here comes from the March 28,
1995 issue of PC Magazine, which has a review of sound cards.  Although
I generally don't trust magazine reviews, this article does have a fair
amount of useful information on different sound card types and whatnot,
and is worth reading if you're not already familiar with the current
market.  Unfortunately, it contains NO information on OS/2 support for
the reviewed cards.  Other information comes from newsgroup posts and
e-mail replies to my newsgroup posts or other queries, and from files
downloaded from ftp sites and BBSes.  The October, 1995 issue of
Computer Shopper magazine also has a sound card review, but it only
looks at a few boards, and mentions OS/2 in a very peripheral way.
Finally, the November, 1995 issue of Computer Shopper has an article on
combination sound/fax/modem/voicemail boards, but this focuses almost
exclusively upon the Windows voicemail software for these boards.

                            BASIC TECHNOLOGY
                            ----------------

Sound boards today come in two main types: FM synthesis and wavetable. 
The former is exemplified by the classic SoundBlaster 8-bit and 16-bit
boards.  They can play back digitally-recorded sounds (Captain Picard
saying "warp factor 3," for instance) and can produce music from MIDI
files played from OS/2, Windows, etc., by combining various sine waves
to roughly emulate the sounds of various instruments.  Wavetable boards
can almost always also play back digital sounds, but they produce MIDI
sounds by using a "wavetable" -- digital samples of instruments, or
simulations thereof, recorded in ROM (or sometimes in RAM, loaded from a
disk file) on the board.  Thus, a wavetable board will sound much better
than an FM synthesis board when playing the music files in many
multimedia games, or if you use music composition software on the
computer; but wavetable boards don't have any necessary advantage when
playing digitally-recorded sounds.  Wavetable boards can also differ
from each other, sometimes substantially, in the quality of their
samples.

The features of a sound board, however, require drivers in order to
work.  OS/2 drivers for many wavetable boards don't support the
wavetable features from OS/2, so the MIDI music used in Galactic
Civilizations, for instance, won't sound any better than on an FM
synthesis board, if it plays at all.  OS/2 drivers for many boards (of
both types) also provide only limited access to the sound board for DOS
and Windows programs, or such access will disrupt the OS/2 drivers. 
Much of my quest involved attempting to extract straight answers to the
question of whether various features are supported under OS/2.

Many (but not all) of the wavetable boards use what's known as an
MPU-401 interface for playing MIDI files.  There are sometimes ways to
get wavetable sound without using the MPU-401 interface, but this is the
preferred method for most cards.  (Some people prefer cards that use
other wavetable interface methods because the MPU-401 method reduces the
number of external MIDI devices that can be connected to the card by
one.)  IBM has just recently released their MPU-401 driver.  Look for a
file called mmpm_mpu.zip, or some variant of that, on your favorite OS/2
ftp site (ftp.europe.ibm.com is a good bet if you can't find it
elsewhere).  In theory, this driver can provide access to wavetable
sound for many wavetable boards in one fell swoop.  In practice, the
* picture may not be so rosy.  I've received reports of success with this
* driver on Turtle Beach Maui, Mediatrix, Ensoniq SoundScape Elite, MIDI
* Quest, and Midiman cards, though some of these haven't been entirely
* consistent.  I've seen other reports of NO success with OPTi 929-based,
* Aztech, and Ensoniq SoundScape boards, though an earlier beta version of
* the driver reportedly DID work with a Reveal SC500 rev. 1 (OPTi 929)
* board.  If you're trying to use the IBM MPU-401 driver and not having
much luck, check the section on adding sound card drivers, below, and
then try to install your sound board's .WAV drivers WITHOUT the
associated MIDI support.  Alternatively, try installing the MPU-401
driver BEFORE installing the .WAV support.  Also keep in mind that the
MPU-401 port may require software initialization not provided by the
sound board's main drivers.  Initializing MPU-401 support in DOS and
then re-booting to OS/2 (via Dual Boot or <Ctrl-Alt-Del>; NOT via the
* Reset switch on the front of most machines) may help matters.  The order
* of drivers in CONFIG.SYS could also conceivably make a difference,
* though I've seen no reports that this is so with any specific card.
* Also, note that the MPU-401 driver seems to require OS/2 Warp 3.0;
* don't count on it working with OS/2 2.1 or earlier.

As mentioned above, many sound boards today are "Windows Sound System"
compatible for digitized audio; but these boards also often require
initialization software before they'll work.  It seems that a handful of
companies, such as OPTi and Crystal Semiconductor, provide the chipsets
used in most sound boards, but I'm very unclear on precisely how these
chipsets work together.  What is clear is that drivers for one board
will often work with boards bearing other brand names.  I suspect the
situation is similar to, but more chaotic than, the situation with video
boards, in which, for instance, Brand X and Brand Y both make boards
based upon the video Chipset A and Chipset B.  OS/2 uses drivers for the
chipsets, and the video board brand itself serves largely to confuse
people about this.  I try to cover sound boards by brand name in this
document, but in some cases I lump several boards together by the
chipset they use.  If you're looking for drivers for an existing board,
be aware that a listing for an unrelated-sounding board may have the
information you require.  As with video boards, but more so, it's not
completely safe to assume that two boards using the same chipset will
work equally well under OS/2, so if you've any doubts, try posting a
question to comp.os.os2.multimedia and/or contact the board's
manufacturer.

Most sound boards don't allow playing more than one sound file at a
time.  In a multitasking OS such as OS/2, it is of course possible that
two programs will want to play sound files at once, and this generally
isn't possible, at least not with the current drivers.  Similarly, if
you install Windows sound drivers, these generally "take over" the card
when you run any Windows program, unless you select "none" for the
AUDIO_ADAPTER_SHARING option in the Settings notebook for a program. 
This happens whether or not the program is actually playing sounds.  The
MediaVision ProAudio series boards do have two "channels," and it's
possible to assign one to Windows and one to OS/2, for a limited
solution to this problem.  (Note, however, that many people have
problems configuring this properly.)  Also, at least some boards allow
playing MIDI and digitized sounds simultaneously.  The latest (version
2.0) OPTi drivers allow playing OS/2 sounds when a Windows session is
open, but not true concurrency of OS/2 and Windows sounds.  These
drivers reportedly work by having the OS/2 and Windows drivers "talk" to
each other to avoid conflicts.  Boards based on IBM's Mwave chip allow
OS/2 sounds to play when the Windows sound drivers are loaded, and even
to play more than one .WAV file simultaneously, though two MIDI files
generally exceeds the board's processing capacity.  In theory, drivers
could be written to get around this problem in a more general way, as
the new OPTi drivers do.  I recently heard some rumblings that OS/2's
MMPM/2 may be undergoing revisions which may make this more common in
future versions of OS/2.

Recently, sound boards have begun appearing using DSP (digital signal
processing) technology.  DSPs are general-purpose processing chips that
can be used in a number of applications.  For instance, DSPs are used in
certain types of modems, such as US Robotics and ZyXEL 14,400 bps and
faster models.  IBM's Mwave chip is a DSP chip that's being used in
sound boards which can usually also be used as modems.  Most such
extra-flexible sound boards don't yet have much in the way of OS/2
driver support, however (though the IBM Multimedia Modem and a few other
Mwave boards are exceptions to this rule).  Also, note that the presence
of a DSP doesn't necessarily make the board unusually versatile; some
DSPs (such as Ensoniq's OTTO) are still used as little more than
special-purpose sound chips.  Such boards do often have various sound
effect options which aren't present on lower-end boards, though.

Modern sound boards frequently have interfaces for one or more types of
CD-ROMs.  As I have a SCSI CD-ROM with a separate controller, I wasn't
very concerned with this in my own search, but I've included a note for
each of the boards I mention below on what types of interfaces it has. 
Interfaces can be SCSI (general, for any SCSI CD-ROM drive), IDE
(general, for any IDE/EIDE/ATAPI CD-ROM), or proprietary (for Sony,
Panasonic, Mitsumi, etc. drives).  In any case, you'll need a driver for
the interface and/or CD-ROM drive.  OS/2 comes with drivers for most of
the proprietary standards and for IDE drives, though I can't guarantee
these will work with all boards using these interfaces.  OS/2 may or may
not come with a driver for a specific SCSI interface.  As with the sound
features, many boards require initialization software be run before the
CD-ROM interface becomes active, so this may be a prerequisite for using
such interfaces under OS/2.  Sound card CD-ROM interfaces can generally
be disabled (or simply not initialized), and so won't cause problems if
you've already got another type of CD-ROM.

Sound boards require interrupts (IRQs) in order to function.  Simple
boards, such as the 8-bit SoundBlaster board I was replacing, require
only a single IRQ (generally #5).  More complex boards may require two
or more IRQs for the sound board, and frequently another for the CD-ROM
interface, if it's being used.  The miroCONNECT 34 wave board takes FOUR
IRQs, including one for its modem features, and I assume other Mwave
boards would do the same.  Thus, if you want an advanced wavetable
board, be sure you've got enough free IRQs, and IRQs the board can use. 
Similarly, sound boards use address spaces for I/O and DMA channels. 
Most modern boards use software to set the IRQs, etc., that they use.

In theory, PCI-based sound boards could get around some of the IRQ
hogging inherent in advanced ISA-based boards.  At the moment, though, I
know of no PCI-based sound boards that are currently shipping or
planned.  I have heard a rumor that some combination audio/video PCI
boards are in the works for release in a few months, but I've no idea
who's doing this or whether these boards will have OS/2 support.

Some FM synthesis boards include a connector for a wavetable daughter
card, which allows one to upgrade to wavetable abilities relatively
painlessly.  I haven't seriously investigated such daughter cards,
though, and don't know much about them.  These daughter cards typically
cost $60-$200.  The wavetable features may or may not be automatically
utilized by the OS/2 drivers for the main board.  I've heard that the
latest SoundBlaster drivers include a CONFIG.SYS option ("/EXT") to
force use of the wavetable daughtercard.  Therefore, a true SoundBlaster
in combination with a wavetable daughtercard can make a good choice for
wavetable sound under OS/2.  There are also a few wavetable-only boards
available that can be used in conjunction with an existing FM synthesis
board.  These would require IBM's MPU-401 driver to function properly,
but if you use a sound board with its own FM synthesis MIDI capability
(such as most SoundBlasters), the two drivers may conflict.

                          DRIVER INSTALLATION
                          -------------------

I've found that driver installation can be a bit tricky, especially if
you're replacing an existing board or driver.  The problem in this case
is that the driver installation software frequently doesn't properly
eliminate the configuration for the previous driver.  The result is that
you'll get no sound.  In order to avoid these problems, I suggest you
take the following steps when updating your MMPM/2 sound card drivers:

1) Remove all references to the x:\MMOS2 directory (x: being your boot
   partition) from OS/2's CONFIG.SYS.  Be sure to get the references in
   the PATH and LIBPATH statements.  The best way to do this is to restore
   a CONFIG.SYS from a point before you ever installed multimedia support,
   but this usually isn't practical.  Be sure to keep a backup of your
   old CONFIG.SYS and an emergency boot routine, in case you accidentally
   produce a non-bootable system.
2) Reboot.
3) Remove the entire x:\MMOS2 directory structure.  If OS/2 complains that
   it can't remove some files because they're in use, you missed something
   in step #1; repeat it.  Or there may be something else using the file
   (a reference in OS2.INI or OS2SYS.INI, maybe).  You may be able to
   safely ignore this file, or a deletion from an emergency boot floppy
   or partition may do the trick.
4) Use Selective Install to install multimedia support.  If you're
   installing drivers that don't come with OS/2, make sure that NO sound
   card is listed on the first dialog box; you want ONLY multimedia
   support for this step.  If you're installing a driver that came with
   OS/2, be sure the appropriate card is selected.  Note that multimedia
   support may not be checked on the second dialog box if you don't select
   a sound card, so be sure it's selected for installation.
5) After installing multimedia support, reboot.
6) If you're installing drivers that didn't come with OS/2, do so now.
   Follow the directions that came with the drivers.  Most Warp sound
   card drivers require you to use the Multimedia Application Install
   program.
7) After installing the drivers, reboot.  You should get Warp's startup
   sound when the desktop appears.

One correspondent suggests also using an .INI file maintenance tool
between steps 3 and 4 to remove references to MMPM/2 from OS/2's .INI
files, but I haven't found that necessary, myself.  It can't hurt to
take the extra precaution IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.  Mucking with
INI files can be DANGEROUS, so I DO NOT recommend this for relative
novices.

I've also experienced personally and seen posts relating problems using
Warp's "Selective Uninstall" utility.  My experience with it rendered my
CONFIG.SYS file full of garbage and my system unbootable.  I therefore
recommend NOT using Selective Uninstall to remove multimedia support (or
anything else).

Another poster indicated problems removing the MMOS2 directory even
after removing all references to it from CONFIG.SYS, but I've never
experienced this myself when uninstalling SoundBlaster 8-bit or Reveal
SC500 support, but I did when removing Mwave support.  One poster
reported that Selective Uninstall was the only way to get MMPM/2
removed.  I used an emergency boot partition to delete the remaining
errant .DLL file.

If you're trying to install the MPU-401 drivers, it may be necessary to
find some way to NOT install your sound card's FM synthesis MIDI
drivers, if it has them.  With some cards (such as the OPTi-based
boards), there will be a separate MIDI driver to install, which you can
de-select during the installation process.  With others, this may be
difficult or impossible.  If you're lucky, installing the MPU-401 driver
before the regular sound card's driver may achieve the desired result,
too, but I've not tested this myself.

                           MIDI FILE PLAYBACK
                           ------------------

I've found in using various boards and drivers that OS/2 will respond
differently to the same MIDI file depending upon the driver, and
differently to different files with the same driver.  For instance, some
of the MIDI files that come with Galactic Civilizations 1.0 play at
VERY low volume with the Mwave drivers supplied by miro; and I've seen
reports that OS/2's Media Player doesn't always reset sounds and tempo
when loading a new MIDI file with at least some beta versions of IBM's
MPU-401 driver (though this may not be true with the release version). 
One cause of such problems is MIDI files which aren't 100% "General
MIDI" compatible, so loading and then saving them with MIDI utilities
like those which come with most sound cards may help.  Another possible
"help" is to use the MakeGM utility, available from ftp.servtech.com in
/pub/users/wraymond/os2midi.  I recently got ahold of this program, and
I HIGHLY recommend it for cleaning up troublesome MIDI files, and even
non-troublesome ones which may be affected by a "problem" file.  I do
recommend, though, that you not delete the original file until you've
confirmed that the modified file plays correctly.

                              SOUND BOARDS
                              ------------

This section goes over the sound boards about which I have any
information, in alphabetical order.  I don't pretend this is a
comprehensive list, and I am far from certain about much of the
information I've presented, since some of it is based upon only one or
two comments from individuals who use the boards in question, or upon
tech support people who may have an interest in minimizing the extent of
problems with individual boards.  I've tried to flag the least-reliable
information as such.

I've tried to include various ways of contacting the manufactuer, as
well as where to find drivers, for each entry below.  "OS/2 ftp" refers
to the big OS/2 ftp sites, such as ftp-os2.nmsu.edu and
ftp-os2.cdrom.com.  Sound board drivers should normally be in the
/os2/drivers or /pub/os2/32bit/drivers directories, respectively.  IBM
Europe also operates a driver repository ftp site at ftp.europe.ibm.com,
or by web at www.europe.ibm.com.  The "street price" line gives the
approximate prices I've seen advertized in Computer Shopper or local
stores, or which have been reported to me.  Prices are usually given as
an approximate value ("~" to the left), a range, or a minimum ("+" to
the right).

Advanced Gravis UltraSound series:
----------------------------------
Phone: 800-663-8558, 604-431-5020
Fax: 604-431-5155
BBS: 604-431-5927
e-mail: os2.driver@gravis.com for Gravis, rjm@io.org for Robert Manley
Type: Wavetable
Chipset: ICS GF1
CD-ROM: none (GUS)/proprietary (GUS Max: Sony, Mitsumi, Panasonic)
Street price: $130-$200 (???)
OS/2 Drivers: Available for original and "Max" boards, but limited;
              unknown for more recent plug-and-play boards
Drivers from: BBS, OS/2 ftp: grav031a.zip, ultra08a.zip
Comments: Gravis has "released alpha-level" drivers (an oxymoron),
  and judging by the documentation, they're OK for OS/2-only use,
  but DOS (and presumably Windows) programs will cause problems.
  Robert Manley has released $25 shareware drivers that have somewhat
  different limitations (digitized sound and .MOD [but no .MID] playback
  from OS/2, from what I can tell from the documentation; support for
  DOS and Windows MIDI file playback via external devices or through the
  board after registration; DOS/Windows "native" digitized sound but no
  SoundBlaster emulation).  The latest word is that Gravis and Robert
  Manley are working on an arrangement to allow Manley to include the
  Gravis MIDI code in his drivers, but this is still in the planning
  stages.  The board itself is reported to produce quite good sound. 
  Note that this board does NOT use an MPU-401 hardware interface for
  wavetable sound, unlike most wavetable boards.  Gravis has apparently
  discontinued the original UltraSound and replaced it with a "plug-
  and-play" board.  I don't know if either the Gravis or Manley drivers
  work with the new board.

Aria boards:
------------
Phone: 408-263-9300 (Sierra Semiconductor); 800-477-3473 or 503-692-9600
       (Prometheus Customer Service)
Fax: 408-263-3337 (Sierra Semiconductor)
BBS: ?
e-mail: 76004.527@compuserve.com (Prometheus)
web: http://www.wi.leidenuniv.nl/aria
Type: Wavetable
Chipset: Aria
CD-ROM: Variable; usually none or SCSI
Street price: ~$80-$280
OS/2 Drivers: Available
Drivers from: OS/2 ftp: aria16.zip
Comments: There are several sound boards, from manufacturers such as
  Prometheus, Genoa, Kingston, Diamond, Zoltrix, and others, which use
  Sierra Semiconductor's Aria chipset.  These boards have varying
  capabilities and prices.  I've received one report of 100% success
  with the Aria drivers on an IBM PS/1 with an Aria board, though
  a parameter ("/P:310") was required on the CD-ROM driver to get it
  working.  Another poster said that the driver worked, but produced
  low volume.  I gather that the drivers were developed with the
  Prometheus boards in mind, so that should be the safest bet among
  Aria-based boards.  Unfortunately, these boards are becoming very
  difficult to find.  IBM PC Direct may still have them, but I've
  been unable to locate local vendors or other mail-order suppliers.
  Prometheus tech support suggested calling their Customer Service
Chipset: ?
Street price: $200 & $260 list, respectively
OS/2 Drivers: Available, unknown capabilities
CD-ROM: none (?)
Drivers from: OS/2 box, ChipChat box
Comments: These are Microchannel (MCA) only boards.  The information on
  the web site indicates that they work with the OS/2 SoundBlaster
  drivers, or with OS/2 drivers designed specifically for the boards
  themselves.  Beyond this, I know relatively little; I don't know if
  the wavetable features of the 32 model are supported under OS/2, and
  I've received no reports from end users on how well the boards work.

Creative Labs SoundBlaster 8-bit & 16-bit:
------------------------------------------
Phone: 800-998-5227 (customer assistance), 800-998-1000 (customer
       service), 405-742-6622 (automated tech support), 405-742-6655
       (tech support)
Fax: 405-742-6633
BBS: 405-742-6660
e-mail: 72662.1602@compuserve.com
Type: FM synthesis
Chipset: Proprietary (?), Yamaha OPL2 or OPL3
Street price: $60-$150+
OS/2 Drivers: Available
CD-ROM: Variable; depends on specific model
Drivers from: OS/2 box, OS/2 ftp, ftp.creaf.com, BBS
Comments: These are well-supported under OS/2, and are "the" standard
  for DOS games.  Some SB clones may not work with the OS/2 drivers,
  though.  These are well-supported but uninspired cards by today's
  standards.  I was having assorted minor problems with an 8-bit
  SoundBlaster, which was my main reason for upgrading, but most people
  report few or no problems with these cards.  If you have problems
  getting sound from Windows to work, try the latest Windows driver
  support) hinted that Creative is moving to the Vibra 16 for all their
  boards, but I've no timetable on this switch, if it's real.  A
  Microchannel board based on this chipset is available from a company
*   called Reply (phone number above).  I've seen one report of success
*   using this board and Creative's Vibra 16 drivers, but that person
*   was having problems with Windows support.  Essentially, the Vibra-16 is
  a chipset (chip?) which replaces several chips in the original SB
  series boards with one chip.  As such, these boards should be very
  compatible with the original SoundBlaster series boards.

Ensoniq Soundscape/Soundscape Elite:
------------------------------------
Phone: 800-776-8637, 610-647-3930
Fax: 800-257-1439
BBS: 610-647-3195
e-mail: Davep@Ensoniq.com, multimedia@ensoniq.com, and
        soundscape-bugs@ensoniq.com
Type: Wavetable
Chipset: Ensoniq OTTO
CD-ROM: Proprietary (Sony, Panasonic, Mitsumi)
Street price: $150-$200
OS/2 Drivers: Available, but limited
Drivers from: ftp.ensoniq.com
Comments: According to both Ensoniq tech support and one respondant,
  OS/2 drivers exist but DOS/Windows access is tricky and unreliable.
  Drivers also don't yet support wavetable features from OS/2.  New
  drivers have been promised for a long time, but recent posts indicate
  that Ensoniq has put this on a VERY low-priority status.  Another
  recent post suggests that Ensoniq is promising full OS/2 support by
  the end of 1995.  Wavetable quality is reputed to be good from native
  DOS/Windows.  I've received one report of no success with this board
  and IBM's MPU-401 driver, but this could be the result of recoverable
*   installation problems.  Another person has reported success with the
*   "Elite" version of the board, but apparently had to initialize the
*   board under DOS and warm-boot to OS/2 to make it function.

IBM Mwave-based boards:
-----------------------
Phone: 800-549-6476 (miro, USA); 44-71-8310467 (miro, UK)
Fax-back: 800-426-4329 (IBM; option 2, document 2006); 415-855-9494 (miro)
Fax: 800-426-3396 (IBM), 415-855-0940 (miro)
BBS: 919-517-0001 (IBM), 415-855-9944 (miro)
e-mail: support@miro.mirousa.com (miro)
web: http://watson.mbb.sfu.ca
Type: Wavetable
Chipset: IBM Mwave
CD-ROM: IBM: Proprietary (Sony, Panasonic); miro: Proprietary (Mitsumi,
        Sony), IDE; others: varies
Street price: ~$300 for full function boards; ~$200 for audio-only (no
              modem/fax/voicemail) boards
OS/2 Drivers: Available for some models
Drivers from: Board manufacturer -- usually in the box; ftp.pcco.ibm.com,
              /pub/os2_apps, /pub/mobiles (various files)
Comments: There are two lines of Mwave chips: the 1000 series and the
  2000 series, the latter being more powerful.  Many Mwave boards can
  function as modems, faxes, and voicemail systems as well as serving
  as wavetable sound cards.  These boards store their wavetable samples
  on disk and use DSP code loaded from disk, so there are delays when
  starting a new function; but this design gives unusual flexibility and
  the capacity for software-only upgrades of the board's features.  Most
  modem-capable Mwave boards currently or soon will have 28,800 bps
  (v.34) speed.  The miroCONNECT 34 wave and IBM Multimedia Modem boards
  are the ones with the best OS/2 support; the popular Spectrum Office
  F/X, which is physically identical to the IBM board, comes with no
  OS/2 drivers.  IBM also offers a sound-only Mwave board which,
  physically, lacks telephone connectors, but which comes with OS/2
  drivers.  The miro's 7/95 drivers present many installation pitfalls
  and cause problems with Galactic Civilizations, but otherwise work
  well.  I had no luck getting the miro's included Windows voicemail
  software to work under OS/2, but I've received a message from somebody
  who has gotten it working under "blue spine" Warp; e-mail me for
  details.  The Windows voicemail software that comes with IBM's board
  reportedly works well from OS/2.  An IBM employee is developing a
  native OS/2 fax/voicemail application for Mwave.  It's currently in
  a tightly-controlled beta, and it's uncertain how or if it will be
  officially released.  IBM also has some voice-control software for OS/2
  and Mwave, but I don't have availability information on this, except
  that this and other goodies come with certain Aptiva models.  There
  should be no problems using native OS/2 modem and fax applications with
  these boards.  Of the miro and IBM, I'd have to recommend the IBM because
  of fewer problems with the included Windows voicemail software and
  support the board's wavetable features, and I don't know how well DOS
  and Windows programs are supported with these drivers.  Dave says he's
  not planning further development of his drivers, unfortunately, citing
*   technical difficulties getting adequate timing from OS/2.  I've heard
  that it's possible to get the MediaVision Jazz drivers that come with
  OS/2 to work with this card by either doing a soft reboot from DOS
  after running the DOS initialization software or by running this
*   software from an OS/2 DOS box.  The IBM MPU-401 driver reportedly
*   "should" work with this board, but I've yet to receive a report from
*   anybody who's actually tried it.

Mediatrix Audiotrix Pro:
------------------------
Phone: 800-820-8749, 819-829-8749
Fax: 819-829-5100
BBS: ?
e-mail: ?
Type: Wavetable
Chipset: CS4231, Yamaha OPL4
CD-ROM: optional: proprietary (Sony, Panasonic, Mitsumi, Philips)
Street price: ~$225 (?)
OS/2 Drivers: Available, but limited
Drivers from: ?
Comments: This board is well-respected for its sound quality, and I gather
  that OS/2 driver development is proceeding.  The current OS/2 drivers
*   are reputed to support everything but OS/2 MIDI (wavetable).  The IBM
*   MPU-401 drivers reportedly do work, but my correspondent on this says
*   they work erratically -- they're fine on some boots but don't work on
*   others.  I'd speculate that this may be due to DOS initialization of
*   the card, but this is ONLY speculation.
  will no longer be developing or updating its OS/2 drivers (the drivers
  that come with OS/2 were apparently written by MediaVision).

MediaVision ProAudio Spectrum/ProAudio Studio:
----------------------------------------------
Phone: 800-845-5870, 510-770-8600
Fax: 510-770-8648
BBS: ?
e-mail: ?
web: http://www.mediavis.com/support/opro3d.htm
Type: FM synthesis
Chipset: ?
CD-ROM: Variable; depends on specific board.
Street price: Discontinued
OS/2 Drivers: Available
Drivers from: OS/2 box
Comments: Discontinued.  Allows simultaneous use of sound from OS/2 and
  Windows programs, if you can get this feature working (it's frustrated
  a lot of people).  The PROMIX/2 program is reputed to help get this
  card working correctly.  Loading the DOS driver for the card in OS/2's
  CONFIG.SYS is also reported to help.  There's also a file called
  PASSETUP.DOC available from various sources (it's listed on my March,
  1995 Hobbes CD-ROM, but not on the latest index files I have from
  ftp-os2.nmsu.edu or ftp-os2.cdrom.com).

Mediavision Pro 3-D:
--------------------
Phone: 800-845-5870, 510-770-8600
Fax: 510-770-8648
BBS: ?
e-mail: ?
web: http://www.mediavis.com/support/opro3d.htm
Type: Wavetable
Chipset: MediaVision MVD1216, Korg wavetable, Yamaha OPL3
CD-ROM: SCSI
Street price: ?
OS/2 Drivers: Unavailable, but may work with Jazz drivers
Drivers from: --
Comments: Obviously, I know very little about this board, but it's from
  a Big Name, so I thought I should mention it.  ;-)  I have heard that
  MediaVision has formally announced that they are NOT working on OS/2
  drivers.  The board reportedly works ("barely") with the Jazz drivers
Type: FM synthesis and wavetable, respectively
Chipset: Aztech AZT2316A (?), ICS Wavefront (for WaveTable only), Yamaha OPL3
CD-ROM: IDE, proprietary (Sony, Panasonic, Mitsumi, Aztech)
Street price: $68 and $106, respectively
OS/2 Drivers: Mentioned for 16a/i; not mentioned for WaveTable
Drivers from: OS/2 box, ftp.aimnet.com, /pub/users/aztech
Comments: These are Aztech boards without the Aztech name, and as such,
  the comments and cautions for the Aztech boards apply to these.  MEI
  primarily sells computer supplies, books, and CD-ROMs.

OPTi 928/929 (MAD16?):
----------------------
Phone: 408-980-9774, 408-980-8178 (unknown precisely what each is; one or
       both may be fax numbers); 800-398-6784
Fax: ?
BBS: 408-486-8555
e-mail: ?
web: http://www.internet-is.com/opti/index.htm
Type: FM synthesis/wavetable
Chipset: CS4248, OPTi 928/929
CD-ROM: IDE, proprietary (Sony, Panasonic, Mitsumi)
Street price: ~$50 for non-wavetable [at a trade show]; ? for wavetable
OS/2 Drivers: Available, IBM's MPU-401 driver needed for wavetable
Drivers from: BBS, OS/2 ftp: 929_v2.zip or opti928.zip
Comments: As near as I've figured out, OPTi sells a sound board design
  to other companies, and may sell this design themselves under the
  "MAD16" name.  The Reveal SC400 rev. 4G and SC500 boards are based on
  this design, as is the card included with Diamond's MMK4000 package
  and boards from other manufacturers, including MediaMagic.  The
  that H320 is the "magic" address, so users may need to fiddle with this.

Orchid SoundWave 32:
--------------------
Phone: 800-767-2443, 510-683-0300
Fax: 510-490-9312
BBS: ?
e-mail: ?
Type: wavetable
Chipset: Analog Devices DSP-2115
CD-ROM: SCSI, proprietary (Mitsumi)
Street price: ~$200-$300
OS/2 Drivers: beta-level SB initializer with OS/2 SB drivers
Drivers from: ftp://cr1.see.plym.ac.uk/pub/orchid
Comments: I know relatively little about this board, but Orchid is
  reportedly working on improving its OS/2 support.  The above ftp
  site reportedly contains drivers which enable the board's Sound-
  Blaster emulation under OS/2, allowing the user to use OS/2's
  SoundBlaster drivers.  I don't know what happens with wavetable
  sound using this option.

Reveal SC400 ("SoundFX"), rev. 2:
---------------------------------
Phone: 800-326-2222 (customer service), 800-535-0339 (orders), 818-704-6300
Fax: 818-594-8477
BBS: 818-713-8188
e-mail: 72662.3604@compuserve.com
web: http://www.reveal.com
Type: FM synthesis
Chipset: Aztech (?)
CD-ROM: ?
Street price: Discontinued (?)
OS/2 Drivers: Available, but may be unreliable
Drivers from: BBS, OS/2 ftp: revsc4r2.zip; ftp.aimnet.com, /pub/users/aztech,
              ftp.reveal.com
Comments: This board appears to be a close cousin or identical to an
  Aztech design.  I've received conflicting reports on whether the
  revsc4r2.zip driver works correctly (the readme indicates that it's
  a beta-level driver for OS/2 2.1).  The Aztech ftp site includes
  a variety of drivers, some of which may be a better bet (see above,
*   under the Aztech boards).

Reveal SC400 ("SoundFX"), rev. 3:
---------------------------------
Phone: 800-326-2222 (customer service), 800-535-0339 (orders), 818-704-6300
Fax: 818-594-8477
BBS: 818-713-8188
e-mail: 72662.3604@compuserve.com
web: http://www.reveal.com
Type: FM synthesis
Chipset: Aztech (?)
CD-ROM: ?
Street price: Discontinued (?)
OS/2 Drivers: Uses Aztech NOVA 16 drivers, but unknown reliability
Drivers from: OS/2 box
Comments: The OS/2 ftp sites and the Reveal BBS and ftp site have a text
  file describing how to set up the board for use with the Aztech NOVA
  16 drivers included with Warp.  One net report indicates that the Sony
  CD-ROM drive which is sometimes bundled with this board doesn't work
*   under OS/2.

Reveal SC400 ("SoundFX"), rev. 4a:
----------------------------------
Phone: 800-326-2222 (customer service), 800-535-0339 (orders), 818-704-6300
Fax: 818-594-8477
BBS: 818-713-8188
e-mail: 72662.3604@compuserve.com
web: http://www.reveal.com
Type: FM synthesis
Chipset: Aztech (???)
CD-ROM: IDE (?), proprietary (???)
Street price: Discontinued (?)
OS/2 Drivers: Available, but unknown reliability
Drivers from: BBS, ftp.reveal.com, OS/2 ftp: revsc4r4a.zip
Comments: Drivers for this board look suspiciously Aztech-like, but I know
*   essentially nothing else about it.

Reveal SC400 ("SoundFX"), rev. 4g:
----------------------------------
Phone: 800-326-2222 (customer service), 800-535-0339 (orders), 818-704-6300
Fax: 818-594-8477
BBS: 818-713-8188
e-mail: 72662.3604@compuserve.com
web: http://www.reveal.com
Type: FM synthesis
Chipset: CS4248 (??), OPTi 928 (?), OPL3 (??)
CD-ROM: IDE, proprietary (Sony, Panasonic, Mitsumi)
Street price: ~$70
OS/2 Drivers: Available
Drivers from: BBS, ftp.reveal.com, OS/2 ftp: 929_v2.zip or opti928.zip
Comments: This is based on the OPTi 928 design; see above.  These boards
  are sold mainly through CompUSA, Sears, Best Buy, and other local
*   stores, as well as by mail order direct from Reveal.

Reveal SC500 ("SoundFX Wave"), rev. 1:
--------------------------------------
Phone: 800-326-2222 (customer service), 800-535-0339 (orders), 818-704-6300
Fax: 818-594-8477
BBS: 818-713-8188
e-mail: 72662.3604@compuserve.com
web: http://www.reveal.com
Type: Wavetable
Chipset: CS4248, OPTi 929, OPL3 (??)
CD-ROM: IDE, proprietary (Sony, Panasonic, Mitsumi)
Street price: ~$130
OS/2 Drivers: Available, but limited
Drivers from: BBS, ftp.reveal.com, OS/2 ftp: 929_v2.zip or opti928.zip
Comments: This is an OPTi 929-based board; see above.  These boards are
  sold mainly through CompUSA, Sears, Best Buy, and other local stores,
*   as well as by mail order direct from Reveal.

Reveal SC500 ("SoundFX Wave"), rev. 3:
--------------------------------------
Phone: 800-326-2222 (customer service), 800-535-0339 (orders), 818-704-6300
Fax: 818-594-8477
BBS: 818-713-8188
e-mail: 72662.3604@compuserve.com
web: http://www.reveal.com
Type: Wavetable
Chipset: ?
CD-ROM: ?
Street price: ?
OS/2 Drivers: Unavailable (?)
Drivers from: --
Comments: Apparently Reveal is playing the version number game with the
  SC500 now, and the latest version (rev. 3) is reported to not work
  with the OPTi drivers, nor to have any identifiable OPTi chips on it.
  Anybody with more information on this board, and especially
*   information on drivers, please e-mail me.

Reveal SC600 ("SoundFX Wave 32"):
---------------------------------
Phone: 800-326-2222 (customer service), 800-535-0339 (orders), 818-704-6300
Fax: 818-594-8477
BBS: 818-713-8188
e-mail: 72662.3604@compuserve.com
web: http://www.reveal.com
Type: Wavetable
Chipset: Ensoniq OTTO
CD-ROM: ?
Street price: ~$200 (Now discontinued)
OS/2 Drivers: Uses Ensoniq Soundscape drivers (?); available but limited
Drivers from: ftp.ensoniq.com (?)
Comments: An announcement on the Reveal BBS confirms that this board has
  been discontinued, and that Reveal has no plans to develop drivers for
  it.  As of mid-April, my local Sears store had it in stock but not the
  SC500.  The brochures from Reveal say that it uses "Soundscape technology
  from Ensoniq," and the board does apparently use Ensoniq drivers, at least
*   under DOS/Windows.  I can't confirm that the same is true under OS/2.

Turtle Beach (various boards):
------------------------------
Phone: 800-645-5640, 717-767-0200
Fax: 717-767-6033
BBS: ?
e-mail: davez@tbeach.com, support@tbeach.com, sales@tbeach.com
Type: Wavetable or FM synthesis
Chipset: Variable (proprietary, CS4231, ICS WaveFront, Yamaha OPL3)
CD-ROM: Varies depending upon model
Street price: ~$100-$200+
OS/2 Drivers: Anybody's guess
Drivers from: ftp.tbeach.com, /pub/tbeach/os2
Comments: Turtle Beach recently put some "generic" drivers on their
  ftp site which reportedly work with the Monte Carlo and Tropez, but
  reports are that these drivers are VERY minimal.  The Tropez board
  will reportedly work for digital files (not MIDI) using the OS/2 Warp
  Business Audio AD1848 driver.  Another post indicates that the Tropez
  will work with the Compaq audio driver included with OS/2, but again,
  only for digital audio (no MIDI support).  Another post indicates
  limited success with the Monte Carlo using the drivers for the Reveal
  SC400 rev. 4G (OPTi 928).  This same person indicated that his board
  bears a stencil of "revision 4G," suggesting the two may be one and
  the same hardware.  A more recent post indicates that the Monte Carlo
  works very well with the 929_v2.zip drivers (see the OPTi boards
  section for details).  Most recently, timur@vnet.ibm.com posted an offer
  to write Tropez drivers if he were given a Tropez and development kit,
  and krzyszto@ifi.uio.no is apparently organizing a campaign to collect
  donations to make this purchase; e-mail him for more information.
*   I've received one report of success with the TB Maui and the MPU-401
*   drivers, though the individual reports having to boot OS/2, initialize
*   the card using the provided DOS software, and reboot.  (Presumably
*   booting DOS first to initialize the card would also work.)

                        PURCHASE RECOMMENDATIONS
                        ------------------------

Which board should you buy?  It depends upon your needs.  Different
people have different wants in a sound board, and I've tried to lay out
some common scenarios below.  Note that some boards appear in more than
one category.  Also keep in mind that I've personal experience with a
SoundBlaster 8-bit, a Reveal SC500 rev. 1, and a miroCONNECT 34 wave, so
I'm most confident about placement of these boards.

Cheap sound:
  SoundBlaster 8-bit (e.g., 8-bit "Value Edition") -- provide
    adequate .WAV file playback and tolerable FM synthesis for system
    sounds and non-critical game use.  They're also THE standard for
    DOS games.  I experienced a number of minor system problems with
    my 8-bit SB board, though others haven't reported this.  These
    also aren't easily upgraded, and won't play back 16-bit .WAV
    files (but most files on ftp sites and whatnot, as well as most
    games, are 8-bit, so this isn't usually a major problem).
  OPTi 928-based -- at about $50-$70 street price, these provide
    16-bit .WAV playback and better FM synthesis than an 8-bit SB
    board, but its street price in stores is higher than that of
    similar boards at computer swap meets.
  Prometheus Aria-16 -- if you can find one, these boards reportedly
    go for about $80, which is as cheap as I've heard for wavetable
    boards.  OS/2 drivers should be adequate, though I've seen a
    number of desparaging comments about the board's sound quality
    on the net (but this may have been from "sound snobs," so take
    it with a grain of salt if you've modest needs in this respect
    but still want something a cut above FM synthesis for MIDI files).

Upgrading from 16-bit FM synthesis to wavetable:
  Assorted manufacturers, including Roland, Creative Labs, Aztech,
    Turtle Beach, and others, make wavetable "daughtercards" to
    upgrade many 16-bit FM synthesis boards to wavetable.  Check
    your existing card's manual to see if it supports this.  I
    gather that Roland makes some of the best-sounding of these
    boards, but I don't have the details.  The latest SoundBlaster
    drivers include an option ("/EXT" appended to the driver's
    CONFIG.SYS line) to reliably force use of the daughtercard.
    I can make no guarantees about support from other cards.
  MPU-401 standalone cards are an option, but be aware that there
    playing a new MIDI file, and an occasional minor timing glitch.
    Sound quality is improved if you modify the MWAVE.INI file to
    point to the large wavetable samples installed with Windows
    support rather than the default medium wavetable samples that
    may be installed with OS/2 support.
  SoundBlaster 16 with wavetable option and separate wavetable daughter
    card -- although this entails two purchases, it should provide
    reliable wavetable sound from OS/2 if you use the latest drivers
    from Creative Labs and the "/EXT" CONFIG.SYS driver option to
    force use of the daughter card.  This should work fine with any
    brand of daughter card, but be cautious in trying different "base"
    cards, as they might require different drivers that might not
    support daughter cards as well, if at all.
  MPU-401 boards -- These are worth considering mainly if you've got
    a .WAV-file-only sound card or if you know you can avoid driver
    conflicts between the MPU-401 driver and whatever your current
    sound board uses for MIDI.

Solid Win-OS/2 support:
  Any Creative Labs product -- some will require that you download
    new Windows drivers from ftp.creaf.com, but all can be made to
    work adequately, at least for most people (there are a few
  OPTi 928/929 -- The latest drivers put this board BARELY within this
    category, as they allow OS/2 sound when running Windows programs, so
    long as the Windows programs aren't actually playing a sound when
    the OS/2 sound request goes in.

Superior wavetable sound quality:
  Check on the various soundcards newsgroups for recommendations; I
    don't have enough experience with these boards to make a judgment
    about where each falls, though the miroCONNECT is worse than the
    Reveal SC500 when using the medium samples but a bit better when
    using the large samples.  Chances are that a Roland or other
    high-end dedicated MPU-401 board will provide the best quality,
    in conjunction with the MPU-401 driver from IBM, if you can get
    that driver to work.  Turtle Beach products are also reputed to
*     get good sound, as is the Mediatrix board.  IBM's MPU-401 driver
*     is reported to work with at least some of these, but may require
*     booting DOS first to initialize the board.  Some wavetable daughter
    cards from Roland, Turtle Beach, and others also have good
    reputations in this respect, so a SoundBlaster + daughter card
    combination may be worth considering here.

Multifunction support (sound/modem/fax/voicemail):
  Creative Labs PhoneBlaster -- this is the only FM synthesis board
    with modem functions which I know has OS/2 drivers.  Be aware
    that the voicemail functions aren't guaranteed to work under
    OS/2, though.
  IBM Multimedia Modem -- this would be my wavetable board of choice
    with these features, if I had to buy just one board.  Supports
    up to 14,400 bps (v.32bis) at the moment, with 28,800 bps (v.34)
    support currently in beta.  Windows voicemail software reportedly
    works under OS/2, with native OS/2 software under development.
  miroCONNECT 34 wave -- Similar to the IBM Multimedia Modem in
    principle, but with different software.  Supports up to 28,800
    bps (v.34) right now, but that seems to be the beta driver.  The
    fax/voicemail software provided is difficult to get running under
    OS/2.  MIDI functions are unavailable when the modem is in use.
  Separate boards -- Because the Mwave boards use a multifunction
    processor, that processor can be overwhelmed if you try to do too
    much with it, so if you want to use lots of functions at once,
    separate fax/modem/voicemail and sound boards may offer a better
    solution.  Be aware, too, that an integrated board will save you
    a slot if you'd otherwise use an internal modem, but will NOT save
    you IRQs, etc.; the miro board, for instance, takes FOUR IRQs for
    full functionality.

Microchannel (MCA) boards:
  Reply board -- I know virtually nothing about this, other than that
    it's based upon the Vibra-16 chip (see that section for contact
    Vibra-16 drivers available from ftp.creaf.com.
  ChipChat 16 and 32 -- These are FM synthesis and wavetable Sound-
    Blaster clones for MCA.  I know little about them except that
    they exist, so I suggest proceeding with caution, especially if
    you require wavetable sound.
  IBM Multimedia Modem for MCA -- IBM makes both ISA and MCA versions
    of its Multimedia Modem, so this is a good choice for a higher-
    end sound board than the Reply one, with modem features thrown
    in.

Also-rans:
  Advanced Gravis UltraSound series -- the Manley drivers support most,
    but not quite all, of the board's features, so this one doesn't
    quite make the grade yet.  Gravis's lackluster OS/2 support also
    doesn't help this board any.
*   Aztech boards -- these have a history of flakey OS/2 drivers and
*     poor DOS games compatibility.  Some people have reported their
*     Aztech boards working reliably under OS/2, but the overall history
*     doesn't inspire confidence.  I've seen more reports of success
*     recently than a few months ago, though, so things may be improving
*     here -- except that my one Aztech WaveRider 32+ report with the
*     MPU-401 drivers is a "no-go."
  Ensoniq SoundScape -- currently OS/2 .WAV drivers exist, but major
    problems have been reported with DOS/Windows compatibility, so
    I'd recommend avoiding this board, as well as the similar (but
    discontinued) Reveal SC600 ("SoundFX Wave 32").
  MediaVision Jazz 16 -- I've seen too many reports of problems with
    these boards to be able to recommend them, though OS/2 comes with
    drivers for the board.  This is especially true since MediaVision
    seems to be washing its hands of OS/2 support.
  MediaVision Pro 3D -- similar comments to the MediaVision Jazz 16,
    plus no support under OS/2 for the board's wavetable features.
  Reveal SC500 rev. 3 -- unlike the earlier rev. 1 boards, the most
    recent boards bearing the SC500 name does NOT work with the OPTi
    drivers, and the one person I've heard from on this has been
    totally unsuccessful getting it working with OS/2.
  Generic "SoundBlaster-compatible" boards -- unless you've identified
    the board as something with native OS/2 support (such as a direct
    clone of one of the above boards), these may or may not work with
    OS/2, and so represent a poor bet.

So, I hope this has been helpful to somebody.  As I mentioned earlier,
if I get much feedback and/or more information, I'll revise this
document and re-post it.

					--Rod Smith
					  RSMITH@PSYCH.COLORADO.EDU