Sega Genesis - Is the Stinker really that bad?

Official Sega Genesis and Mega Drive consoles vary quite a bit in terms of their built-in sound quality.  When I was looking to acquire a Genesis several years ago, I read that the conventional wisdom was that the original Model 1 was the one to get because it had the best sound quality and did not have the TMSS copy protection scheme.

The original Model 1 is the one with the headphone jack and mono line audio output.  I did not know at the time that there were Model 1s with the High Definition Graphics text and Model 1s without the High Definitions Graphics above the cartridge slot.  The one I acquired did not have the High Definition "HDG" text. Sometime thereafter, I found out that the non-HDG Model 1s had such terrible sound quality compared to HDG Model 1s that they have been given the nickname "the Stinker."  Faced with this reputation, I quickly bought myself an HDG Model 1.  I believed that all HDG consoles would not have TMSS, but the one I got did.

Model 1 of the Sega 16-bit console had several motherboard revisions, as had its successor the Model 2.  Using the information here : http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?7796-GUIDE-Telling-apart-good-Genesis-1s-and-Genesis-2s-from-bad-ones, I have created this table identifying the distinguishing features of all models of the Sega 16-bit console where such information is known :

Reasons for Owning a Gravis Ultrasound - Sound Quality Comparisons

It is an unfortunate fact of PC retro gaming that the Gravis Ultrasound cards are very expensive to buy off the second-hand market and the auction sites.  You may ask why should I want one, my Sound Blaster and my Roland does the trick for me.

For most games, you would be correct, the GUS is not especially impressive.  Some games, like anything using the DOOM engine, mix all the digital audio in software and then send the result to the sound card.  This eliminates one of the most important advantages of the GUS, mixing multiple streams in hardware at reasonable bit-sizes and frequencies.  In this instance, the GUS is no better than a Sound Blaster 16.  In benchmarks, it is actually worse than a SB16.

But for other games, the GUS can have a distinct advantage.  In these games, all audio, music, speech and sound effects, is digitally generated and mixed.  The Sound Blasters must mix this audio in software, but the GUS mixes it in hardware.  The result is always a higher quality sound from the GUS than an SB, even if the SB is a Pro, 16 or AWE model.

Famciom vs. AV Famicom External - Internal Audio Mixing

There is a myth that the AV Famicom is too quiet when it mixes internal audio with external audio.  The myth goes that the external cartridge audio drowns out the internal audio from the console and gives an unbalanced and unfair impression of what the programmer intended the music and sound effects to sound like.  The conclusion is that an original Famicom, preferably an earlier model, is the ideal way to experience Famicom audio.  However, this conclusion is too simplistic and the internal/external mix is not as extreme on standard Nintendo Famicoms and AV Famicoms as one may be led to believe.

Of course Famicom audio has its own problems.  The first problem is that genuine Famicom audio is encoded into RF and decoded in a TV.  The baseline audio has a buzz and the output of the audio sounds like it was run through an oppressive low-pass filter.  The second problem is that playing a Famicom with its RF video and hardwired controllers is something of a chore.

I have made some recordings of several games which use Famicom expansion audio and internal Famicom audio.  The games in question are :

Zelda no Densetsu (Famicom Disk System, The Legend of Zelda)
Akumajou Densetsu (Konami VRC6, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse)

Quick Look - Outrun PC Versions

One of DSI/USI's more competent porting jobs from the late 1980s, Outrun received a decent port to the PC.  It was released three times in English-speaking markets.  All versions properly support CGA, EGA, VGA and Tandy and a Joystick.  I have sample screenshots of the 16-color graphics as displayed on EGA, VGA or Tandy, the 4 color graphics of CGA or Tandy and the monochrome Hercules graphics.  I also have attached speech and sound effect sample recordings that played on startup.

Sound Blaster 8-bit Playback Quality

In this post, I have taken a sample with from a game with FM music and 8-bit digital audio.  The game in question is Day of the Tentacle, which is a typical representative of the quality of digitized audio you can expect from classic DOS games (at least until FMV became prominent).  From six Sound Blaster cards I have recorded the same sample of the intro from the time the game starts until the gang leave for the mansion.  For DOS games, virtually all of them playback digitized audio using 8-bit samples, so the whole of the Sound Blaster range can be used with virtually any DOS game.

Card Number One : Sound Blaster 1.5 CT-1320C
FM Synthesis : Yamaha YM-3812 OPL2
DSP : CT1321 V2.00
CMS Upgrade : Present

This card does a very servicable job with Day of the Tentacle, which really is not using most of the advanced features of the later cards.  Digitized sound is a little noisier than the Sound Blaster Pro, but the noise floor is lower. This card is naturally loud because it does not have a mixer chip, volume being controlled solely via the volume wheel.  



Card Number Two : Sound Blaster Pro CT-1330A Rev. 5

FM Synthesis : Yamaha YM-3812 OPL2 x 2
DSP : CT1341 V3.01
Mixer : CT1345
Bus Interface : CT1336

The sound engine for Day of the Tentacle was made for a card like this.  This card will sound louder than the others because it has an onboard amplifier.  I recorded from the other cards without using their onboard amplifiers.  I used Audacity's normalization function to give the recordings below a comparable amplitude level.

The Pro has an output filter which you can toggle on and off.  The filter is on by default.  If you turn it off, then you get a sharper, yet noisier sound.  By comparison, the filtered version sounds a bit muffled.  Compare for yourselves :





Card Number Three : Sound Blaster 16 MCD CT-1750

CODEC : CT1701
FM Synthesis : Yamaha YMF-262 OPL3
DSP : CT1741 V4.05
Mixer : CT1745A
Bus Interface : CT1746B
Configuration : Jumpers
ASP/CSP : CT1748A

This a first generation sound blaster, and it does not have the hiss I expected.  It does have a lot of pops and clicks when there is speaking.  The noise floor is higher than the Pro.  All the SB16s and later cards use dynamic filtering, which cannot be turned off by the user.



Card Number Four : Sound Blaster 16 MCD CT-2230

CODEC : CT1703
FM Synthesis : Integrated CT1747 OPL3
DSP : CT1741 V4.11
Mixer : CT1745A
Bus Interface : CT1747
Configuration : DIAGNOSE.EXE or SBCONFIG.EXE + Jumpers
ASP/CSP : Not Present

Surprisingly, despite the later DSP and CODEC, this card is even noisier than its predecessor the CT-1750.  It also has the same amount of pops and clicks.  Its actually the noisiest of the bunch.



Card Number Five : Sound Blaster 16 PnP CT-2940

CODEC : Integrated CT2502
FM Synthesis : Discrete Yamaha YMF-289 OPL3-L
DSP : Integrated CT2502, V4.13 Reported
Mixer : Integrated CT2502, fully compatible with CT1745A
Configuration : CTCM.EXE + CTCU.EXE
ASP/CSP : None

This card does not have nearly as many pops and clicks as the other SB16s and the AWE32 described in this post.  The noise floor is slightly lower than the CT-1750 and CT-2760, but higher than the CT-1330.
DIAGNOSE.EXE will report this card's DSP version, but the rest of the card relies on assumptions.



Card Number Six : Sound Blaster AWE32 CT-2760

CODEC : CT1701
FM Synthesis : Integrated CT1747 OPL3

DSP : CT1741 V4.12

Mixer : CT1745A
Bus Interface : CT1747
Configuration : DIAGNOSE.EXE or SBCONFIG.EXE and AWEUTIL.COM + Jumpers
ASP/CSP : CT1748A
EMU-8000 : CT1971 + CT1972
SIMM RAM : None

This card is very much like the CT2230, but it is about as quiet as the CT-1750.



Best Sound Quality

In my opinion, the best sounding of the bunch is the 1330A, followed by the 1320U, then the 2940, 2760, 1750 and finally the 2230.  Of course, with a different sample, my opinion could change.

Will Harvey's Music Construction Set - PC Sound Device Support

In 1984 Electronic Arts introduced a program called Music Construction Set.  It was originally written by 15 year old Will Harvey for his Apple II computer.  Electronic Arts liked what it saw and published it to great success.  It also ported the program to every popular U.S. computer with any kind of sound hardware, the Atari 8-bit machines, the Commodore 64, the Atari ST, the Apple IIgs and the IBM PC.  An upgraded version called Deluxe Music Construction Set was released for the Macintosh and Amiga.  Each version would take advantage of the native sound capabilities of the hardware.

Unfortunately, the Apple II and the IBM PC's hardware was unimpressive compared to the other machines.  They only have a speaker.  The Apple II's CPU must directly drive the speaker, so there was no CPU time left over for scrolling the screen on the Apple II version using the built-in speaker.  The IBM PC's speaker was timer driven, so it could still scroll the screen using the 1-note speaker option.

Fortunately, both the Apple II and the IBM PC supported alternatives.  The Apple II version supported a Mockingboard card for six voices of stereo sound.  Using the timer-supplied Mockingboard allowed the CPU to scroll the note sheet.  The IBM PC versions are much more interesting from a hardware perspective.

Original Release

The original release for the PC supported the IBM PC, XT and PCjr. and "COMPAQ"  Because it calibrated itself for CPU speed, it would also work in faster machines like the IBM AT., although the loading time may be increased as a result.  This program was a PC booter, and the version widely available also has Tandy 1000 support.  Tandy marketed Music Construction Set, so this version may have originally have been from Tandy.

Interestingly, the program does detect the machine it is being used in on startup and will adjust its configuration options accordingly.

On the Tandy 1000, here are the options :

Input - Keyboard; Joystick (Right Port)
Sound - 3 Notes, Scroll; Speaker - 1 Note, Scroll
Printer - Tandy Graphics Printer (IBM Mode), Epson Graphics Printer, Okidata Graphics Printer, No Printer

On the IBM PCjr., here are the options :

Input - Keyboard, Koala Pad, Joystick
Sound - PCjr - 3 Notes, Scroll; Cassette - 4 Notes, Speaker - 1 Note, Scroll
Printer - IBM Graphics Printer, Epson Graphics Printer, Okidata Graphics Printer, No Printer

On the IBM PC, here are the options :

Input - Keyboard, Koala Pad, Joystick
Sound - Speaker, 4 Notes; Cassette - 4 Notes; Speaker - 1 Note, Scroll; Cassette - 1 Note, Scroll
Printer - IBM Graphics Printer, Epson Graphics Printer, Okidata Graphics Printer, No Printer

I do not own a Koala Pad, but it uses the joystick port.  It probably would have been the smoothest way to control the icon-based interface of MCS.  Because of the special characters, a character-based printer would not work to print Treble and Bass clefs and musical notes, so a Graphics Printer was required.  Interestingly, I find no mention of the PCjr. Compact Printer in the PCjr.'s options, but if there is no parallel port sidecar, it may work as it would designated as LPT1.  The Compact Printer does support bitmap modes like the listed Graphics Printers.  A list of the printers it has been tested with can be found in the Reference Card.  Music is printed vertically down the printer page, rather than horizontally as one would expect sheet music to print.

The 4 Notes selections used up all the available CPU time, so the music did not scroll when played with these modes.  For the PCjr and Tandy, the 3 note option, using the built-in sound chip, was obviously the way to go.  I do not know why they even bothered with the cassette option for the PCjr., a person with a cassette player could record the 3-voice music just as easily.  I do not know if the cassette option is still selectable on an IBM PC/XT, which does not have a cassette port and can be uniquely identified.  Most generic PC compatibles identify themselves as an IBM PC, so the cassette option is still there although it will not work.

Despite being deemed a PC booter, MCS is tied very much to DOS.  The disk is readable in DOS, but only the song files will be seen.  When loading and saving songs, a DOS prompt is used and the commands are very DOS and BASIC like.  A standard DOS formatted disk can save and load more songs.  Oddly, the
loading screen uses a 40-column mode, probably for the PCjr.  Full instructions for use in the PC can be found in the Reference Card.  The manual and reference card for the IBM PC version can be found at replacementdocs.com.  Listings for the sample songs can also be found in the reference card.

IBM Music Feature Card Version

In 1987, Electronic Arts released a revised version of Music Construction Set for the IBM Music Feature Card.  I was able to find a download of this program.  This version of MCS is a true DOS program, although presumably still protected.  If you load a mouse driver beforehand (CTMOUSE.EXE 1.91 works, make sure your COM1 settings are standard 3F8/04), you can use a Microsoft protocol-compatible mouse to control the cursor.  The movement is still a bit rough and only supports one button, but better than a joystick.  Using the keyboard will allow for fine placement of notes.  PCjr. support was removed, but the program still works on an IMFC-less PC and a Tandy 1000.

The IBM Music Feature and mouse are autodetected, but if one or the other is not present, you still have some options.  On the IBM PC, the sound options are Speaker - 1 Note, Scroll; Cassette - 1 Note, Scroll.  On the Tandy 1000, the options are the same as they were for the non-IMFC version.  Koala Pad support is not present, but joysticks are still supported.

The loading screen for the IMFC version is now using 80-columns and has a text based cursor select system.  It was very forward thinking for EA to provide a command list on the screen.  Also, if the settings button (the plug) is clicked after the program starts, a menu displays that allows you to select the instruments to be used from the 240 voice patches available on the IMFC.  The program does not appear to supply custom voice patches, even though the IMFC has room for 96 of them.  When you play back a song, it will show one of the voice patches assigned to the treble and bass clefs.

The Setup Screen allows to choose up to 13 voices for customization.  You can customize each instrument from the IMFC by the following :

Pan : L, L+R, R
Portamento : Off, Slow, Med., Fast
Vibrato : Off, On
Octave : -2, -1, 0, 1, 2

While you can only use two instruments at a time for playback, the SO sliders allow you to select one instrument for each stave on the Music Screen.  On a PCjr. or Tandy, the SO sliders had 13 steps which determined the character of the sound for each stave.  With the IMFC, the name of the instrument will change if you raise or lower the respective SO slider.  The VO slider does the same for the volume of the stave on either the PCjr., Tandy or IMFC.  Because DOSBox does not support the IMFC, I cannot post a screenshot of the Setup Screen.  Unfortunately, the instruments selected cannot be changed during the song, but this is a handy way of quickly trying out new instruments.

Most of the songs found on the original version can be found on the IMFC version, but weirdly Daisy and the Canon in D Major are not present.  The modern songs are not present, but there are several other songs, such as Dixie, Yankee Doodle Dandy and the first few bars of M.U.L.E.'s theme song.  Mystery, Buggy, Rhythm and Scales are present.  Songs from either version will not necessarily sound the same as the song on the other version on the same hardware.

Why no further versions?

MCS had always tried to provide broad sound support, and this version for the IMFC was the first and last time the program was updated to support a PC sound peripheral.  Electronic Arts did not attempt to release a version for the Adlib.  In 1987, IBM was still considered a sure thing and Adlib was barely known.  The IMFC filled a niche with the IMFC by providing a basic, easy to use music program.  This program was especially useful to younger people.  However, considering the rarity of both the IMFC and this version, it was no great seller and EA probably lost money on the conversion.  By the end of 1988, when an Adlib version would have been feasible, MCS was looking a bit long in the tooth.  Adlib also had its Visual Composer software that took many cues from MCS.  EA itself was transitioning from a publisher-assisted producer to a fully-fledged game studio.  The end result was that this was the end of the venerable MCS.

Sound Samples

All captured from real hardware.  No post-processing of any sort has been done (that I know of), so you may want to turn the volume up for the Tandy recordings.  For the PC Speaker recordings, I used my cassette cable to capture the equivalent of what would be heard through the speaker.  I used a Tandy 1000SX for the Tandy recordings and used my IMFC in my IBM PC.

IBM PC Speaker/Cassette 1-Note Original







IBM PC Speaker/Cassette 4-Note







PCjr./Tandy 3-Note Original Version

PCjr./Tandy 3-Note IMFC Version







IBM Music Feature Card

Non-PC Speaker Digitized Sound Part II : Sample Time

In a prior post, I discussed the ability of sound devices other than the PC Speaker to produce digitized sound.  In this entry, I will share some recordings I have made of these digitized samples.  Most of the samples will be voice, but there are some sound effects and even music.

First off, here is Touchdown Football for the IBM PCjr., with an 8088 CPU @ 4.77MHz and using the TI SN76496 :



Next, here is the same game in its Tandy version, running on a Tandy 1000 RL, which uses an 8086 running at 9.44MHz, using a PSSJ-based TI SN 76496 core :



This code is very speed-sensitive.  Even on an RL in the slow 4.77MHz mode, it still runs too fast.  I believe that the code was only meant for an 8088 running at 4.77MHz, not a V20, and not an 8086 (which is what the RL has).

Here is the same sample, but being run by a Tandy 1000 SX, which uses an 8088 CPU running at 7.16MHz and an NCR 8496 (clone of the TI SIN 76496) :



This time, the sample sounds much more appropriate than the chipmunk like rendering by the faster machine.  However, this game was released when the only Tandy 1000 on the market was the 4.77MHz only 8088 CPU of the original Tandy 1000.  A Tandy 1000 TX running at 4MHz sounds very similar.  Because the SX can also run at 4.77MHz, I have been able to record the sample at that speed, and here it is :



If you compare this sample to the PCjr. sample, it becomes clear that the same voice is being used for both software versions.  Therefore, in order to run this game at its intended speed, an 8088 running at 4.77MHz is necessary.

While Touchdown Football turned out not to be a PCjr. exclusive, the next sample clip is from The World's Greatest Baseball Game.  This game, as far as I know, only officially supported PCjr. for enhanced graphics and sound.  I have included the music and speech that play before you start a game :



The announcer does sound a bit more synthetic than the announcer for Touchdown Football, but the speech is easy enough to comprehend.

The next sample clip is a fairly long one, and it is my recording of the movement sounds and battle sounds from the original, 16-color version of Battle Chess.  In this case, Battle Chess is running on a Tandy 1000 TX, 8MHz 80286, using an NCR 8496 clone of the TI SN 76496 :



Roughly, the clips are in the following order:

Pawn Moves
Knight Moves
Bishop Moves
Knight Takes Bishop
Bishop Takes Pawn
King Takes Bishop
Knight Takes Knight
Queen Takes Pawn
Rook Moves (King and Queen move silently)
Queen Takes Knight
Queen Takes Pawn
Knight Takes Queen
Queen Takes Knight
Rook Takes Queen
Bishop Takes Knight

Battle Chess in its 16-color version only supports PC speaker and Tandy 3-voice sound.  The PC speaker version lacks movement sounds, and the sound quality is pretty awful compared to the Tandy sound.  It was too awful to record, play the game in DOSBox if you want to hear it.  Fortunately, the 256-color version supports a Sound Blaster and plays identically to the 16-color version.  Interplay could have done better, as we will see soon enough.

Before I continue, I would note that I am recording all the Tandy 3-voice and PC Speaker samples through the RCA audio out jack of the Tandy 1000 TX.  This jack provides line level output.  I decided to avoid using my Tandy 1000 TL because a game may inadvertently utilize the Tandy DAC, and that is not the point of these samples.  For the Adlib and Game Blaster and Sound Blaster samples, I recorded them off a Sound Blaster 1.5 with C/MS upgrade.  That card only has an amplified out, so those samples are comparatively louder in these recordings than the Tandy and PC Speaker samples.  I decided not to tamper with them.

The next three games support PC Speaker or Adlib for digitized sound.  Wizardry, Bane of the Cosmic Forge and Super Jeopardy also supports the Covox Sound Master, Voice Master and the Innovation SSI-2001, but I do not have access to any of the Covox boards.  [I will try to put up a recording from the SSi-2001 clone I purchased].  Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure sounds very impressive with the Adlib.  Additionally, both Wizardry and its sequel, Wizardry Crusaders of the Dark Savant uses the Adlib for digitized sound, even though they are quite aware of a Sound Blaster.  The digitized sound in the Wizardry Bane intro is not very long, so I did not bother to record a PC Speaker reference sample.











Finally, I will demonstrate Activisions "Omnimusic" driver from BattleTech : The Crescent Hawks' Revenge. This driver provides digitized sound through the PC Speaker, the Tandy 3-voice sound chip, the Adlib and Game Blaster chips, the Sound Blaster DSP, the IBM PS/1 Audio/Game Card, the Covox Sound Master and the Innovation SSI-2001.  It is a jack of all trades as far as sound devices of the late 80s and early 90s go.  However, not all things are equal, as you can judge for yourself.











As you can hear, the PC Speaker only does the digitized sound effects, and not very well at that.  The Game Blaster has a high pitched whine in its playback not heard with Tandy or Adlib, but the samples sound pretty decent  The Sound Blaster provides reference quality samples.

There are other PC games that support digitized sound through an Adlib card or clone.  These include Dungeon Master, Another World/Out of this World and Electro Man / ElectroBODY.  All these games support Sound Blaster and that is what anyone with a Sound Blaster should use.

If you want some more samples of what the Tandy chip can do when pushed to incorporate digital samples, then listen to some of these recordings from my friend Cloudschatze's channel :

688 Attack Sub : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2A8GbsKcYQ
One on One : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2A8GbsKcYQ
Kings of the Beach : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2N7VLF0ZQo
Skate or Die : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8_z_CI37JE