Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!sequent!crg5!lcline From: lcline@sequent.com (Larry Cline) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: GS Sound (waS:Re: Stellar 7 re-release) Message-ID: Date: 13 Dec 90 21:56:22 GMT References: <6292@crash.cts.com> Sender: root@crg5.UUCP Organization: Sequent Computer Systems, Beaverton, Oregon Lines: 49 In-reply-to: tg.exc@pro-harvest.cts.com's message of 13 Dec 90 11:56:31 GMT In article <6292@crash.cts.com> tg.exc@pro-harvest.cts.com (Terry Guelfo) writes: >In-Reply-To: message from unknown@ucscb.UCSC.EDU > >>The Amiga has only 4 channels, as opposed to the GS's 15, or through > >Yep. But, watch out. An acquaintance of mine who is also an Amiga 500 owner >will shoot back with "Yeah, but the Amiga has built in stereo." That's fine >and dandy, but stereo with only 4 channels? I will admit the Amiga sounds >nice, but for a lousy $50, a GS users can go out and get a stereo card and >have stereo sound with 15 channels. > >I do have a question, though. How much sound ram does the Amiga have? I have >heard that the GS has only 32k (or is that 64k?) making it somewhat limited >(in the eyes of my Amiga acquaintance.) > >----------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Internet: tg.exc@pro-harvest.cts.com |ProLine: tg.exc@pro-harvest >ARPA: crash!pro-harvest!tg.exc@nosc.mil |UUCP: crash!pro-harvest!tg.exc >BITNET: tg.exc%pro-harvest.cts.com@nosc.mil |Knights of the Plex: Reardon >----------------------------------------------------------------------------- > We're tiny, we're toony, we're all a little looney.... >----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Amiga has 4 voices on two channels. The GS has 15 voices on one channel (two if you get the stereo card). These are programmable voice chips and the number is how many sounds it can generate at one time. This is not like a digitized sound which does not need a sound chip at all. The Amiga does not have dedicated 'sound ram'. Since the voices come from a custom chip the available ram to use for sounds is refered to as 'chip ram'. Depending on the model of Amiga you can have as little as 256K and as much as 2MB of chip ram. It is also possible to shuttle data from other ram to chip ram or from disk to chip ram although I don't know how much contention you would get by doing this. I have used a music program on the Amiga while doing other things (got bored with the radio) and only had a few hesitations when I was loading from the hard drive. Before everybody jumps in and says; 'Who let that Amiga guy in here?!?' let me say that I own (and still use) an un-enhanced //e. And I still like it. Direct flames to NIL: or /NIL/ Larry -- Larry Cline lcline@sequent.sequent.com lcline@crg8.sequent.com ".sig! Contractors don't need no stinkin' .sig!!!"