Orchid SoundWave 32

There are 2 games documented on PixelatedArcade supporting Orchid SoundWave 32 for IBM PC/Compatibles.
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Orchid SoundWave 32 is part of the category Sound Hardware Supported.

The Orchid SoundWave 32 is a General MIDI compatible wavetable sound card introduced in 1993 by Orchid Technologies. It included a built in MPU-401 interface making it fully compatible with any games supporting General MIDI; a few games also supported the card directly.

Multiple variations of the card were available which used different roms for sound samples along with versions for SCSI and IDE CD-ROM interfaces. The sound sample chips included one with two 512 KB chips storing 2 MB of sound samples and a newer version with two 1 MB chips storing 4 MB of sound samples. The wavetable synthesis sound quality could vary greatly depending on which version of the roms were installed (it was also possible to upgrade the older card to the newer chipset).

In addition to wavetable synthesis, the card also featured a Sound Blaster compatible DAC for digitized sounds and emulated the Yamaha OPL2 for compatibility with the Adlib Music Synthesizer card and Sound Blaster. Since it did not feature an authentic OPL2 chip but used emulation instead, the sound quality varied from an authentic Adlib or Sound Blaster. A stereo effect was added to the FM synthesis emulation which further differentiated the sound from a real OPL2. The Orchid SoundWave 32 featured limited compatibility with the Roland MT-32; while it emulated the MT-32's default sounds, the samples were not exactly the same as a real MT-32. Additionally, the SoundWave 32 didn't fully emulate Roland's LA synthesis and was not programmable so any games that wrote custom sounds to the MT-32 would not sound correct. Software was included which allowed users to switch the card between General MIDI and MT-32 modes.

The card also featured a joystick port and a CD-ROM interface built in; several versions were released in order to accomodate SCSI and IDE drives.

Pictures

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Orchid SoundWave 32

IDE version with original sample ROMs

Orchid SoundWave 32

SCSI version with enhanced sample ROMs

Orchid SoundWave 32 Pro

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