Base 1 SoundSystem
The SoundSystem Base 1 was a budget-oriented sound card released by Terratec in 1996. It was part of their Base series of cards which also included the Base64. The Base 1 is built around the Analog Devices AD1816 "SoundPort" audio controller chip.
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Released | 1996 |
| Bus | ISA 16-bit | |
| FM Synth | (embedded in AD chip) | |
| Audio Codec | Analog Devices AD1816AJS | |
| Standards | Ad Lib, Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro, Windows Sound System, Roland MPU-401 | |
| Ports | Speaker-Out, Line-In, Mic-In Game/MIDI port 20-pin Terratec expansion connector (at top of card) |
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| CD-ROM | IDE | |
| Wavetable | WaveBlaster-compatible header | |
| Plug & Play | Yes | |
| FCC ID(s) | NJ5TER1411 | |
| See Also |
The Base 1 is DirectX (DirectSound) compatible and is fully MPC Level II-compliant. It is also PC'97-compliant Plug & Play as well.
It supports recording and playback frequencies from 4 kHz up to 55.2 kHz with simultaneous enhanced full-duplex recording due to its dual DMAs. It has a 3D surround mode called VSpaceTM which simulates all-around sound using just two speakers.
For expansion you can fit an external radio (Terratec's ActiveRadio upgrade module) and a wavetable card on the WaveBlaster(TM)-compatible header. The radio supports FM stereo reception and full RDS support.
The MIDI interface is compatible with both Creative Labs' Sound Blaster MIDI and MPU-401 (UART mode), and is fully General MIDI-compatible.
The Base 1 card was also sold as the following:
- Terratec Base64 - the Base 1 card fitted with Terratec's Wavesystem 64 wavetable synthesizer.
- Terratec SoundSystem BaseStation - the Base 1 card with the ActiveRadio upgrade.
- Terratec SoundSystem BaseStation 64 - the Base 64 with the ActiveRadio upgrade.
It was designed for use with DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, NT 4.0 and OS/2 Warp 4.
Board Revisions
Only one board revision is known for the Base 1, which is v1.01.
Competition
In the Media
Setting it Up
Unlike most sound cards, the Terratec Base 1 shares a single 3.5mm jack for both Speaker-Out and Line-Out. The onboard amplifier can be enabled (for Speaker-Out) or disabled (for Line-Out) by setting JP1 jumpers accordingly. Note that there are two: one for the left channel and one for the right channel.
The onboard amplifier provides 2 x 1-Watt amplification.
For more information, please see the Quick Install Guide in the Downloads section below.
In addition to the 3.5mm jack sockets on the faceplate, these are all accessible from inside the PC case after installation via three sets of four-pin headers just behind each of the jacks. J1 is for Speaker-Out/Line-Out, J2 is for Line-In, and J3 is for Mic-In.
The Base-1 card also provides three 4-pin headers for CD Audio-In (CN3 is for IDE CD-ROM drives, CN2 is for Sony CD-ROM drivers, and CN1 is a generic AUX audio-in).
Terratec sold a MIDI adapter separately (called "MIDI-KIT") for those who wanted to use the game port for MIDI In/Out. The adapter comprised a 15-pin male connector on one end, and on the other end a 15-pin female (for joysticks), MIDI-In DIN connector, and MIDI-OUT DIN connector.
Downloads
The Base 1 was bundled with several utilities and software demos, including Internet Phone, MediaRack, MicroProse Formula One Grand Prix 2 (demo), Mixman (demo), Mod4Win (demo), Steinberg Cubase Score (demo), Steinberg WaveLab (demo), and Steinberg JamStation (demo).
User Manual |
Quick Install Guide |
Original Driver/Utility CD Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
DOS Drivers |
Windows 3.x Drivers |
NT 4.0 Drivers |
Windows 98 Drivers |
OS/2 Drivers |
