Posted By
MMS
on 2016-01-16
11:57:47
 |  Re: Modern sound chip for the Plus/4?
Well, the next logical sound chips are the widely used Yamaha and TI ones (Spectrum 2.+, Sam coupe, sound blaster 1.0) but they hardly reached the level of SID, we already have as a worked out solution. There ARE good development in Russia for the Z80 based, Zx spectrum like computers, but the ones used the Amiga like sample based method in mono, stereo and quadro versions,simply using 8bit DA concerters. This is the next logical evolution step the computer world did in music. Then you have ALL the 8bit samples of the world, fit into the memory. (The Russian clones uses 128, 256 or even 512kb and 6Mhz Z80, so they are really stronger, but as seen not long ago, plus/4 is a really capable machine)
This is the Covox based sound card I highlighted before, much easier and cheaper to implement (at least on Plus/4 user port) than any complex circuitry on expansion bus. Not to mention the price. You can build from precise resistors a converter ladder from eurocents, and user port can be bought for few dollars.
Chicken was right: you may have a nice Hw, but there is no SW. This Covox one is very same as the Digi blaster BUT much much cheaper, and ANYONE can build it at home. Yes,so easy. I built one for my PC too, despite i am the most amateur HW guy of the world 
very few and very expensive Digi blaster=very few people=low interest=no support.
The 8 bit output is perfect fir a 4 track tracker, no complex mathematics and conversion tables needed, like for the 3bit output for internal TED. just need to add the 4tracks current volume, divide by 4 (shift by 2 bits) and just send it to the the 8 bit covox. Very straightforward and spares on resources. I think if Cpc can do it,plus 4 can do it too.
Pigmy's Digiplayer is almost there. It is missing the Digiblaster and covox support, and (i am convinced, but maybe wrong) that it loosing resources by using 3 channels and not 4 (much more complex calculations needed to get the proper sound, i think). It just needs a good UI to manage samples and edit tracks and an optimized player, (similar to the recent fantastic Tracker). This is my 2 cents for the topic.
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