DigestICompared with other computer products, the history of sound cards is not very long. However, in the highly competitive hardware industry, the development history of any product is always intriguing. As a symbol of multimedia power, sound cards have certainly undergone one grand transformation after another...
1. The earliest tryers
Although PC sound cards became popular in the 1990s, they made their debut as early as 1984. The ADLIB company in the UK is currently recognized as the "father of sound cards". Although the products they initially developed could only provide simple music effects and could not process audio signals, it was undoubtedly a big breakthrough at that time. Due to immature technology and extremely high cost, these early ADLIB music cards with the nature of experimental products did not gain popularity. Moreover, at that time, the computing speed of computers was not sufficient to handle large-scale multimedia processing, and ordinary users were still in a relatively ignorant period regarding computer music.
2. Bringing sound cards into the mainstream market
The company that truly brought sound cards into the personal computer field should be CREATIVE from Singapore. It is said that CREATIVE's history of researching and developing "multimedia sound cards" is not shorter than that of ADLIB. But due to the small scale of the company in the early days, the products developed always stayed in the laboratory stage and could not be mass-produced and put on the market. It was not until the late 1980s and early 1990s that the dual technological breakthroughs in hardware and software of PC machines made the concept of "multimedia computers" come into being. CREATIVE seized this once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity, unleashed the technological potential accumulated over the years, successfully developed and launched the Sound Blaster sound card. It became the representative of the first-generation mainstream multimedia sound card and also a source of pride for CREATIVE! The first-generation Sound Blaster sound card was based on the ISA bus, had an 8-bit D/A converter, and only supported mono recording and playback modes. But at that time, it was an extremely exciting new thing. It added music processing and audio signal processing functions to the computer at one time, and was unique at that time. The subsequent Sound Blaster Pro launched by CREATIVE is a follow-up product, mainly adding support for stereo signals. At this time, multimedia computers had won the hearts of the people. Although the price of sound cards was extremely expensive at that time, people were full of confidence in their future. The first-generation multimedia computer technology standard - MPC1 was introduced at that time, and Sound Blaster Pro was taken as the standard configuration of sound card equipment.
3. Stepping up in sampling specifications
In the early 1990s when the traditional audio industry was already very developed, there was a big gap between computer multimedia audio in terms of playback quality and recording ability and traditional audio equipment. The poor signal sampling specifications made people very dissatisfied with the sound quality of multimedia sound cards. To this end, after a period of development, CREATIVE finally launched the Sound Blaster 16 series with 16-bit, 44KHz sampling rate and supporting stereo. Its launch made the recording and playback of multimedia sound cards reach the quality of CD records for the first time in terms of technical specifications. In the mid-1990s, 16-bit, 44KHz, and stereo D/A conversion represented the highest technical level of sound cards.
4. The charm of wavetable synthesis is infinite
In view of the low demand for computer multimedia sound quality by the general public, CREATIVE's efforts to improve the D/A conversion of sound cards came to a temporary end at this time. With the popularity of computer music MIDI, CREATIVE found a new target for technological improvement, and the brand-new Sound Blaster Awe series began to become popular. The biggest difference between Awe and the previous Sound Blaster series is that it improved the MIDI synthesis engine, abandoned the relatively backward FM chip, and introduced the concept of wavetable synthesis into multimedia sound cards for the first time. The Awe 32 launched in 1995, and the Awe 64 series launched in 1996 and 1997 brought a brand-new feeling to MIDI enthusiasts. But because the wavetable synthesis technology requires integrating memory modules on the board, their prices are often extremely expensive.
5. Audio giants other than CREATIVE - ESS, YAMAHA, and Crystal
When CREATIVE launched its products at high, medium, and low levels, with the continuous improvement of sound card technology, the market acceptance rate increased rapidly, and the cost gradually decreased. Many manufacturers also noticed the promising multimedia market and began to research and develop and manufacture audio processing chips, CODEC chips, and MIDI synthesis chips. Among them, ESS, YAMAHA, and Crystal are relatively familiar to domestic users. In the era when CREATIVE products won consumers with their advanced technology and excellent quality, their compatible products often occupied a certain market with good cost-effectiveness, thus promoting the development and competition of the entire multimedia industry. ESS is a professional R & D institution for audio-visual communication semiconductors, which can design all core processing units on sound cards. Its products are famous for their excellent quality, good compatibility, and low price. YAMAHA mainly focuses on the exploration of the MIDI field. In the period when FM synthesis engines were popular, their OPL-2 and OPL-3 FM synthesizers occupied a large market share, and even CREATIVE once adopted YAMAHA's manufactured MIDI synthesis chips. Crystal Company is similar to ESS, and also belongs to a full-function audio chip giant, with the development and design capabilities of various audio DSP processors, decoders, and CODEC chips. In the multimedia sound card field, Crystal's CS processing chips have a very large series, and many European and American brand computers often use Crystal sound card chips. But to be fair, its appeal in the domestic market is still somewhat behind that of CREATIVE, and even YAMAHA and ESS.
6. The arrival of the ISA->PCI sound card revolution
In 1997, ISA sound cards had become very mature. Due to the popularization of many SB 16 compatible sound card chips, sound cards also became the standard configuration of ordinary home computers in China. During this period, the charm of MIDI deeply touched the hearts of many music enthusiasts. But because the wavetable sound cards were too expensive at that time, most users could only look on with envy. Soft wavetable had similar functions, but on machines with slightly slower CPUs, the sound delay phenomenon was extremely serious. How to popularize hard wavetable? The design of PCI sound cards was put on the agenda. Transferring the bus of multimedia sound cards from ISA to PCI is essentially a broadband upgrade. The transmission rate of the PCI bus at 133M/s is far higher than 8MB/s of the ISA bus, which gives sound cards greater room for development and thus achieves a revolution in functions. A technology called "DLS" was realized, enabling PCI sound cards to easily support hard wavetable. And three-dimensional audio technology and multi-channel surround technology also began to emerge gradually. At that time, the appearance of PCI sound cards was inevitable. Many compatible chip development manufacturers, in order to seize this market first, joined hands with some small and medium-sized board card manufacturers to jointly launch the first-generation PCI sound cards. Maybe due to being too eager for quick success and profit and insufficiently mature technology, the first-generation products had many problems to be solved, and finally did not gain market recognition. It was not until the end of 1997 and the beginning of 1998 that DIAMOND, the number one multimedia board card manufacturer in the United States at that time, joined forces with Aureal and ESS, two major chip giants, and successively launched three products with excellent performance and reasonable cost-effectiveness: M80, S70, and MX200, which made PCI sound cards gradually gain the recognition of consumers. The traditional leader in the sound card market, CREATIVE, was quietly observing the development of the entire market. It first launched several experimental PCI products, and finally launched its blockbuster product - the SB Live! sound card based on the PCI bus and using the EMU10K1 chip in the third quarter of 1998. Almost at the same time, DIAMOND promoted its new product MX300, engaging in fierce technological competition and market competition with CREATIVE. The PCI sound card market was finally fully opened throughout the year.
7. Attractive three-dimensional sound effect and four-channel technology
After PCI sound cards became popular, the biggest technological breakthrough was the great decrease in the cost of hardware wavetable synthesis technology and the popularization of three-dimensional sound effects and multi-channel surround sound fields on computers. The latter was even more generally recognized by game players. When computer game videos gradually became mainstream in three dimensions, the application of three-dimensional sound effects undoubtedly further added to the entertainment and realism of games. At this time, whether a PCI sound card can have a powerful sound field simulation effect and audio positioning ability is particularly important. And the key to the three-dimensional sound effect processing ability of sound cards is whether the main chip has powerful processing ability and the API algorithm supported by the sound card. At the same time, three-dimensional sound effects also drove the sales of multi-channel speaker systems. In high-end products, support for four channels has long been a big selling point to tempt audiophiles. And many small and medium-sized manufacturers also successively launched mid-to-low-grade chips that can support four-channel output and three-dimensional audio positioning in 1999. YAMAHA YMF-744 and C-Media CMI-8738 are representatives of such products.
8. Digital transmission shows its edge
The digitalization of audio transmission was proposed due to the poor D/A conversion quality of sound cards caused by the strong electromagnetic interference inside the computer. Using the digital method to output PCM audio and leaving the D/A conversion work to digital speakers or professional decoders can moderately improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the entire audio system. Therefore, coaxial SPDIF output ports appeared on some mid-to-high-grade sound cards launched after 1998. Another very valuable function of this interface is that it can transmit Dobly AC-3 signals. In this way, the sound card can connect an AC-3, dts decoding device through the SPDIF OUT port to form a home theater system. In addition, with the popularity of MD, many audiophiles became interested in optical fiber digital recording technology. Therefore, related products with optical fiber SPDIF input and output gradually developed in 1999. The Nightingale series sound cards strongly promoted by Shuttle are the outstanding representatives of such products.
9. Using computers to form a home theater
After entering 2000, the domestic sound card market gradually became calm after the boom in 1998 and 1999, and there was once a situation of new product disconnection. In the final analysis, it was because the market lacked new technologies and consumption hotspots. The rise of the FM-801 chip in the market finally broke this deadlock. This mid-to-low-grade sound card chip that had been very popular in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan gradually entered the domestic market in the middle of 2000. Although it did not have very outstanding technical indicators, its ingenious six-channel analog output ability and software AC-3 decoding support opened up a solution for low-cost desktop theaters in a unique way. The good theater positioning effect relative to its low price not only made the FM-801 chip quickly famous and promoted the sales of related sound cards but also made the entire multimedia market find a new development direction. Simulated 5.1 output has become an indispensable technical standard for new products. At the end of this year, CREATIVE released SB Live! 5.1, which can be said to be the best recognition of software AC-3 decoding and analog six-channel technology. Recently, sound cards of the same type with a price lower than 100 yuan have appeared in the market, indicating that the concept of low-cost computer multimedia desktop theaters has taken root in people's hearts.
10. Traditional big manufacturers fall one after another
In 2000, the entire sound card market experienced a relatively big shock. First, YAMAHA and S3/DIAMOND, two major giants in the multimedia industry, successively bid farewell to the consumer sound card field. The former is a famous MIDI equipment manufacturer and a famous compatible sound card chip R & D manufacturer. The YAMAHA YMF-724 and 744 chips once gained a不小 market share with their excellent MIDI synthesis ability and relatively high cost-effectiveness, but finally they announced that YMF-754 would be their last consumer multimedia sound card processing chip, and then they would abandon this field. The latter is the famous "king of media", but since Aureal company independently produced finished cards and no longer provided chips to DIAMOND, the situation where they competed with CREATIVE in the sound card field became history. The unsatisfactory sales of MX400 and S100 finally made them give up this once glorious "land". But the most regrettable thing in this year was the news that Aureal was finally acquired by CREATIVE. This professional audio processor R & D institution that entered the consumer field at the initial stage of the rise of PCI sound cards became popular all over the world with the extremely powerful A3D technology. But due to wrong management decisions and long-term patent lawsuits with CREATIVE in three-dimensional positioning technology, it dragged down Aureal's development, caused losses, and in the early 2000s, there was a high-level personnel change, and it has been in decline ever since. In September of last year, it was finally acquired by its former opponent CREATIVE for 32 million US dollars, including the once-popular A3D technology. After this reshuffle, the pattern of the multimedia sound card industry has become more and more inclined to CREATIVE's monopoly, especially in the mid-to-high-grade product field. But fortunately, we still have ESS, Crystal, C-Midea, and Fortemedia, which are still constantly impacting such a cruel reality with their new technologies and new products.
1. The earliest tryers
Although PC sound cards became popular in the 1990s, they made their debut as early as 1984. The ADLIB company in the UK is currently recognized as the "father of sound cards". Although the products they initially developed could only provide simple music effects and could not process audio signals, it was undoubtedly a big breakthrough at that time. Due to immature technology and extremely high cost, these early ADLIB music cards with the nature of experimental products did not gain popularity. Moreover, at that time, the computing speed of computers was not sufficient to handle large-scale multimedia processing, and ordinary users were still in a relatively ignorant period regarding computer music.
2. Bringing sound cards into the mainstream market
The company that truly brought sound cards into the personal computer field should be CREATIVE from Singapore. It is said that CREATIVE's history of researching and developing "multimedia sound cards" is not shorter than that of ADLIB. But due to the small scale of the company in the early days, the products developed always stayed in the laboratory stage and could not be mass-produced and put on the market. It was not until the late 1980s and early 1990s that the dual technological breakthroughs in hardware and software of PC machines made the concept of "multimedia computers" come into being. CREATIVE seized this once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity, unleashed the technological potential accumulated over the years, successfully developed and launched the Sound Blaster sound card. It became the representative of the first-generation mainstream multimedia sound card and also a source of pride for CREATIVE! The first-generation Sound Blaster sound card was based on the ISA bus, had an 8-bit D/A converter, and only supported mono recording and playback modes. But at that time, it was an extremely exciting new thing. It added music processing and audio signal processing functions to the computer at one time, and was unique at that time. The subsequent Sound Blaster Pro launched by CREATIVE is a follow-up product, mainly adding support for stereo signals. At this time, multimedia computers had won the hearts of the people. Although the price of sound cards was extremely expensive at that time, people were full of confidence in their future. The first-generation multimedia computer technology standard - MPC1 was introduced at that time, and Sound Blaster Pro was taken as the standard configuration of sound card equipment.
3. Stepping up in sampling specifications
In the early 1990s when the traditional audio industry was already very developed, there was a big gap between computer multimedia audio in terms of playback quality and recording ability and traditional audio equipment. The poor signal sampling specifications made people very dissatisfied with the sound quality of multimedia sound cards. To this end, after a period of development, CREATIVE finally launched the Sound Blaster 16 series with 16-bit, 44KHz sampling rate and supporting stereo. Its launch made the recording and playback of multimedia sound cards reach the quality of CD records for the first time in terms of technical specifications. In the mid-1990s, 16-bit, 44KHz, and stereo D/A conversion represented the highest technical level of sound cards.
4. The charm of wavetable synthesis is infinite
In view of the low demand for computer multimedia sound quality by the general public, CREATIVE's efforts to improve the D/A conversion of sound cards came to a temporary end at this time. With the popularity of computer music MIDI, CREATIVE found a new target for technological improvement, and the brand-new Sound Blaster Awe series began to become popular. The biggest difference between Awe and the previous Sound Blaster series is that it improved the MIDI synthesis engine, abandoned the relatively backward FM chip, and introduced the concept of wavetable synthesis into multimedia sound cards for the first time. The Awe 32 launched in 1995, and the Awe 64 series launched in 1996 and 1997 brought a brand-new feeling to MIDI enthusiasts. But because the wavetable synthesis technology requires integrating memory modules on the board, their prices are often extremely expensive.
5. Audio giants other than CREATIVE - ESS, YAMAHA, and Crystal
When CREATIVE launched its products at high, medium, and low levels, with the continuous improvement of sound card technology, the market acceptance rate increased rapidly, and the cost gradually decreased. Many manufacturers also noticed the promising multimedia market and began to research and develop and manufacture audio processing chips, CODEC chips, and MIDI synthesis chips. Among them, ESS, YAMAHA, and Crystal are relatively familiar to domestic users. In the era when CREATIVE products won consumers with their advanced technology and excellent quality, their compatible products often occupied a certain market with good cost-effectiveness, thus promoting the development and competition of the entire multimedia industry. ESS is a professional R & D institution for audio-visual communication semiconductors, which can design all core processing units on sound cards. Its products are famous for their excellent quality, good compatibility, and low price. YAMAHA mainly focuses on the exploration of the MIDI field. In the period when FM synthesis engines were popular, their OPL-2 and OPL-3 FM synthesizers occupied a large market share, and even CREATIVE once adopted YAMAHA's manufactured MIDI synthesis chips. Crystal Company is similar to ESS, and also belongs to a full-function audio chip giant, with the development and design capabilities of various audio DSP processors, decoders, and CODEC chips. In the multimedia sound card field, Crystal's CS processing chips have a very large series, and many European and American brand computers often use Crystal sound card chips. But to be fair, its appeal in the domestic market is still somewhat behind that of CREATIVE, and even YAMAHA and ESS.
6. The arrival of the ISA->PCI sound card revolution
In 1997, ISA sound cards had become very mature. Due to the popularization of many SB 16 compatible sound card chips, sound cards also became the standard configuration of ordinary home computers in China. During this period, the charm of MIDI deeply touched the hearts of many music enthusiasts. But because the wavetable sound cards were too expensive at that time, most users could only look on with envy. Soft wavetable had similar functions, but on machines with slightly slower CPUs, the sound delay phenomenon was extremely serious. How to popularize hard wavetable? The design of PCI sound cards was put on the agenda. Transferring the bus of multimedia sound cards from ISA to PCI is essentially a broadband upgrade. The transmission rate of the PCI bus at 133M/s is far higher than 8MB/s of the ISA bus, which gives sound cards greater room for development and thus achieves a revolution in functions. A technology called "DLS" was realized, enabling PCI sound cards to easily support hard wavetable. And three-dimensional audio technology and multi-channel surround technology also began to emerge gradually. At that time, the appearance of PCI sound cards was inevitable. Many compatible chip development manufacturers, in order to seize this market first, joined hands with some small and medium-sized board card manufacturers to jointly launch the first-generation PCI sound cards. Maybe due to being too eager for quick success and profit and insufficiently mature technology, the first-generation products had many problems to be solved, and finally did not gain market recognition. It was not until the end of 1997 and the beginning of 1998 that DIAMOND, the number one multimedia board card manufacturer in the United States at that time, joined forces with Aureal and ESS, two major chip giants, and successively launched three products with excellent performance and reasonable cost-effectiveness: M80, S70, and MX200, which made PCI sound cards gradually gain the recognition of consumers. The traditional leader in the sound card market, CREATIVE, was quietly observing the development of the entire market. It first launched several experimental PCI products, and finally launched its blockbuster product - the SB Live! sound card based on the PCI bus and using the EMU10K1 chip in the third quarter of 1998. Almost at the same time, DIAMOND promoted its new product MX300, engaging in fierce technological competition and market competition with CREATIVE. The PCI sound card market was finally fully opened throughout the year.
7. Attractive three-dimensional sound effect and four-channel technology
After PCI sound cards became popular, the biggest technological breakthrough was the great decrease in the cost of hardware wavetable synthesis technology and the popularization of three-dimensional sound effects and multi-channel surround sound fields on computers. The latter was even more generally recognized by game players. When computer game videos gradually became mainstream in three dimensions, the application of three-dimensional sound effects undoubtedly further added to the entertainment and realism of games. At this time, whether a PCI sound card can have a powerful sound field simulation effect and audio positioning ability is particularly important. And the key to the three-dimensional sound effect processing ability of sound cards is whether the main chip has powerful processing ability and the API algorithm supported by the sound card. At the same time, three-dimensional sound effects also drove the sales of multi-channel speaker systems. In high-end products, support for four channels has long been a big selling point to tempt audiophiles. And many small and medium-sized manufacturers also successively launched mid-to-low-grade chips that can support four-channel output and three-dimensional audio positioning in 1999. YAMAHA YMF-744 and C-Media CMI-8738 are representatives of such products.
8. Digital transmission shows its edge
The digitalization of audio transmission was proposed due to the poor D/A conversion quality of sound cards caused by the strong electromagnetic interference inside the computer. Using the digital method to output PCM audio and leaving the D/A conversion work to digital speakers or professional decoders can moderately improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the entire audio system. Therefore, coaxial SPDIF output ports appeared on some mid-to-high-grade sound cards launched after 1998. Another very valuable function of this interface is that it can transmit Dobly AC-3 signals. In this way, the sound card can connect an AC-3, dts decoding device through the SPDIF OUT port to form a home theater system. In addition, with the popularity of MD, many audiophiles became interested in optical fiber digital recording technology. Therefore, related products with optical fiber SPDIF input and output gradually developed in 1999. The Nightingale series sound cards strongly promoted by Shuttle are the outstanding representatives of such products.
9. Using computers to form a home theater
After entering 2000, the domestic sound card market gradually became calm after the boom in 1998 and 1999, and there was once a situation of new product disconnection. In the final analysis, it was because the market lacked new technologies and consumption hotspots. The rise of the FM-801 chip in the market finally broke this deadlock. This mid-to-low-grade sound card chip that had been very popular in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan gradually entered the domestic market in the middle of 2000. Although it did not have very outstanding technical indicators, its ingenious six-channel analog output ability and software AC-3 decoding support opened up a solution for low-cost desktop theaters in a unique way. The good theater positioning effect relative to its low price not only made the FM-801 chip quickly famous and promoted the sales of related sound cards but also made the entire multimedia market find a new development direction. Simulated 5.1 output has become an indispensable technical standard for new products. At the end of this year, CREATIVE released SB Live! 5.1, which can be said to be the best recognition of software AC-3 decoding and analog six-channel technology. Recently, sound cards of the same type with a price lower than 100 yuan have appeared in the market, indicating that the concept of low-cost computer multimedia desktop theaters has taken root in people's hearts.
10. Traditional big manufacturers fall one after another
In 2000, the entire sound card market experienced a relatively big shock. First, YAMAHA and S3/DIAMOND, two major giants in the multimedia industry, successively bid farewell to the consumer sound card field. The former is a famous MIDI equipment manufacturer and a famous compatible sound card chip R & D manufacturer. The YAMAHA YMF-724 and 744 chips once gained a不小 market share with their excellent MIDI synthesis ability and relatively high cost-effectiveness, but finally they announced that YMF-754 would be their last consumer multimedia sound card processing chip, and then they would abandon this field. The latter is the famous "king of media", but since Aureal company independently produced finished cards and no longer provided chips to DIAMOND, the situation where they competed with CREATIVE in the sound card field became history. The unsatisfactory sales of MX400 and S100 finally made them give up this once glorious "land". But the most regrettable thing in this year was the news that Aureal was finally acquired by CREATIVE. This professional audio processor R & D institution that entered the consumer field at the initial stage of the rise of PCI sound cards became popular all over the world with the extremely powerful A3D technology. But due to wrong management decisions and long-term patent lawsuits with CREATIVE in three-dimensional positioning technology, it dragged down Aureal's development, caused losses, and in the early 2000s, there was a high-level personnel change, and it has been in decline ever since. In September of last year, it was finally acquired by its former opponent CREATIVE for 32 million US dollars, including the once-popular A3D technology. After this reshuffle, the pattern of the multimedia sound card industry has become more and more inclined to CREATIVE's monopoly, especially in the mid-to-high-grade product field. But fortunately, we still have ESS, Crystal, C-Midea, and Fortemedia, which are still constantly impacting such a cruel reality with their new technologies and new products.
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