Hardware

This is a list of all of the known hardware devices used by video games to synthesize or playback music. It's difficult to classify the various hardware devices because they are often sold in many different forms from fully encapsulated appliances like the Roland MT-32, to sound cards like the Sound Blaster, to microchips like the AY-3-8910. To complicate matters, there are often protocols like Windows Audio and the Aria chipset, that are common among multiple devices.

Sound Cards

Sound cards are special circuit boards that can be inserted into a computer's expansion slot to give it extended audio capabilities. Each sound card has one or more audio chips built onto it.

Manufacturer	Release	Sound Card	Icon	Supported Platforms
Ad Lib	1987-??-??	Ad Lib Music Synthesizer Card		•
Ad Lib	1992-??-??	AdLib Gold 1000		•
ALF	1978-??-??	Music Card
Applied Engineering	1984-??-??	Super Music Synthesizer
Applied Engineering	1985-??-??	Phasor
Covox	1989-??-??	Sound Master
Covox	1991-??-??	Sound Master Plus
Covox	199?-??-??	Sound Master II
Creative Technology	1987-08-??	Creative Music System
Creative Technology	1988-??-??	Game Blaster
Creative Technology	1989-??-??	Sound Blaster		•
Creative Technology	1990-??-??	Sound Blaster 1.5		•
Creative Technology	1991-??-?? c.	Sound Blaster Pro		•
Creative Technology	1992-??-?? c.	Sound Blaster 2		•
Creative Technology	1992-??-?? c.	Sound Blaster Pro 2		•
Creative Technology	1992-06-??	Sound Blaster 16		• •
Creative Technology	199?-??-??	Sound Blaster AWE 32		• •
Creative Technology	199?-??-??	Wave Blaster		• •
DK Tronics	1984-??-??	3-Channel Sound Unit
Ensoniq	1994-??-??	Soundscape		• •
Ensoniq	1994-??-??	Soundscape DB		• •
Ensoniq	1995-03-??	Soundscape Elite		• •
Ensoniq	1995-03-??	Soundscape Elite DB		• •
Ensoniq	1995-??-??	Soundscape VIVO90
Ensoniq	199?-??-??	Soundscape OPUS
Ensoniq	1997-??-??	AudioPCI
ESS	1993-??-??	AudioDrive		• •
Fuller Micro Systems	1983-??-??	Fuller Box
Gravis	199?-??-??	UltraSound		• •
Gravis	199?-??-??	UltraSound Max		• •
I/O Magic	199?-??-??	Tempo
IBM	198?-??-??	Speech Adapter
IBM	1985-??-?? с.	PC Music Feature
IBM	199?-??-??	PS-1 Audio
Innovation Computer Corporation	1989-04-??	SSI 2001
Logitech	19??-??-??	SoundMan Games		• •
Logitech	1994-??-??	SoundMan 16		• •
Logitech	199?-??-??	SoundMan Wave		• •
Media Vision	199?-??-??	Pro AudioSpectrum		• •
Media Vision	199?-??-??	Pro AudioSpectrum Plus		• •
Media Vision	199?-??-??	Pro AudioSpectrum 16		• •
Media Vision	199?-??-??	Pro AudioSpectrum 16 Studio		• •
Media Vision	1990-??-??	Thunder Board		•
Micro Power	1983-??-??	ADD-ON
Microsoft	1992-??-??	Windows Sound System		• •
Mindscape	1985-??-?? c.	Bank Street Music Writer Card
NEC	1985-??-??	PC-9801-23K
NEC	1987-??-??	PC-8801-23
NEC	1987-??-??	PC-9801-86
New Media	199?-??-??	WAVjammer		• •
Rainbow Arts	1991-1?-??	PC-Soundman
Reveal	1994-??-??	SC400 SoundFX
Reveal	1994-??-??	SC500 SoundFX Wave
Reveal	1995-??-??	SC600 SoundFX Wave 32
Reveal	199?-??-??	SC800 WAVExtreme
Roland	1988-??-??	LAPC-I		•
Roland	198?-??-??	LAPC-N
Roland	1992-??-??	SCC-1		• •
SFX Computer Software	1985-??-??	Sound Expander
Software World	19??-??-??	Magical Sound Card
Street Electronics	198?-??-??	Echo II
Sweet Micro Systems	1981-??-??	Mockingboard: Sound I
Sweet Micro Systems	198?-??-??	Mockingboard: Sound II
Sweet Micro Systems	198?-??-??	Mockingboard: A
Sweet Micro Systems	198?-??-??	Mockingboard: B
Sweet Micro Systems	198?-??-??	Mockingboard: C
Sweet Micro Systems	198?-??-??	Mockingboard: D
Sweet Micro Systems	1985-??-??	Mockingboard: M
TerraTec	1996-??-??	Maestro 32-96		•
TerraTec	1997-??-??	EWS64 L (L/XL/XXL)		•
TerraTec	1997-??-??	EWS64 S		•
Timedata	1983-??-??	ZXM Sound Box		ZX81 •

External Devices

External devices include various synthesizers and speech modules that video games support for producing audio. Unlike sound cards, these devices were kept outside of the computer and usually connected to a computer with cables. Because of this, they was much easier to be utilized across multiple platforms. The MT-32 for example, was supported by games on the PC-9801, X68000, MSX, Atari ST, Amiga, Apple IIGS, and of course, in DOS.

Manufacturer	Release	Device	Icon	Supported Platforms
Aegis	199?-??-??	Audiomaster
Aegis	199?-??-??	Audiomaster II
Aegis	199?-??-??	Audiomaster III
Aegis	199?-??-??	Sound Master
Casio	19??-??-??	CSM-1
Coktel Vision	1989-??-??	Intersound MDO
Covox	1986-??-??	Speech Thing
Covox	198?-??-??	Voice Master		• • •
Covox	1991-??-??	The Sound Source
Faster Than Light	1989-??-??	Sound Adapter
Roland	1987-??-??	MT-32		• • • • • • • •
Roland	1989-??-??	CM-32L		•
Roland	198?-??-??	CM-64		•
Roland	198?-??-??	MT-100		•
Roland	19??-??-??	Sound Canvas		• •
Roland	19??-??-??	RAP-10		•
Yamaha	19??-??-??	FB-01		•

Protocols

Protocols are particular sound standards used by manufacturers making the hardware irrelevant as long as it can support the protocol.

Designer	Release	Protocol	Icon	Supported Platforms
MIDI Manufacturers Association Japan MIDI Standards Committee	1991-??-??	General MIDI		• • •
Generic	1977-01-??	PC Speaker		• • • • • • • • • • •
IBM	1984-03-??	PCjr 3 Voice		•
Microsoft	1995-??-??	Windows Audio		•
MSX Association	1983-06-27	MSX PSG		•
MSX Association	1988-??-??	MSX-Music
Roland	1991-??-??	GS		•
Sierra Semiconductor Corporation	19??-??-??	Aria
Tandy	1984-11-??	Tandy 3 Voice
Tandy	198?-??-??	Tandy DAC
Yamaha	1996-??-??	XG		•

Audio Chips

Audio chips are the individual microchips responsible for synthesizing audio which are found on sound cards, motherboards, and in arcade cabinets.

Manufacturer	Logo	Release	Model	Code Name	Popular Devices
		1984-01-24	Macintosh Audio	?	Macintosh (128K, 512K, Plus, SE)
		1989-01-19	Apple Sound Chip	ASC	Macintosh SE/30
		1977-10-14	Television Interface Adaptor	TIA	Atari 2600, Atari 7800
		1979-11-??	C012294	POKEY	Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit line, few Atari 7800 games
		198?-??-??		Amy	Prototypes made, never officially released
		?	SC414201FT	Jerry	Atari Jaguar
		?	CEM3394		Various arcade games and synthesizers
		?	MM54104	Digitalker	Namco and Zaccaria arcade games
		1985-??-??	ES-5503	DOC	Apple IIGS, various Ensoniq keyboards
		1990-??-??	ES-5505	OTIS	Various arcade hardware, Atari Panther prototype
		1992-??-??	ES-5506	OTTO	Soundscape, Soundscape DB, Soundscape Elite, UltraSound (via derivative chips), Various arcade hardware, various Ensoniq keyboards
		1994-??-??	ES-5530	OPUS	Soundscape OPUS
		?	ES-1868		AudioDrive
		?	440 CVSD		Various arcade games
		197?-??-??	AY-3-8910		Hundreds of arcade games, ADD-ON, Mockingboards Sound I and Sound II, MSX, Oric 1, Colour Genie, Elektor TV Games Computer (Expanded Version)
		197?-??-??	AY-3-8912		Vectrex, ZXM Sound Box, Fuller Box, 3-Channel Sound Unit, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum 128K, some arcade games.
		197?-??-??	AY-3-8913		Mockingboards A, C, D, M, and v1, Bank Street Music Writer Card, some arcade games.
		197?-??-??	AY-3-8914		Intellivision, Intellivision II
		19??-??-??	AY-3-8916
		19??-??-??	AY-3-8917		Entertainment Computer System
		19??-??-??	SO0250		Sega G80 board
		19??-??-??	SO0256		Various 8-bit add-on devices.
		198?-??-??	SP0256-AL2		MicroSpeech, a speech add-on for the ZX Spectrum, Speech/Sound Cartridge, a speech add-on for the TRS-80 CoCo.
		198?-??-??	SP0256-012		Intellivoice, a speech add-on for the Intellivision.
		198?-??-??	SP0256-017		Talking clocks, maybe games?
		198?-??-??	SP0256-019		The Voice, a speech add-on for the Odyssey 2.
		198?-??-??	SP0256-021		Talking radar detectors, maybe games?
		?	HC-55516		Used in various arcade games
		1992-10-??	GF1		UltraSound
		1987-??-??	HuC6280		PC Engine, TurboGrafx-16
		1980-??-?? c.	Konami RC		Konami arcade games
		?	051649	SCC	MMX SCC, Arcade games
		?	052539	SCC+	Some Konami game cartridges
		?	053260
		1989-12-22	053329	VRC VI	Akumajou Densetsu (FC), Mouryou Senki Madara (FC), Esper Dream 2: Aratanaru Tatakai (FC)
		1991-04-??	053982	VRC VII	Lagrange Point (FC)
		198?-??-??	AY8930/P		Sound Master
		1980-??-??	6560	VIC	VIC 20 (NTSC)
		1981-??-??	6561	VIC	VIC 20 (PAL)
		1982-0?-??	6581	SID	MAX MACHINE, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, Commodore 128D, Commodore 64C (early versions), SSI 2001
		1984-0?-??	7360	TED	Commodore 116, Commodore 16, Plus/4
		1984-0?-??	8360	TED	Commodore 116, Commodore 16, Plus/4
		1985-07-23	8364	Paula	Amiga, Commodore CDTV, Amiga CD32
		1986-??-??	8580	SID	Commodore 64C (later versions), Commodore 128DCR
		1980-??-??	Namco WSG		Several Namco arcade games; originally Pac-Man (ARC).
		1980-??-?? c.	15xx		Several Namco arcade games; originally Super Pac-Man (ARC).
		1981-??-?? c.	52xx		Several Namco arcade games.
		1981-??-?? c.	54xx		Several Namco arcade games.
		?	C140
		?	CUS30
		?	63701X
		1988-03-17	NAMCO163		Several of Namco's Famicom titles, first used in Rolling Thunder (FC).
		?	LMC1992		Atari STE, TT030
		198?-??-??	NCR 8496		Tandy 1000EX, 1000HX, and 1000TX.
		?	uPD7759
		1983-??-??	RP2A03		Famicom, Nintendo Entertainment System (NTSC)
		1986-??-??	RP2A07		Nintendo Entertainment System (PAL)
		1986-??-??	RP2C33	FDS	Famicom Disk System
		1989-??-??	DMG-CPU B		Game Boy
		1990-02-03	MMC5		Numerous NES games.
		2001-03-21	Game Boy Advance Audio		Game Boy Advance
		2004-11-21	DS Audio		Nintendo DS
		?	MSM5205
		?	MSM5232
		?	MSM6258
		1987-??-?? c.	MSM6295		Hundreds of arcade games
		?	MSM6376
		?	MSM6585
		198?-??-??	SAA1099		Creative Music System, Game Blaster, Sound Blaster 1.0, SAM Coupé, IRIS Professional 4D, IRIS Power 4D
			Q-Sound		Many arcade games, especially Capcom.
		?	RF5C68		FM Towns, Sega System 18, Sega System 32
		?	RF5C154
		?	RF5C164		Sega CD
		1987-??-??	LA32		MT-32, LAPC-I, LAPC-N, CM-32L, CM-64, MT-100
		?	VLM5030		20 arcade games
		?	Game Gear Audio		Game Gear
		1980-??-?? c.	Sega Melody Generator		Sega G80 arcade board
		?	Sega PCM
		1992-??-??	315-5560	MultiPCM	Sega arcade boards: System Multi 32, Model 1, and Model 2.
		?	VDP PSG
		?	S-SMP		Super Famicom, Super Nintendo Entertainment System
		1991-??-??	5B		Gimmick! (FC)
		1978-??-??	SN76477	CSG	ABC 80, Numerous arcade games
		?	SN94624
		198?-??-??	SN76489	DCSG	Genesis, ColecoVision, Master System, Game Gear, Mega Drive, Neo Geo Pocket, Neo Geo Pocket Color, SG-1000, BBC Micro, Pico, MC-1
		198?-??-??	SN76494	DCSG	TI 99/8
		198?-??-??	SN76496	DCSG	PCjr, Tandy 1000
		1980-??-??	TMS5100
		1980-??-??	TMS5200
		1980-??-??	TMS5110
		1983-??-??	TMS5220		Echo II, Speech Adapter, 30+ arcade games
		198?-??-??	TMS9919
		198?-??-??	YM2149	SSG	Atari ST, MSX2, several arcade games
		198?-??-??	YM3526	OPL	Sound Expander, 35+ arcade games
		198?-??-??	YM8950	MSX-AUDIO	Used in the audio cartridges for numerous home computers
		1983-??-??	YM2151	OPM	Sega System 16, Konami Twin 16, Namco System 86, Atari Gauntlet, Atari System 1, System 2, X1, X68000
		?	YM2203	OPN	PC-8801, PC-9801, PC-9801-23K, Various arcade systems
		1985-??-??	YM3812	OPL2	Ad Lib Music Synthesizer Card, Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro 1.0
		198?-??-??	YM2413	OPLL	MSX-Music, SG-1000 Mark III, Master System.
		1992-??-??	YMF262	OPL3	Sound Blaster Pro 2.0, AdLib Gold 1000, Sound Blaster 16, Sound Blaster AWE32
		1985-??-?? c.	YM2164	OPP	FB-01, PC Music Feature
		?	YM2608	OPNA	PC-8801, PC-9801, PC-8801-23, PC-9801-86, a couple arcade games
		?	YM2610	OPNB	Neo Geo, Taito B System
		?	YM3439		Falcon030
		?	YMF271	OPX
		?	YMF278	OPL4	SoundMan Wave, Moonsound, Yamaha Soundedge
		?	YM2612	OPN2	Mega Drive, Genesis, FM Towns
		?	YM3438	OPN2C	Several arcade games
		?	YMF288	OPN3	PC-9801
		1992-??-??	YMW258-F	GEW8
		?	YMZ280B		Assorted arcade games
		?	YMF7xx		Used in many late model sound cards and integrated motherboards

Unknown Chips

This is a list of audio chips that have no known designation.

• U8106 - is renamed SN76489
• Y2404
• Y8952
• PWN
• S2636
• S14991A
• CDP1869
• TMS36XX

See Also

• Audio Setup
• Hardware Category

Links

• collection.batyra.pl - Detailed collection of audio hardware.
• bboah.com/index.php?action=show&cat=72 - Amiga Sound Cards.