Title : sound blaster pro and adlib gold

When you call Creative Labs, you might also want to ask them about some
of the features the AdLib Gold has that the SB Pro does not.

                                               AdLib    Sound Blaster
                                               Gold     Pro  

----------------------------------------------------------------------
FM Synthesizer Chip                   1 Stereo YM262    2 Mono YM3812
# FM voices used in Stereo                        20               11
# FM voices used in Mono                          20               22
Two Operator FM Synthesis                        Yes              Yes
Four Operator FM Synthesis                       Yes               No
# FM Waveforms                                     8                4
Negligible Wait Between Chip Writes     Yes (0.28s)      No (23.0s)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sampling Resolution                          12 bits           8 bits
Sampling Dynamic Range                         72 dB            48 dB
Accepts 16 bit PCM Data                          Yes               No
Sampling Input & Playback Channels                 2                2
Maximum Stereo Sampling Rate                44.1 KHz        22.05 KHz
Digitized Sound Data Format               5.5125 KHz            2 KHz
Hardware Comp/Decompression                   3 to 1           4 to 1
Simultaneous use of 2 DMA Channels               Yes               No
Sampling FIFO Buffer                   2 x 128 Bytes      unspecified
Programmable Interrupts                          Yes     Jumpers only
Interrupt Conditions(s)                    8 Choices    On Completion
Variable Anti-aliasing Filter                    Yes               No
Double Oversampling Digital Filters              Yes               No
Double Undersampling Digital Filters             Yes               No
----------------------------------------------------------------------
On-board Analog Stereo Mixer                     Yes              Yes
Accepts CD-Audio (RedBook) Input                 Yes              Yes
Volume Control on Each Source             128 levels         8 levels
Stereo Output Power Amplifier            1.2 W in 8     0.75 W in 8
----------------------------------------------------------------------
MIDI Interface (IN, OUT, THRU)                   Yes              Yes
Simultaneous MIDI IN & OUT                       Yes               No
MIDI FIFO Buffer                                 Yes              Yes
Joystick Port                                    Yes              Yes
SCSI CD-ROM Interface                     153 kB/sec       153 kB/sec
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Programmable Output Volume Control               Yes              Yes
Programmable Output Tone Control                 Yes               No
Programmable Gain for Mic & Aux Input            Yes        Automatic
Programmable Card Localization                   Yes               No
Programmable DMA Channel Selection               Yes     Jumpers only
Programmable Interrupt Selection                 Yes     Jumpers only
Programmable On-Board Chip Select                Yes               No
----------------------------------------------------------------------
ID Code Available                                Yes               No
Directly Accessible Control Registers            Yes               No
Readable Control Registers                       Yes               No
Registers Stored in Non-Volitile Memory          Yes               No
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Price With On-Board SCSI Interface           $399.95          $299.95
Price Without SCSI Interface                 $299.95              n/a


"The major difference between the Ad Lib Gold and its competitors is the
  quality of the sound, both digitized and synthesized."

"* Ad Lib Gold features a twelve-bit rather than an eight-bit ADC/DAC,
  which increases the dynamic range from 48dB to 72 dB and provides
  crystal-clear digital sound output."

"* Ad Lib Gold utilizes a powerful, new stereo FM synthesizer chip from
  Yamaha called YM262, rather than two monophonic YM3812 chips.  This
  gives Ad Lib Gold eight FM waveforms instead of four, and permits
  operators to be combined in groups of 4 instead of only 2, for richer,
  more resonant sounds."

"* Ad Lib Gold's true stereo synthesizer chip allows voices to be directed
  left, right, or center.  In contrast, YM3812-equipped boards must use
  two voices (one on each side) to direct sound to the center, which reduces
  the number of stereo voices to eleven.  Only Ad Lib Gold provides real
  stereo on each and every one of its 20 synthesized voices."
