PC Specs for Today's Emulation

[Malenko]

Put blitz in standard res via dip switches and see if it runs better

[pixel]

 TLDR -  High Definition Audio is Far Superior to overpriced name brand Garbage,  and Cheap Onboard Chipset Junk.
 

Unless you're listening to something like this, it doesn't matter.

 Old School Arcade games, and the elder console games... use FM Synthesizer chips.  These chips are capable of some of the most hi-fidelity, dynamic sounds.
(unlike todays pop tunes... which then to use pre-recorded low-fidelity  "Samples".

 As a result,  if you so choose to use low quality options... you may miss out of what these systems are capable of.   From dull and missing treble.. to a lacking in the low end bass.

 I have an old  Yamaha DX7 IID  keyboard (which sadly, got damaged in all of the moves Ive made). There are sounds the DX7 makes... that will totally astound you.
There is a certain magic about FM sounds... especially when they are clean and clear... though a great output system.

 For me... clean and clear audio is just as... if not more important than video quality.   Many older games do not have that great of graphics to begin with... but... they have ICONIC sound effects and music.   These sounds far make up for the lacking graphics.. as they create an emotional environment.   This is why some of the more Iconic films are such big hits.   If the original  Star-Wars  series came out with a techno-soundtrack... it Never would have reached the worldwide success it has gained.  The genius emotion packed score... enhances the scenes into a whole other level of depth and emotional impact.

 All I can say... is that if you believe Onboard is just fine... them play side-by-side  Onboard -vs- Dedicated Soundblaster.   Put your ears and your soul... to the test.  I doubt most people will have any issue telling the two apart.

 And as Ive said... you get a nice performance boost as well.... with dedicated soundcards.

[pixel]

Right out of the gate he opened up with Audiophool Nonsense Excuse #0001: "You just don't have golden ears!" so I disregarded the rest.

 So... Right out of the Gate... you failed due to your Butthurt Bias.

 What do you think about a Chef that smokes often?    Do you think they have the same palette as someone whom does not smoke?!

 NOPE!

 The Truth does not care about what you FEEL.   Its merely is or is Not.

 If you have a low level of tastebud receptors... you can eat almost anything... and consider it absolutely wonderful... as your depth of sense
would be limited in such a way... as potentially to not be able to taste something that is  "Off ".    I have met several people like this... whom
have recommended certain estamblishments to eat at... with RAVING positive reviews.   I take one bite... and I am instantly regretting it.  >_<

 The same of true for the Eyes.   Many people on this site... took an Online color Test.   There were like 120 colored boxes,  and you had to
arrange them perfectly,  in spectrum shade and order.  This was not an easy test... as many of the colors looked so close to each other... that
it was hard to tell them apart.   It took me a good amount of time to complete the test... but I actually scored 100%.   However... I was
quite shocked to see that many other people were getting 60% or far lower.   It turns out... that many people lack the ability to sense
certain color hues.   They are not color blind... but simply,  see less shades of each color.  To them... them may see 10 shades of Red... and
all of them look 100% the same... where as I... and many others... can see all 10 different shades,  very clearly and easily.

 Sound is no different.  Some people have different hearing abilities.   Part of this is due to different shapes of the ears.  Part is due to limited
sensory ability.  Part is due to actual hearing damages.    I have met many people whom experience audio very differently.  I tend to turn up
treble and bass... lowering the midrange.   Yet... I had a friend whom could not stand high treble... and had to blast the midrange spectrum...
because he clearly could not hear it on the same level as me.   Another guy I met, liked my Sennheiser headphones... but chose to order some
AKG headphones.   I tried them on... and the midrange was way too over-powering.   I tried everything I could to reduce it... but they were so
over-blasted... that no amount of EQ could regulate them to an acceptable level.   He found them to be perfectly awesome... and so obviously,
his mid-range reception ability... was not very good.


 This is why you see so many headphone reviews all over the map.   Part of this is because people are using poor under-powered amps.
Part is because people are not using  High-Quality  audio sources.   Some of it is because people are not properly EQ-ing the audio to
make the most of their headphones.  Some is due to poor quality Amps.   And finally... some is due to everyone's different Audio Sensory
abilities.


 I placed that FACT up front... to denote the reality.   Just because "I",  and maybe 85% of the rest of the world can hear the differences
between an Audiophile headphone... and a POS generic headphone...   does not mean that  YOU   will be able to experience the same thing...
should you decide to invest in better, and sometimes more expensive... equipment.


 But... if You DO  have a decent set of ears... then you Should read on... in that you may be lead to a whole other level of
experience.   Something so radical... that you still do not even know exists  /  is  possible.    Something that will turn your
current idea of an audio experience of  "7 out of 10"...   into a 2.   Something so profound... that you will find that you end
up having a pair of HD Headphones on your head... for over 10hrs out of every day... as you can not accept anything beneath
this experience,  anymore.   That is how much Difference there is.   It will literally change your life.

[pixel]

Ohh.. and No.   Orchestral Music is not the Prime motivator for Audiophile equipment.

 Let me explain the story of how I... a very POOR $$$ guy...  got into Audiophile headphones and speakers...

 I am not so nice with my headphones.  I tend to wear them for long periods of time.  End up falling asleep with them on.
Take them out into the winter weather...as earmuffs + music.   I end up dropping them,  or catching the cord on things...
often due to the chaotic level of life I have lived...

 Therefore... most headphones I have owned..   tend to last less than 3 months,  before they break in some way.
Typically... the headphone cord is the thing that broke... but some headphones also broke the mounts completely.

 After buying several pairs... ranging from $20 to $80...  and not having good luck...  I saw a pair of $120 headphones
next to an 80-ish pair.   I think it was a Circuit-City.   Anyway... $80  was a lot of extra money for me at the time... so
$130 seemed way too much to every consider... BUT... the higher dollar set had one massive difference that
intrigued me:  A Removable (Replaceable)  Cord.

 Being that cords were the thing that used to break on me the most often... I decided that it would Probably be worth
the extra money... even IF the sound quality was not any better than what Id heard before.   In fact... I was quite
depressed in that many times I had chosen more expensive headphones... only to get a similar sound quality.  After a
while of getting the same types of results... you figure that there is nothing really beyond that level of experience.

 So... I squeezed my wallet dry of its cash... and bought the Sennheiser HD 500 headphones... and to be honest,  I had
a sinking feeling in my stomach... that It was a dumb purchase, that I would regret.

 I get home... and it takes me a while before I finally open them up,  and decided to test them out.   It was probably
about 2am in the morning,  and there were a few others in the house asleep.   I actually had one of the first few
5 speaker Pioneer Surround sound Amps,  that they made.   I also have FOUR  Technique's,  12"  Three-Way speakers.
Each of these speakers was rated for 200 watts.   I had even modified them,  with an additional super-tweeter... to
make them even more refined.   They were quite clear, and powerful.

 I fired up the PC,  popped in a DVD,  turned on the Amp,  donned the headphones... and then hit PLAY.

 Suddenly... the movie came on,  and was blasting Loudly..  all over the room.   Ohh my God!   I must have forgotten to
turn off the main speakers!!!   I ripped off the headphones,  and DOVE to the Amp... to reach for the speaker channel
toggles...  but then I realized something amazing...    The main speakers were not on!!!    The headphones were so
precise and 3d... that it sounded like my Entire Surround Sound system was on!!!   I had NEVER experienced something like
that with ANY of the 30 or so previous headphones I had owned before.   Not even CLOSE to that.   It was mind-blowing.

 In fact... those headphones produced better audio than my house speakers.  So... after that moment... it was pretty rare
that I actually used my Techniques.   I wore my Senns like +10hrs a day... often falling asleep with them on.  Because they
are so comfortable and light... I sometimes forgot I had them on... as suddenly Id feel the cord pop out of them, as I
got up and started to walk out of the room.

 The Senns did not sound like headphones.  When you had them on... it simply felt like there was speakers on in the room.
You didnt feel like the sound was in or near your ears.  You felt like the band was live... in your room.  You could often
pinpoint where each instrument played... was in 3d space... all over the room.

 Unlike my Techs... the Senns bass was clean... which was something I was not used to.   The techs, with their port... made
very Muddy and Distorted bass sounds... and so hearing much cleaner and clearer bass... was so much more pleasing to the
ears.   They also were able to produce very crystal clear high frequencies... that did not distort... even with heavy bass.
Also... the bass itself did not distort at all... even at the maximum volume that I could stand.  Where as most headphones Id used
before this... could not take half as much power... and would be totally distorting from being over-driven.

 One day I was playing my MP3 player... and one of my songs starts out as rain and a light thunder sound.   It was so realistic
from these headphones... that I actually thought it was raining outside... and I turned my head to look out of the window.
I have to say... that its Really hard to fool my ears... as they are very sensitive...  even in my elder age... so it was amazing that
I was completely fooled into thinking that the sound was from outside of the house.   I found that so awesome... that I decided to
try and see if someone else wound have that same reaction.   I handed the set to my father... and asked him to listen to
hold on while I find the song I wanted him to hear.  I selected the "Rain" song... and as soon as he heard it... he immediately looked
out of the nearest window!  lol

 Playing Movies via the PC... was just as good as using surround sound speakers.  I never would have imagined that one could get
such a 3d sound... from only two speaker drivers.   It was mind blowing.   Especially since there was no digital effects nor any
special electronics in them.

 Playing music with them was insane... because all of the sudden,  you would hear things in music,  that in a +10 years of previous
listens... you had never heard before!   Many songs that I previously never could make out what the singer was saying... I was finally
able to hear 100% clearly,  and could actually understand!    I found myself re-listening to every CD / MP3... that I ever had... just
to experience the clarity difference.


 Fast forwards...


 The Sennheiser Headphones lasted my about 13 years before I finally managed to break them completely.   I replaced the cable
a few times,  and replaced the ear pads at least once (less than 15$ shipped,  for the ear pads).

 I then found a pair of  HD590  headphones on Craigslist.   They looked as if they had never been used.   I think I paid the man $150
for them.   Initially... I thought they were way too weak on bass... and was almost not going to purchase them.  I quickly found out...
that these headphones were far more Sensitive than the 500's.  They also had a far greater frequency response.   When I finally started
feeding it high quality audio... rather than lower quality MP3s..   they Really shined.   The bass got even Lower than the 500s... so long
as the recording was produced that way.   The 500s sort of artificially boosted and smoothed things out... where these were Surgically
Precise.   Once fed better audio... I was in true heaven.   The biggest thing of note... was that the high-end was about 70% clearer.
It was Breathtakingly accurate and detailed.

 When I was considering buying them... I figured that the jump from the 500 to 590... would not be that noticeable in audio fidelity.
Boy was I wrong!   It was monolithic.

 And finally... more recently... I had got the HD650,  via  Massdrop...  for a mere $250.  (A total Steal of a deal,  for Audiophile headphones)
I had to say... that they seem to be far more durable than the 590s... but,  they are not as comfy.   A little more head-clamping force than
I care for... but its certainly not that bad at all.   As for the musical difference...  It seems that these can handle more power, and have
a very decent out-of-the-box  level of sound.. even without any EQ'ing.   They seems to be able to smooth the sounds a bit better,
when using lower quality audio-sources... than the 590s.   That said... they do not have as wide of a 3d Soundstage,  as the 590s...
and I really miss that.  Other than that... they are very similar in audio reproduction... as far as I can tell.

 The only thing that has ever came close to my Sennheiser headphone experience... is the EPI 100 speakers,  that I heard at a friends
shop.  They had the most insane clarity, punchy clean bass, and 3d soundstage... that Id ever heard.  The 3d sound was so amazing...that
I actually could not physically located where the speakers were within the room!   After 10 min of searching... I finally broken down, and
asked my friend what they were, and where the hell they were!  lol

 I was floored... as he pointed these tiny bookshelf speakers out... that were in the most non-optimal spots!   One was laying on its side.
Both were topped with items / magazines.  One was even partially blocked,  by a machine.  Yet... the music was All around the room... as
crystal clear as if it was a damn live performance.   It didnt take long after that... before I got my mittens on a pair for myself.


 I am leaving out a lot of other things... such as how I experimented with various speakers + custom boxes.   Id often collect low-cost
used vintage speakers from the thrift shops.  It learned the hard way... that simply trying to insert a bunch of speakers into a box... was
not going to make good high fidelity sound.   Its far more complex than that.   I eventually started learning about the differences of the
components,  and the types of speakers design differences.   There is a lot more to learn... than I ever expected would be.
 

[Malenko]

And as Ive said... you get a nice performance boost as well.... with dedicated soundcards.

No you don't.  Modern day on board sound cards have their own processor embedded in the motherboard. Using a dedicated card would have little to no impact on PC performance. On board cards haven't used significant CPU cycles in well over a decade.

[Mike A]

Pixel. You are the richest poor guy I know. You claim poverty all of the time, but you own or have owned everything.

[Mr. Peabody]

Pixel. You are the richest poor guy I know. You claim poverty all of the time, but you own or have owned everything.

Some people spend all their money on one thing. Then again poor to him might mean he can't afford $2000 speakers. Regardless, it's wildly off topic, and given the length a bit obnoxious. He could've posted once stating the crux of his idea, and started a topic in Everything Else and linked to it. He might have gotten some conversation out of it.

[Mike A]

Off topic, too long, and obnoxious are all kind of his thing.

[keilmillerjr]

I’m cool with old @ss emulated sound coming from whatever integrated sound in my pc and out to my original old @ass 4” speakers.