Reviews

LABS Sonic Buster 8

Introduction

I was one of the lucky people who got to receive a prototype test board of LABS's new and upcoming ISA sound card, Sonic Buster 8.  I have been testing it on multiple systems of different speeds and flavors over the last few weeks in order to provide compatibility feedback and record sample audio clips.  This card now permanently resides inside my 1987-89 i286 Build.  That computer used to have my trusty Aztech NX in it, which was a card that I thought I would never again remove .  That is just how much I liked the Sonic Buster 8.  That is just how good it is.

The Card

Sonic Buster 8 is a small ISA sound card.  The board measures 140mm by 100 mm - roughly around the same size as an AdLib Sound System card.  While I do not know what color the eventual final product will be, the prototype I have on hand is a beautiful gold brown color that is reminiscent of Aztech sound cards of yore.  The design is a rather striking fusion of old and new: The card is built using modern SMD components, but the audio circuitry is connected to the bus through a jungle of logic ICs.  This familiar layout gives away what the card actually is: a Sound Blaster 2.0 clone.  As such, it is very well suited for older systems that do not support ISA PnP well or at all.  

But there is a lot more to the story, because LABS has improved on that card in many aspects that I think are worth noting.  All Sound Blaster compatible cards require a compatible DSP to process digital audio and an FM Synthesizer to process chiptune music. Sonic Buster 8 is no exception.  The Atmel ATMEGA88 MCU comes programmed with a v2.01 Sound Blaster DSP clone that perfectly imitates an original Sound Blaster 2.0 with regards to digital audio processing.   The MCU firmware is user upgradeable using a DOS utility, theoretically allowing for future DSP bug-fixes and compatibility improvements,  The FM Synthesis tasks are handled by a genuine Yamaha YMF262.  And this is where the card starts to get really interesting compared to a regular Sound Blaster 2.0.  

Sound Blaster Semi-Pro

The original Sound Blaster, in both of its 1.x and 2.0 revisions, was a Mono audio solution.  It processed and played back not only digital audio but also FM music in mono.  This was due to the limitations of the FM Synthesizer chip it had on board: the Yamaha YM3812, also known as the Yamaha OPL2 core.  OPL2 is a two operator synthesizer that is capable of producing a limited number of four different wave forms in mono.  Its successor, the OPL3 is a four operator synthesizer that can produce stereo music (with two completely separate channels) using nine different wave forms, meaning it is harmonically way more capable.  

It is also (almost) perfectly backwards compatible with OPL2. The YMF262 found on the Sonic Buster 8 is one of many revisions of Yamaha OPL3.  This means, in effect, the Sonic Buster 8 is capable of combining Sound Blaster 2.0 digital audio with OPL3 Stereo music.  OPL3 does indeed have subtle differences compared to OPL2 that my untrained ear honestly can not tell .  However, if you are a purist who will have their Adlib music done by an OPL2 and an OPL2 only, the card does have a jumper (JP4) that, if removed, disconnects the YMF262 from 388h.  This allows a separate genuine Adlib or compatible card with OPL2 to resume those duties while the Sonic Buster continues to function as an OPL3 on 220h. 

The improvements do not end there, however.  Unlike the Sound Blaster 2.0, Sonic Buster 8 does not require a -5V rail.  This simple quality of life improvement makes it possible to use the Sonic Buster 8 with more modern PSUs conforming to ATX 2.01 and later revisions without having to rely on crutches such as the Voltage Blaster.  

It is also worth noting at this point that, again unlike the Sound Blaster 2.0, the Sonic Buster 8 does not rely on the 14.3181MHz ISA clock signal, and is also not a speed sensitive card.  Consequently, it is a simple drop in for even 1GHz+ systems running Tualatin or Athlon CPUs.

Due to corners cut by Creative Labs during the design of the original Sound Blaster, all cards prior to the Sound Blaster Pro lack an onboard hardware mixer with individual levels for different sources.  As a consequence,  volume levels of audio from the Microphone, FM Synth and Digital Audio can not be changed, or muted by the user.  Sonic Buster 8 has a similar build.  The DSP and FM Synthesizer each have their own DACs (MCP4901 and YAC512 respectively) that generate audio that is mixed at analogue level and output through a single line level Line Out jack.  Unlike the original Sound Blaster cards, however, the Sonic Buster 8 remedies this issue .  

Despite having only a single jack on the bracket, the card comes with a rather busy rearside that sports four potentiometers allowing for individually controlling volume levels of the CD/Aux, OPL3, DSP, and Speaker Out audio.  While I have found the default levels for each of these to be fairly reasonable at a neutral 50%, you can change them to your heart's content or fix issues with any fringe cases you may come across, which is a very welcome addition.

This busy bracket arrangement leaves no space for a Joystick/MIDI port, which is an absent feature that may need to be taken into consideration depending on the use case.  The card also lacks a hardware wavetable header, and therefore any MIDI capabilities whatsoever, intelligent or otherwise.  Being an 8-bit card, it also completely lacks any kind of onboard IDE/CD-ROM controller.  

If you need any of these features, you need to support the Sonic Buster 8 with a second sound card, an MPU-401 interface card or a Multi-IO card, depending on the requirement. That said, the card has an Aux/CD audio header (which is not in the regular  4-pin LGGR pinout but rather the 3-ping LGR pinout) that makes mixing in CD-ROM audio (or the audio output of another sound card or MIDI device internally for that matter) possible.  This is also an added feature that you will not find on a regular Sound Blaster 1.x/2.0.

Installation and Configuration

Sonic Buster 8 is, as the name implies, an 8-bit card.  As such, it will work with the entirety of its features even in PCs that lack 16-bit ISA slots.  The card is configured via three jumper blocks at the top that allow you to set Address (200/220/240/260 on my prototype, but 210/220/230/240 on the final revision), IRQ (3/5/7) and DMA (1/3), taking care to not cause IRQ or DMA conflicts with other expansion cards you may have in the system. There are two internal audio input headers for CD/Aux and PC Speaker and one 3.5mm Line Out for external audio output.  

And that is all there is to it, really.  You do not need any DOS initialization routines or drivers to use the card aside from setting the BLASTER environment accordingly (ie. SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T3) for games that depend on it for detection routines.The card then responds like any regular Sound Blaster 2.0 to any software that detects for a v2.x DSP and an respond as an OPL3 FM Synth to any requests on 388h.

The card ran without issue and exhibited no compatibility or speed sentivity issues in the following chipset/CPU configurations during my testing:

• Headland HT12/A & AMD Am286-16/S 

• UMC UM8498/8496 & Intel 486SX-33

• PCChips TX Pro (ALi Aladdin IV)  & Intel Pentium MMX 166

• VIA VT82C693A (Apollo Pro133)  & Intel Pentium III 850

What A Difference 30 Years Make

Released in 1991, the Sound Blaster 2.0 was a significantly more integrated card than the 1.x, but it was still not an epitome of audio fidelity.  These early ISA sound cards are well known for a multitude of issues that are detrimental to sound quality: Poor output filtering, ISA bus interference, an inadequate ground plane, reliance on -5V being the most jarring.

LABS already took their first stab at making a Sound Blaster 2.0 compatible sound card back in 2018 with the BLASTERBOARD.  It was an incredibly high quality replica that took every care to achieve a pristine clear audio path, and managed to achieve -94dB RMS.  Sonic Buster 8 is an evolution of this card, and incorporates improvements that have brought the noise floor on the audio path down to -100dB RMS.   The result is shockingly crystal clear audio out of a vintage computer.  

 You can find below clips of the Sonic Buster 8 in action that I made with my Behringer UCA222 ADC.  All recordings were made at 50% volume, then normalized to -3dB in Audacity.

For games that allow selecting an OPL3 compatible synthesizer in the setup, however, you are delightfully treated to amazing stereo music.  TIE Fighter and Descent are two such game where you can specify "4-OP FM" for Music and hear their Stereo FM soundtrack cleaner than ever.

Being a DSP 2.x solution, Sonic Buster 8 is also not prone to the very annoying DMA clicking artifacts most of the Sound Blaster 16 line is prone to.  Day of the Tentacle is a game where this issue is notoriously prevalent on such cards, but runs flawlessly on the Sonic Buster 8.

At The End Of The Day

If you are in the market for a Sound Blaster compatible ISA sound card, you are not really short on options.  There are still countless old cards out in the wild and we are almost spoiled for choice these days with replicas and original designs available for purchase.  The costs of these cards vary greatly from a few to hundreds of dollars.  Some of them will just make noise, some of them offer audio clarity thought unachievable back in the days.  Sonic Buster 8 is one of the latter, a niche card that offers great fidelity.

As for who it is for; if you have read this review so far and then you probably know it if it is indeed the right card for you .  Regardless,  allow me to elaborate anyway.  This card's appeal is probably the strongest for enthusiasts whose fondest memories of '89-'92 are of playing the likes of Space Quest III, Loom, Monkey Island, Civilization and Fate of Atlantis on a 286/386 PC.  If you fit this description, then you are probably looking to recreate and even improve this experience for maximum nostalgia feels.  LABS already had this niche well covered with their fantastic Blasterboard, and have now improved even further on the formula with Sonic Buster 8 - there is no other card that does what it does better.

Who it probably isn't for, however, is the casual retro gamer chasing the ever elusive all-in-one sound card solution (that still does not exist).  There are solutions on the market today that come really close to doing that.  Cards like the Orpheus, MK8330 and AWE64 Legacy one-up the Sonic Buster 8 by offering Stereo digital audio and MIDI capabilities in addition to top notch audio fidelity.  However, being 16-bit PnP cards, they arguably occupy an entirely different niche, and therefore are not direct comparisons or competitors.  If one turns to alternative 8-bit solutions, then Sonic Buster 8 deservedly postures as the king of that hill.  If your heart lies with these kinds of older systems, then you owe it to yourself to get this card.  It really is one of a kind.

13.12.2024