Video: PC speaker routed through Sound Blaster

[Mau1wurf1977]

So I played around with the PC speaker and many sound cards have the option to route the PC speaker signal through the sound card. Most cards have 2-4 mixer inputs (AUX, CD, PC speaker...) and you can also change the mixer levels through a utility.

For this video I just used a very basic Sound Blaster 16 (Vibra 16).

Now I didn't have a "real" PC speaker, just this piezo speaker that most of us know. So the first part shows you what that one sounds. The second part shows you how it sounds routed through the Sound Blaster 16 and hooked up to Logitech speakers.

Because the camera doesn't really capture what it sounds like very well, the final part is a recording through line-in on another machine.

In short, routing the PC speaker signal through a sound card gives you a fuller and richer sound

For the cable I just used one of these CD-Audio cables. I had to "move" 2 pins, but it's not hard and quite obvious.

Real retro PC speaker sound - Piezo vs. PC connector on a Sound Blaster 16

[Great Hierophant]

A nice video, but I think you need a true PC speaker (cone, not tweeter) as a base to compare.  They are pretty cheap these days.  Also, i would suggest recording some RealSound type music. 

The speaker cones in the IBM PC line have a diameter of 2.25 inches.  I think the one in my Tandy 1000 SX has a 3 inch diameter.  They can be really loud. 

[Mau1wurf1977]

You are quite right! Some machines had a really loud speaker Got really annoying when you played Indianapolis 500...

I have another short video. This one shows you the PC Speaker sound in the Game Pinball Fantasies.

Is this the "RealSound type" music you mention?

The signal is once again routed through the SB 16.

Pinball Fantasies PC speaker sound. Just like in the previous video, the signal goes through the Sound Blaster 16.

The machine is very fast (Pentium 133), so keep this in mind...

Pinball Fantasies - PC speaker sound through a Sound Blaster 16

[Great Hierophant]

It has to operate on the same principle.  The ringing may be an artifact from the hackish method used to make the sound or it may be filtering artifacts from the SB16.