Orchid Sound Producer Pro
The Orchid Sound Producer Pro came out a short while after the Orchid Sound Producer, and was a licenced version of the Aztech Sound Galaxy NX Pro.
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Released | March 1993 |
| Interface | ISA 16-bit | |
| FM Synthesizer | Yamaha YMF262-M (OPL3) or LS-212 | |
| Audio Codec | Aztech AZTSSPT0592-U01 (1st generation) | |
| Ports | 3.5mm jacks for headphone, mic-in, and line-in. Volume thumbwheel. 15-pin MIDI/Game port. |
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| CD-ROM | IDE, SCSI (optional) | |
| Wavetable | None | |
| Plug & Play | No (but does use Auto-Init for DMA) | |
| Part # | SPP-2304 | |
| FCC ID | I38-SGNXPRO | |
| Price | At launch: $199 (list price) Mar 1994: £84 |
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| See Also | Orchid Sound Producer |
The Sound Producer Pro supported a lot of sound standards used in late 1992/early 1993: Ad Lib, Sound Blaster Pro 2.0, Disney Sound Source and Covox Speech Thing. The FM synthesizer provided
20 voices in stereo.
Digital recording could operate at a sampling rate from 4 KHz up to 44.1 KHz in mono or 4 KHz to 22.05 KHz in stereo. The Aztech AZTSSPT0592-U01 has an internal DSP version of 2.01.
Most cards have a proper OPL3 chip but some are known to have the LS-212 "copy". It also has an onboard mixer which mixes line-in, mic-in, CD audio-in and MIDI, and also supported "auto-init" (automatic initialising) DMA which allowed the card to produce a continuous loop of double-buffered sound output.
The card also had an IDE CD-ROM drive interface, and optionally a SCSI CD-ROM interface as well (all cards got the SCSI interface header but the IC socket in the top-left corner is where the SCSI controller would be).
The onboard amplifier could output 4 watts maximum, or 2 watts per channel.
On the backplate (from the top) are: Line-in, Mic-In, volume thumbwheel, Speaker-out, and the Game port/MIDI interface. In addition, headers on the card provide CD-audio in (JP1), PC speaker-in (J4),
Board Revisions
There were various board revisions of the Orchid Sound Producer Pro, including v1.2 and v2.1A. There don't appear to be any material differences between versions.
Competition
The Aztech Sound Galaxy NX Pro (of which this Orchid card is a licenced version) allowed Aztech to play catch-up on Creative Labs who had their Sound Blaster Pro II, also making use of the new Yamaha YMF262 single stereo chip. It is apparent that Aztech's business model was simply to compete at a lower price point than Creative, probably targeting PC-compatible OEMs with discounts on bulk orders. Its strategy with the NX II and NX Pro was to entice customers with more coverage of PC sound standards, thus the inclusion of Covox Speech Thing and Disney Sound Source compatibility. That coupled with lots of options on the CD-ROM interface side and a lower price point made these attractive for OEMs and retail customers. Orchid, keen to jump on the audio bandwagon having made quite a name for themselves in the graphics card market, partnered with Aztech Labs for their first few cards before creating their own with the SoundWave 32 that arrived later in 1993.
In the Media
Orchid Technology has followed in the footsteps of its largest competitors, ATI Technologies, by venturing outside the fiercely fought over video market and into the sound arena. With its $199 Sound Producer Pro, Orchid provides a moderately priced board to satisfy both game players and the business-minded. And the $299 Fahrenheit VA video board combines Windows video acceleration with some of the same sound features.
Though the Sound Producer Pro carries a list price of $199, it will probably sell for about $70 less, a competitive price for a technically competent if unspectacular 8-bit sound board that delivers the right combination of features for the growing Windows -based business market. Those features include a lapel-type microphone, two 5-inch mini-speakers, and common third-party sound software for mixing, recording, voice annotating, and playing audio CDs.
The Sound Producer Pro is a 16-bit ISA expansion board that features an 8-bit Aztec FM synthesis sound chip and DSP supporting 20 independent stereo voices. A built-in 4-watt power amplifier drives any speakers or headphones directly; self-powered speakers are not necessary. Orchid's sound board features sampling rates in both playback and record from 4 kHz to 44.1 kHz in mono, and up to 22.05 kHz in stereo.
While more expensive sound boards offer 16-bit sound and a sampling range of up to 44.1 kHz stereo, this is not a drawback for Orchid, since the board's primary use is annotating Windows documents, not creating elaborately mixed sound files.
Physically located on the Sound Producer Pro's external bracket are 1/8-inch miniconnectors for line-in, microphone, and speakers; a combination game-port/MIDI connector; and a hardware volume control. Since this knob is at the back of the computer when the Sound Producer Pro is installed, you'll probably set the sound level once based on the applications you'll be using, and then rely upon software volume control.
Internally, the Sound Producer Pro features a CD Audio In connector for use with internal CD-ROM drives, a feature lacking in ATI Technologies' StereoFX. Orchid's board also contains an AT-bus CD-ROM interface, making it comparable to Creative Labs' Sound Blaster Pro card in features and functionality.
A better idea, since it offers much better performance, is an optional SCSI interface, the Future Design PMC-950 ($49). If you specify which internal CD-ROM drive you will be using, Orchid Technology will supply the appropriate cabling for your internal ROM drive.
Orchid also provides a cable to let you reroute sound from your internal PC speaker to the Sound Producer Pro. This is probably the most straightforward aspect of the board's installation. Choosing the correct jumper settings and interrupts is always one of the challenging aspects of installing a sound board, but we got the Sound Producer Pro into our test system, a Compaq Deskpro 386/25M running with an external NEC Intersect CD-ROM drive, without too much trouble. Software was more problematic. Orchid's software installation could be better.
As far as the actual sound software is concerned, you're probably better off using just the Windows-based utilities. Orchid's software bundle includes several packages provided by Voyetra, including DOS-based Sound Tracks, CD Player, Sound Master (a mixing and recording utility), Monologue (a text-to-speech synthesizer package), and Sound Producer Pro Mixer, which operates as a TSR. The far superior Windows-based apps include the popular WinDAT, a Windows-based mixer; and Orchid Voice Notes, a utility that uses OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) to attach voice annotations to Windows apps that support OLE."
PC Magazine, March 1993
Setting it Up
The Sound Producer Pro's settings are configured via jumpers on the card:
| Jumper | Purpose | Available Settings |
| SW0/SW1 | SCSI I/O Address | Open/Open = CA00h, Open/Closed = C800h, Closed/Open = CE00h, Closed/Closed = DE00h |
| JP2 | SCSI IRQ Selection | 1-2 = IRQ4, 3-4 = IRQ11, 5-6 = IRQ12, 7-8 = IRQ15 |
| J1 | Factory set | do not alter |
| J2 | Factory set | do not alter |
| J5 | Speaker amplification level | Open = low, Closed = high |
Downloads
Because the Orchid Sound Producer Pro is an officially licenced version of the Aztech Sound Galaxy NX Pro, the Aztech drivers should work just fine with this card.
User Manual |
Original Utility Disk Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
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