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386 DX-40 multi-sound card build (5 sound cards!)

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First post, by Shponglefan

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The attachment 386 Setup.jpg is no longer available

CPU: Am386DX-40
MB: BC3486F w/ 128k cache
RAM: 8 MB
Disk Drives: 3.5" and 5.25" Floppy drives
CD Drive: Mitsumi 4x CD-ROM
Fixed Storage: 256 MB Cisco Systems CompactFlash + CF-IDE Adapter
Controller Card: Biostar FI33290U-IO101-2
Video Card: Diamond SpeedStar 24x (WD90C31) Diamond SpeedStar VGA (Tseng ET4000AX)

Sound Cards:

  • Adlib Gold 1000 with Goldlib Surround module
  • Atrend ATC-6631 (YMF719E-S) + DreamBlaster X2GS wavetable
  • Gravis UltraSound rev 3.7
  • Roland LAPC-I
  • TexElec SAAYM (Game Blaster / CMS + YM2151)
The attachment 386 Setup 3.jpg is no longer available

This build was primarily to see how many sound cards I could reasonably fit into a 386 era system. The two main cards I wanted was the Adlib Gold and Roland LAPC-I. Other cards were then selected based on relative compatibility and usability for late 80s and early 90s gaming.

The PnP-capability of the YMF719 card is essential for working with the Adlib Gold. In various tests, I learned that running other cards on the same 388h port does not play well with the Gold.

I use a boot menu to control the YMF719 card for three scenarios: port 388h (FM support), port 3A8h (no FM), and disabled entirely.

The SAAYM and YMF719 card both share the same address (220h). This doesn't really cause any issues unless I want to use the SAAYM. In which case I use a batch file to disable the YMF719 card.

The attachment 386 Equipment Rack.jpg is no longer available

Audio routing is accomplished via an Edirol M-10MX 5 stereo channel mixer and a 4-port A/V switch. I route the Adlib Gold, YMF719 card, GUS and SAAYM directly to the mixer. The LAPC-I is routed to the A/V switch along with any external sound modules. The switch is then routed to the mixer. MIDI is handled via the LACP-I and MCB-1 connector box.

This easily enables me to toggle between sound options for MIDI playback and then mix with any of the other sound cards. I can also mix different audio sources played through different sound cards. For example, digital sound effects or speech through the YMF719 card and FM music through the Adlib Gold.

If I want even more sound options, I also have a Covox Speech Thing clone and a Disney Sound Source that can be hooked up to the parallel port.

Last edited by Shponglefan on 2023-08-08, 18:17. Edited 8 times in total.

Pentium 4 Multi-OS Build
486 DX4-100 with 6 sound cards
486 DX-33 with 5 sound cards

Reply 1 of 17, by Shponglefan

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More setup and testing details are here: Five sound cards in a 386 (Gravis UltraSound, Adlib Gold, Roland LAPC-I, TexElec SAAYM, Yamaha YMF719)

Here are a few of the build log photos:

The attachment 386 DX40 testing.jpg is no longer available
The attachment 386 DX40 test bench.jpg is no longer available
The attachment 386 Ultrasound 2.jpg is no longer available
The attachment 386 Ultrasound 3.jpg is no longer available
The attachment 386 with Casiotone CT-460.jpg is no longer available
Last edited by Shponglefan on 2023-07-24, 23:34. Edited 3 times in total.

Pentium 4 Multi-OS Build
486 DX4-100 with 6 sound cards
486 DX-33 with 5 sound cards

Reply 2 of 17, by Shponglefan

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Sound cards are currently configured as follows to avoid as many conflicts as possible:

Atrend ATC-6631 (YMF719)
A=220h
I=5
D=1
P=300
FM=388 or 3A8 (boot option)

Adlib Gold
A=388
I=3
D=disabled

Gravis UltraSound
A=260h
I=7
D=7

TexElec SAAYM
A=220h
I=disabled

Roland LAPC-I
I=2/9
P=330

For the most part, everything works. The exception is digital audio via the Adlib Gold. While digital audio can work, games I've tested require DMA channel 1. Unfortunately, this is also a common DMA channel for many Sound Blaster supported games. As a result, I opted to disable the DMA channel on the Adlib Gold and forego digital sound. It's a non-issue since I can always get digital audio through the YMF719 card.

I do use a wavetable daughter card on the YMF719 card's header. If needed, I use MIDITO to redirect MIDI from port 330h to 300h. This way I can use MIDI either via an external module or the internal wavetable even on games that do natively support custom MIDI ports.

Last edited by Shponglefan on 2023-07-25, 22:59. Edited 3 times in total.

Pentium 4 Multi-OS Build
486 DX4-100 with 6 sound cards
486 DX-33 with 5 sound cards

Reply 3 of 17, by Nexxen

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Gorgeous!
Basically you always get the best out of your setup. Nice!

PC#1 Pentium 233 MMX - 98SE
PC#2 PIII-1Ghz - 98SE/W2K

Reply 5 of 17, by Nexxen

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This is interesting. I hope you'll upload some video if you are into that.
I learnt something today.

PC#1 Pentium 233 MMX - 98SE
PC#2 PIII-1Ghz - 98SE/W2K

Reply 6 of 17, by kixs

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Video Card: Diamond Speedstar 24 (Tseng ET4000/WP32)

Diamond Speedstar24 is usually based on Tseng ET4000AX chipset. ET4000/w32p is VLB and PCI only AFAIK.

Otherwise I really like your setup 😁

Requests here!

Reply 7 of 17, by appiah4

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That is a very pretty setup!

Reply 8 of 17, by Shponglefan

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kixs wrote on 2023-07-25, 10:11:

Video Card: Diamond Speedstar 24 (Tseng ET4000/WP32)

Diamond Speedstar24 is usually based on Tseng ET4000AX chipset. ET4000/w32p is VLB and PCI only AFAIK.

Otherwise I really like your setup 😁

Whoops, that's what I get for copy-pasting without proofreading. Thanks for catching that! 😁

appiah4 wrote on 2023-07-25, 11:03:

That is a very pretty setup!

Thank you!

Pentium 4 Multi-OS Build
486 DX4-100 with 6 sound cards
486 DX-33 with 5 sound cards

Reply 10 of 17, by Hezus

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That's quite the impressive sound system you've got there! So many ironic cards and modules! Amazing!

Visit my YT Channel!

Reply 11 of 17, by Samir

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Beautiful! Now all you need is some DAW software on there and do some digital tracking--1990s style!

Reply 12 of 17, by Jo22

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Awesome! Got a CT-460, too! 😃
(I'm using Cubase Lite on Windows 3.1 occasionally.)

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 13 of 17, by GL1zdA

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Great, thoughtful setup. Good to know the YMF719 plays nice with the AdLib Gold. Bonus points for the CT-460 😉

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Reply 14 of 17, by Shponglefan

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Couple updates on this build and identification of a couple issues.

Diamond SpeedStar Monochrome Issue

The attachment 386 Diamond Speedstar.jpg is no longer available

First is the video card. For some reason, it periodically detects as a monochrome card instead of color. I did notice this during the original build and testing, but chalked it up to a loose VGA cable. Usually reseating the cable and rebooting the system would fix the issue.

But that problem has persisted in its more permanent setup. I'm not sure if it's an issue with the card or possibly the motherboard. There is a motherboard jumper for switching default monitor settings (color versus monochrome). Removing and reseating the cable still seems to correct the issue, so also not sure if it's a dirty contact or something else.

To test if it's a motherboard issue, I swapped the card for a Diamond SpeedStar 24x. This card is slightly slower in 3D Bench that the original SpeedStar (15.8 FPS originally versus 15.1 with the SpeedStar 24x). It's a ~4.5% reduction in performance, but for playing mostly 2D games I don't think it will be noticeably different.

Roland LAPC-I noise issue

The attachment 386 Roland LAPC-I.jpg is no longer available

The second issue is the Roland LAPC-I. I noticed in certain games a high-pitched noise in the background. It was most noticeable with Monkey Island and Gateway. It appears that the LAPC-I is picking up or generating a high-pitched whine in this system.

I tried swapping the LAPC-I for a known good LAPC-I from one of my 286 builds. However, the symptoms persisted. I also tested removing all other sound cards and trying the LAPC-I in different slots. In one slot the noise got worse, but never any better.

The high-pitched noise only really occurs during music playback. The moment there is a break in music, the noise fades out after about a second. For soundtracks with higher default volumes it's also less noticeable. Testing games including Waxworks, Elvira, Rise of the Dragon and Settlers, I don't notice the noise. But in Monkey Island and Gateway it's definitely present.

The attachment 386 testing MPU401-AT.jpg is no longer available

I further tested using an MPU-401AT card with a Roland wavetable. Obviously not the same as a proper MT-32 soundbank, but it doesn't seem to have the same issue. I also don't have the same issue with Monkey Island with the LAPC-I in my 286 builds. So it appears specific to LAPC-I cards in this specific system.

It's not a complete deal breaker since I have an external MT-32 which is free of any background noise. But it is a little disappointing since I'd hoped the LAPC-I would provide clear audio.

I may attempt swapping the PSU to see if that reduces that noise. Failing that, I'd have to swap the entire board and rebuild the system, not something I'm too keen on doing.

Pentium 4 Multi-OS Build
486 DX4-100 with 6 sound cards
486 DX-33 with 5 sound cards

Reply 15 of 17, by Cloudschatze

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Shponglefan wrote on 2023-08-08, 15:46:

The second issue is the Roland LAPC-I. I noticed in certain games a high-pitched noise in the background. It was most noticeable with Monkey Island and Gateway. It appears that the LAPC-I is picking up or generating a high-pitched whine in this system.

The pictured LAPC-I lacks a noise-mitigating capacitor change made later in production. Not sure if that's the issue at hand, but, per the attached change information, you can test by simply bending the ceramic disc capacitor at C66 away from the transistor at Q2, and toward the op-amp at IC29.

Reply 16 of 17, by Shponglefan

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Cloudschatze wrote on 2023-08-08, 17:14:
Shponglefan wrote on 2023-08-08, 15:46:

The second issue is the Roland LAPC-I. I noticed in certain games a high-pitched noise in the background. It was most noticeable with Monkey Island and Gateway. It appears that the LAPC-I is picking up or generating a high-pitched whine in this system.

The pictured LAPC-I lacks a noise-mitigating capacitor change made later in production. Not sure if that's the issue at hand, but, per the attached change information, you can test by simply bending the ceramic disc capacitor at C66 away from the transistor at Q2, and toward the op-amp at IC29.

Thanks for the info. I gave that a try, but unfortunately it didn't seem to change anything.

Reading the doc, it looks like the C66 is specific to right-channel noise. Whereas the noise I'm noticing appears to be coming through both channels.

It was worth a shot and good to know about that fix all the same.

Pentium 4 Multi-OS Build
486 DX4-100 with 6 sound cards
486 DX-33 with 5 sound cards

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