DOS Days

Sound Blaster ViBRA

The ViBRA range was a cheap Sound Blaster 16 alternative for OEMs. The CT2504 retained the Yamaha OPL3 chip for FM music synthesis, but later (and more common) cards got the inferior CQM (Creative Quadratic Modulation) which was developed by E-Mu Systems. This included the CT2501 (ViBRA 16), CT2504 (ViBRA 16S), CT2505 (ViBRA 16C PnP), and CT2511 (ViBRA 16XV). The only advantage [for some] of the ViBRA range was the inclusion of a modem on-board. Otherwise, for DOS purposes, these cards are to be avoided.

All of the above variants of the ViBRA chip suffer from bad audio clipping that the earlier Creative DSPs (CT1321, CT1341, CT1351, CT1738, CT1739, CT1740, CT1741) do not. Furthermore all of these also suffer from hiss or ringing artifacts when playing back digital audio.

The CT2501 ViBRA 16 chip was also used on the Apple DOS-compatible Houdini II card as well as another DOS-compatible card that came with the Apple LC 630. Both of these came with a sound module [part #820-0594-A] based around the CT2501 and Yamaha YMF262.

The CT2505 was also supplied to OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), such as ASUS for their I-A16C (FCC ID: MSQI-A16C) sound card, and Sound Forte for their RadioX SF16-FMI and SF16-FMP2-02 audio and FM radio cards.

The ViBRA range was succeeded in August 1998 by the Sound Blaster Live! range of sound cards which came with Creative's new E-Mu EMU10K1 audio processor. With this processor, Live! cards supported DirectSound and EAX 1.0 and 2.0 3D positional audio technology.


CT2260

Introduced in 1994.
FM Synthesizer: Yamaha YMF262
CD-ROM Headers: None (pads for Panasonic, Sony and Mitsumi)
Known Board Revisions: 29438
FCC ID:

The CT2501 is the ViBRA 16 chip (Integrated Bus Controller Interface, the DSP, the Mixer and the Codec).

The CT2501 was also OEM'd for the Acer Magic S30 (FCC ID: IPLS30).

CT2260 driver (same as for CT4180), ViBRA 16 Floppy Disks

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CT2890

Introduced in 1995.
FM Synthesizer: Yamaha YMF262
MIDI synthesizer: CT2504 - ViBRA 16S
The CT2504 is more commonly found on SB16s integrated on the motherboard. 80 dB SnR.
IDE interface.

The CT1705 chip is the Plug-and-Play bus interface.

 

CT2960

Introduced in 1995.
FM Synthesizer: (Embedded)
MIDI synthesizer: CT2505 - ViBRA 16C
FCC ID: IBACT-SBPRELUDE
Known Board Revisions: 19547



CT4100

Launched: 1996
FM Synth: Creative ViBRA 16CL chipset (CT2508)
Plug & Play: Yes
Wavetable Header: No
CSP/ASP Chip: No
FCC ID: IBACT-SB16C6
Known DSP Versions: 4.13
Known Board Revisions: 19631


CT4150

Launched: 1996
FM Synth: Creative ViBRA 16C chipset (CQM)
Plug & Play: Yes
Wavetable Header: No
CSP/ASP Chip: No
FCC ID: ?
Known DSP Versions: 4.13
Known Board Revisions: 19640



 

CT4170

Launched: 1997
FM Synth: Creative ViBRA 16XV chipset (CQM)
Plug & Play: Yes
Wavetable Header: No
CSP/ASP Chip: No
FCC ID: ?
Known DSP Versions: ?
Known Board Revisions: 19720, 49730

Called the Sound Blaster 16 WavEffects edition, or Sound Blaster 16 Value PnP. It has the Vibra-16XV chip with CQM.

The CT4170 was sold as a bundle with a pair of SBS10 speakers and a 32x CD-ROM drive, called the Sound Blaster Value 16/32X.

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CT4180

Introduced in 1997.
MIDI synthesizer: CT2505 - VIBRA 16C.
Plug & Play: Yes
Wavetable Header: No
CSP/ASP Chip: No
FCC ID: ?
Known DSP Versions: ?
Known Board Revisions: 29717, 39750

Tends to be found on SB16s integrated on the motherboard. Integrated CT-1978 (CQM chip that emulates the OPL3).

Also found on:

CT2260 driver (same as for CT4180), ViBRA 16 Floppy Disks

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CT4181

Value edition.
PnP.


CT4810

Introduced: 2000
Interface: PCI
FM Synthesizer: Embedded AudioPCI in ES1373
CD-ROM Headers: None
Known Board Revisions: -
FCC ID: -

The CT4810, or to give it its full title, Sound Blaster ViBRA 128, was based around the Ensoniq AudioPCI chip, ES1373. ES1373 was a slightly updated version of their earlier ES1371, adding I2S In or S/PDIF Output (the blue Line-In and green Line-Out sockets double up to support these respectively).

User Manual