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FamiTracker > General > FamiTracker Talk > 5B vs 2A03 Noise-Sound Comparison Owner: mmkthecoolest New post
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5B vs 2A03 Noise-Sound Comparison Posted: 2014-05-04 14:05 Reply | Quote
mmkthecoolest

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#56905
So what's the difference between the sounds made by the noise channels in the Sunsoft 5B and the 2A03?

Posted: 2014-05-04 19:01 Reply | Quote
rainwarrior

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#56909
I could tell you the technical details, but you'd probably get more out of just trying it out. These trackers will let you play with the AY-3-8910, on which the 5B is based:
Arkos Tracker: [url=http://www.julien-nevo.com/arkos/tools.html]http://www.julien-nevo.com/arkos/tools.html
Vortex Tracker II: [url=http://bulba.untergrund.net/vortex_e.htm]http://bulba.untergrund.net/vortex_e.htm

Posted: 2014-05-05 01:40 Reply | Quote
Warheart

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#56916
Well, isn't the volume on 5B logarithmic instead of linear like other channels?

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Posted: 2014-05-05 07:06 Reply | Quote
Xyz_39808

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#56924
They sound extremely different

Posted: 2014-05-05 10:10 Reply | Quote
mmkthecoolest

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#56925
What is the difference between logarithmic and linear volume?

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Posted: 2014-05-05 10:50  (Last Edited: 2014-05-05 10:54) Reply | Quote
Macromaniac

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#56926
Logarithmic volume slider is basically a curve that increases faster as your volume increases. As a result, volumes slides are faster - this makes a chip with logarithmic volume control such as the Master System's SN76489A (slightly modified clone of the Colecovision's audio chip) the better choice for downward volume slides used for drums or note staccati.

A linear volume slider is linear for lack of a better word.
Can't find a clear explanation as to how it works, but a linear volume works by levels rather than curve or line.

Posted: 2014-05-05 12:09  (Last Edited: 2014-05-05 12:10) Reply | Quote
mmkthecoolest

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#56929
In this case it's possible to imitate logarithmic volume on the instrument editor for 2A03 while in the 5B if I used something like Axx command will it go linear or logarithmic? (or it ignores this command and uses a different instrument editor?)

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Posted: 2014-05-05 13:49  (Last Edited: 2014-05-05 13:50) Reply | Quote
DjJizzer5

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#56932
5b has volumes that 2a03 don't - you can't have the same volume 1 on 2a03 as on 5b (on 5b it's much more quiet).

you can always try doing something like [url=http://screenshooter.net/2877024/bbvjymp]this

or [url=http://screenshooter.net/2877024/mgiccgr]this, switching between volume 1 or 0, tho it doesn't really work that great.

Posted: 2014-05-05 14:37  (Last Edited: 2014-05-05 14:38) Reply | Quote
mmkthecoolest

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#56933
Is a volume of 15 also relatively quiet? How large is the range of volumes in 5B?

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Posted: 2014-05-05 16:13  (Last Edited: 2014-05-05 16:14) Reply | Quote
za909

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#56934
You can notice this behavior working with the VRC7. The jumps in volume between each step get larger and larger but it never actually reaches zero (Only if a patch fades out completely).
Most PSG chips at the time had 4-bit volume control (15 volume levels + silence) The differing property to them was how loud each step was compared to other ones.

On the 2A03 a volume of 4 for example will be exactly half as loud as 8, but on the 5B , the 4 will be extremely quiet due to the logarithmic curve. The noise works differently. It allows more pitch values (it's a 5-bit division of a high base frequency as opposed to a 4-bit one on the NES as far as I remember) but doesn't allow as low noises as the 2A03.

Yeah, you might want to know that all these old chips create a frequency by dividing a base frequency given to them by an oscillator (from the CPU in most cases), that's why you might see the word [b]period[/b] used.

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Posted: 2014-05-05 18:49 Reply | Quote
mmkthecoolest

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#56940
The frequency is not as low because the 5B is merely a microprocessor that isn't more powerful than the 2A03 alone (or clocked at a lower speed than the 2A03?), am i right? Or does the 5B have to be more powerful to add more power on the NES?

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Posted: 2014-05-05 19:42 Reply | Quote
jsr
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#56941
The sunsoft chip is not a microprocessor at all, it's a memory mapper with an integrated sound chip. It does not add any computational power at all.

It is possible to describe the differences in words, but the best way is probably to try experimenting yourself as rainwarrior suggested. Then you'll find out what it means in practice.

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Posted: 2014-05-05 22:03  (Last Edited: 2014-05-05 23:13) Reply | Quote
poodlecock

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#56949
This is the best way to explain logarithmic vs linear volume:

[url=http://www.smspower.org/Development/SamplePlayback]http://www.smspower.org/Development/SamplePlayback

I'm not certain that it's how the 5B vs the 2A03 work exactly, but it explains the concept quite well.

[url=http://famitracker.com/forum/posts.php?id=4578&highlight=]EDIT: If you want an idea of how 5B sounds like: http://famitracker.com/forum/posts.php?id=4578 has a whole bunch of modules to listen to.

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