DOS Days

Diamond Monster Sound M80

The Monster Sound M80 was released in 1998. It was their mid-range offering launched alongside the premium Monster Sound 3D and budget Sonic Impact.



Released July 1998
Bus PCI
Chipset Yamaha YMF262, AdMOS Adwave 32
Standards Ad Lib, Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro, General MIDI, Roland MPU-401, Windows Sound System
Memory None
CD-ROM 4 x CD-ROM headers
Ports Line In, Line Out, Mic In, Speaker Out, Game/MIDI Port, Wavetable header
Part #  
FCC ID  
Price At launch: $149
See Also  

In playback [digital-to-analogue] tests conducted by PCAVTech, the M80 got a Signal-to-Noise ratio of -70.4dB. This is considered very good.

Here's what Diamond said about the M80 at launch: "Diamond Multimedia's new Monster Sound M80 is the first PCI audio card to deliver true positional 3D sound to the PC, drastically outperforming any ISA sound card. It accelerates Microsoft's DirectSound and DirectSound 3D as well as Aureal's A3D. Monster Sound M80 works as a stand-alone card for DirectSound in Windows 95 and is Sound Blaster Pro compatible in a Windows DOS box. And, it includes a high quality hardware wavetable synthesizer which support 32 voices and effects.".

Key features:

The Complete 3D Experience - Don't just settle for great 3D graphics, but also give your ears something to scream about. Add Monster Sound for true positional 3D audio and be prepared for a fully-immersive, heart-pounding 3D gaming experience that will absolutely blow you away. Just connect speakers or headphones.
PCI Audio Wickedly Boosts PC Performance - Using the blazing PCI bus, Monster Sound processes all Windows 95 audio on-board, rather than the sluggish, CPU-intensive ISA bus used by other sound cards. Eliminating the burden on your CPU delivers maximized gaming performance such as increased frame rates & richer audio.
Compatibility - Works as a stand-alone card for DirectSound in Windows 95/98 and is Sound Blaster Pro® compatible in a Windows DOS box. Also, works with an existing legacy sound card to ensure real-mode DOS compatibility.
Microsoft's New Audio Standard - Designed to accelerate & enhance DirectSound and DirectSound3D, the new Microsoft audio standard built into Windows 95/98. Enhances the hottest games using DirectSound, DirectSound3D, DirectInput® and Aureal's A3D such as Jedi KnightTM, Heavy GearTM, ForsakenTM and many more!
Advanced Hardware Wavetable - Includes a high quality hardware wavetable synthesizer which supports 32 voices and effects, similar to synthesizers used in pro digital musical instruments. Upgradable via a standard daughtercard connector.
Audiophile Performance - Delivers audiophile quality performance at >90dB signal-to-noise ratio for crisp, clear, low distortion audio.
Joystick Acceleration - Accelerates all game port signals on-board, freeing your CPU to deliver better gaming action. Even supports the hottest digital input devices, including force feedback game controllers.
Supports Internet Audio and General MIDI - Enables Internet audio broadcasts and any standard MIDI file playback.

 

Board Revisions

 

In the Media

"The Diamond Monster Sound MX80 is an interesting entry into Diamond's sound card range. This is Diamond's mid-range card (that is to say, sitting between the Monster Sound 3D and the Sonic Impact).

The conundrum is that as a mid-range card its sound quality is definitely better than the Sonic Impact, yet offers less features in terms of digital effects and 3D sound emulation.

Essentially, the MX80 is a Monster Sound 3D without 4 speaker surround support. The MX80 only has one output for 2 speakers and unlike the lower end Sonic Impact, it doesn't even offer pretend surround sound in the form of a little built-in splitter.

Sonically, the MX80 sounds good and is identical to the Monster Sound 3D in 2 speaker mode. The quality isn't as good as the Yamaha [Waveforce XG] though, which as a Monster Sound 3D owner is rather disappointing. If Yamaha release a 4 speaker version of their sound card, I'll be the first buyer.

Midi sounds for the MX80 are functional and of average quality. Perhaps I'm too spoiled, but having owned an AWE32 for many years with 8Mb of memory downloadable sound fonts mean that instrument quality and variety are simply amazing. None of the sound cards tested offered downloadable midi sounds and therefore sadly pale when compared to a card 4 years older."
     PC PowerPlay, July 1998

 

Setting it Up


Downloads

Operation Manual
(missing)

Get in touch if you can provide this missing item!

Driver & Utility Disk
(missing)

Contains:
Main installation v1.01 for Windows 95/98, Upgrade v1.05.11 for Windows 95/98, Upgrade v1.05.16 for Windows 95/98, Upgrade v1.06 for Windows 95/98,
Main installation v1.07 for Windows 95/98, Upgrade v1.07 for Windows 95/98.
 

 

 

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