<s>
The	O
Ensoniq	B-Device
AudioPCI	I-Device
is	O
a	O
PCI-based	O
sound	B-Device
card	I-Device
released	O
in	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
Ensoniq	O
's	O
last	O
sound	B-Device
card	I-Device
product	O
before	O
they	O
were	O
acquired	O
by	O
Creative	O
Technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whereas	O
the	O
Soundscape	O
line	O
had	O
been	O
made	O
up	O
primarily	O
of	O
low-volume	O
high-end	O
products	O
full	O
of	O
features	O
,	O
the	O
AudioPCI	B-Device
was	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
very	O
simple	O
,	O
low-cost	O
product	O
to	O
appeal	O
to	O
system	O
OEMs	O
and	O
thus	O
hopefully	O
sell	O
in	O
mass	O
quantities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pressure	O
from	O
intense	O
competition	O
,	O
especially	O
with	O
the	O
dominant	O
Creative	O
Labs	O
,	O
was	O
forcing	O
audio	B-Device
card	I-Device
makers	O
to	O
try	O
to	O
keep	O
their	O
prices	O
low	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
AudioPCI	B-Device
,	O
released	O
in	O
July	O
1997	O
,	O
was	O
designed	O
primarily	O
to	O
be	O
cheap	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
comparison	O
to	O
the	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
chips	O
on	O
and	O
sheer	O
size	O
of	O
the	O
older	O
Soundscape	O
boards	O
,	O
the	O
highly	O
integrated	O
two	O
chip	O
design	O
of	O
the	O
AudioPCI	B-Device
is	O
an	O
obvious	O
shift	O
in	O
design	O
philosophy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
another	O
cost-cutting	O
move	O
,	O
the	O
previously	O
typical	O
ROM	B-Device
chip	I-Device
used	O
for	O
storage	O
of	O
samples	O
for	O
sample-based	O
synthesis	O
was	O
replaced	O
with	O
the	O
facility	O
to	O
use	O
system	O
RAM	B-Architecture
as	O
storage	O
for	O
this	O
audio	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
made	O
possible	O
by	O
the	O
move	O
to	O
the	O
PCI	B-Protocol
bus	I-Protocol
,	O
with	O
its	O
far	O
greater	O
bandwidth	O
and	O
more	O
efficient	O
bus	B-Architecture
mastering	I-Architecture
interface	O
when	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
older	O
ISA	B-Architecture
bus	I-Architecture
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AudioPCI	B-Device
,	O
while	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
cheap	O
,	O
is	O
still	O
quite	O
functional	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
offers	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
audio	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
Soundscape	O
ELITE	O
card	O
,	O
including	O
several	O
digital	O
effects	O
(	O
reverb	O
,	O
chorus	O
,	O
and	O
spatial	B-Application
enhancement	I-Application
)	O
when	O
used	O
with	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
95	I-Application
and	O
later	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AudioPCI	B-Device
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
cards	O
to	O
have	O
Microsoft	O
DirectSound3D	O
4-speaker	O
playback	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
DOS	B-Device
and	O
Windows	O
drivers	O
support	O
sample-based	O
synthesis	O
through	O
Ensoniq	O
's	O
"	O
.ecw	O
"	O
patch	O
set	O
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Consequently	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
very	O
few	O
custom	O
wave	O
sets	O
available	O
,	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
the	O
huge	O
availability	O
of	O
home-made	O
releases	O
in	O
E-mu	O
'	O
s	O
SoundFont	B-Application
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
particularly	O
unfortunate	O
because	O
the	O
AudioPCI	B-Device
used	O
system	O
RAM	B-Architecture
for	O
patch	O
set	O
storage	O
which	O
in	O
itself	O
offers	O
tremendous	O
potential	O
for	O
new	O
patch	O
sets	O
over	O
the	O
traditional	O
ROM	B-Device
storage	O
previously	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
disappointing	O
considering	O
the	O
incredible	O
popularity	O
and	O
longevity	O
of	O
the	O
Ensoniq	O
ES1370	O
chipset	O
and	O
its	O
descendants	O
,	O
some	O
of	O
which	O
were	O
still	O
in	O
use	O
six	O
years	O
after	O
the	O
original	O
AudioPCI	B-Device
board	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
DOS	B-Device
drivers	O
for	O
the	O
far	O
newer	O
Sound	B-Device
Blaster	I-Device
Audigy	I-Device
still	O
use	O
"	O
.ecw	O
"	O
wave	O
sets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
newer	O
cards	O
are	O
unable	O
to	O
use	O
SoundFonts	B-Application
in	O
DOS	B-Device
,	O
limiting	O
them	O
to	O
the	O
three	O
official	O
.ecw	O
wavesets	O
from	O
the	O
late	O
'	O
90s	O
and	O
one	O
incomplete	O
unofficial	O
waveset	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
AudioPCI	B-Device
supported	O
DOS	B-Device
games	O
and	O
applications	O
using	O
a	O
software	O
driver	O
that	O
would	O
install	O
during	O
DOS	B-Device
,	O
or	O
the	O
real-mode	O
,	O
boot-time	O
portion	O
of	O
Windows	O
9x	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
driver	O
virtualized	O
a	O
Sound	O
Blaster-compatible	O
ISA	B-Architecture
sound	B-Device
card	I-Device
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
PC	O
's	O
NMI	B-General_Concept
and	O
a	O
terminate-and-stay-resident	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allowed	O
the	O
AudioPCI	B-Device
to	O
have	O
more	O
compatible	O
out-of-the-box	O
DOS	B-Device
support	O
than	O
some	O
of	O
its	O
PCI	B-Protocol
competitors	O
for	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
competing	O
Monster	O
Sound	O
from	O
Diamond	O
Multimedia	O
was	O
limited	O
to	O
running	O
DOS	B-Device
games	O
in	O
Windows	O
9x-based	O
DOS	B-Device
command	O
windows	O
,	O
meaning	O
DOS	B-Device
compatibility	O
was	O
frequently	O
only	O
reliable	O
through	O
an	O
additional	O
ISA	B-Architecture
sound	B-Device
card	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Creative	O
was	O
struggling	O
with	O
the	O
challenge	O
of	O
legacy	O
support	O
as	O
well	O
,	O
and	O
had	O
created	O
the	O
SB-Link	O
,	O
an	O
interconnect	O
that	O
allowed	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
serial-IRQ	O
and	O
PC/PCI	O
grant/request	O
sideband	O
signals	O
offered	O
by	O
some	O
PCI	B-Protocol
chipsets	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
achieve	O
DOS	B-Device
compatibility	O
for	O
their	O
Sound	O
Blaster	O
AWE64-variant	O
PCI	B-Protocol
sound	B-Device
cards	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
the	O
DOS	B-Device
driver	O
required	O
a	O
memory	O
manager	O
such	O
as	O
EMM386	B-Device
to	O
be	O
loaded	O
,	O
which	O
not	O
only	O
required	O
additional	O
conventional	O
memory	O
space	O
but	O
also	O
put	O
the	O
CPU	O
into	O
Virtual-86	O
mode	O
,	O
conflicting	O
with	O
games	O
that	O
utilized	O
a	O
modified	O
form	O
of	O
protected	B-Application
mode	I-Application
,	O
called	O
'	O
flat	O
mode	O
 '	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
mode	O
allowed	O
fast	O
,	O
direct	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
system	O
's	O
entire	O
RAM	B-Architecture
without	O
requiring	O
a	O
memory	O
manager	O
or	O
memory	O
protection	O
mechanism	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
not	O
a	O
requirement	O
exclusive	O
to	O
AudioPCI	B-Device
,	O
however	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
ISA	B-Architecture
sound	B-Device
cards	I-Device
used	O
it	O
as	O
well	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Creative	O
AWE	O
ISA	B-Architecture
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
AudioPCI	B-Device
DOS	B-Device
driver	O
included	O
Ensoniq	O
Soundscape	O
16-bit	O
digital	O
audio	O
and	O
sample-based	O
synthesis	O
support	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
support	O
for	O
Sound	B-Application
Blaster	I-Application
Pro	I-Application
,	O
AdLib	O
Gold	O
,	O
General	O
MIDI	O
,	O
and	O
MT-32	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Therefore	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
practical	O
to	O
configure	O
DOS	B-Device
games	O
to	O
utilize	O
the	O
General	O
MIDI	O
synthesizer	O
and	O
digital	O
sound	O
effects	O
,	O
whenever	O
possible	O
,	O
for	O
better	O
sound	O
quality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DOS	B-Device
MIDI	O
utilizes	O
the	O
same	O
.ecw	O
patch	O
set	O
files	O
as	O
Windows	O
MIDI	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Part	O
of	O
the	O
deal	O
when	O
Ensoniq	O
was	O
purchased	O
by	O
Creative	O
Labs	O
was	O
to	O
integrate	O
the	O
AudioPCI	B-Device
DOS	B-Device
driver	O
into	O
the	O
upcoming	O
Sound	B-Device
Blaster	I-Device
Live	I-Device
!	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Creative	O
added	O
Sound	B-Device
Blaster	I-Device
16	I-Device
emulation	O
to	O
the	O
driver	O
and	O
removed	O
the	O
Ensoniq	O
SoundScape	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AudioPCI	B-Device
itself	O
was	O
re-branded	O
as	O
several	O
Creative	O
Labs	O
sound	B-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
including	O
the	O
Sound	B-Application
Blaster	I-Application
PCI	B-Protocol
64	O
,	O
PCI	B-Protocol
128	O
,	O
Vibra	O
PCI	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
few	O
soundcards	B-Device
feature	O
multiple	O
quartzes	O
or	O
a	O
PLL	O
,	O
resampling	O
is	O
often	O
used	O
with	O
all	O
its	O
potential	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
single	O
chip	O
PCI	B-Protocol
audio	O
controller	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
ES1371/ES1373	O
and	O
was	O
register	O
compatible	O
with	O
these	O
previous	O
chips	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
difference	O
between	O
the	O
EV1938	O
and	O
previous	O
chips	O
was	O
the	O
inclusion	O
of	O
a	O
built-in	O
AC'97	O
codec	B-General_Concept
(	O
hence	O
producing	O
a	O
cheaper	O
,	O
single	O
chip	O
audio	O
solution	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
EV1938	O
was	O
also	O
used	O
for	O
both	O
integrated	O
audio	O
on	O
laptops/motherboards	O
and	O
on	O
cards	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
Sound	B-Application
Blaster	I-Application
AudioPCI	B-Device
64V	O
"	O
(	O
CT4730	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
AudioPCI	B-Device
ES1370	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Ensoniq	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
important	O
feature	O
of	O
this	O
chip	O
was	O
that	O
it	O
used	O
the	O
PCI	B-Protocol
bus	I-Protocol
,	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
ISA	B-Architecture
bus	I-Architecture
commonly	O
used	O
by	O
sound	B-Device
cards	I-Device
at	O
that	O
point	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
PCI	B-Protocol
sound	B-Device
card	I-Device
solutions	O
to	O
offer	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
legacy	O
compatibility	O
without	O
special	O
hardware	O
extensions	O
to	O
the	O
standard	O
PCI	B-Protocol
slot	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
paired	O
with	O
a	O
capable	O
codec	B-General_Concept
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
AK4531	O
(	O
pre-AC	O
'	O
97	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
ES1370	O
supported	O
the	O
then-latest	O
in	O
3D	B-Application
audio	I-Application
positioning	O
through	O
4-speaker	O
surround	O
sound	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
chip	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
PCI	B-Protocol
bus	I-Protocol
master	O
device	O
that	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
provide	O
high-speed	O
access	O
to	O
system	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
resources	O
,	O
for	O
sample	O
synthesis	O
data	O
and	O
effect	O
processing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Depending	O
on	O
the	O
drivers	O
,	O
it	O
may	O
also	O
be	O
called	O
the	O
Sound	B-Application
Blaster	I-Application
64/128	O
in	O
the	O
device	O
manager	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ES1370	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
audio	O
chips	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
Microsoft	O
DirectSound3D	O
audio	O
API	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
programs	O
took	O
full	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
API	B-Application
's	O
capabilities	O
,	O
the	O
ES1370	O
was	O
capable	O
of	O
both	O
global	O
spatial	O
and	O
localized	O
3D	O
sound	O
effects	O
,	O
in	O
both	O
2	O
and	O
4-speaker	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ES1370	O
is	O
also	O
emulated	O
as	O
a	O
piece	O
of	O
virtual	O
hardware	O
in	O
QEMU	B-Application
and	O
VMware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ensoniq/Creative	O
ES1371	O
and	O
ES1373	O
(	O
AudioPCI	B-Device
97	O
)	O
are	O
AC'97-compatible	O
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
100%	O
DOS	B-Device
legacy	O
game	O
compatible	O
(	O
allegedly	O
;	O
some	O
games	O
fail	O
to	O
detect	O
the	O
virtualized	O
hardware	O
and/or	O
clash	O
with	O
Virtual-86	O
mode	O
)	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
SB	O
Creative	O
VIBRA	O
128	O
PCI	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Creative	O
EV1938	O
(	O
AudioPCI	B-Device
64V	O
)	O
is	O
virtually	O
identical	O
to	O
ES1371/ES1373	O
and	O
is	O
a	O
later	O
(	O
cost	O
reduced	O
)	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
