most accurate sound emulation settings for NES/SNES by VideoGameScrapBook at 10:01 PM EDT on September 5, 2008
So I've started a "Brawl Originals" series on my website, which is a collection of all the original versions of the rearranged songs from Brawl. I've searched forever for some recommendations on what to do to achieve the most accurate playback of NSF and SPCs.
I'm fairly certain I have the SNES settings as accurate as they can get. Except I do have analog simulation disabled, because I don't trust it would produce the effect naturally enough, and I assume it's essentially just a filter that could be added later if it's actually wanted.
The NES on the other hand, is a big question mark.
-What sample rate should I be using for NES sound? -Does NES audio need 16 bit resolution for accurate sound, or can the sound be in 8 bit resolution?
I generally use the latest NEZplug for NES. For added accuracy, I use ugetab's $4017 fixes where appropriate. Ages ago, I compared Nosefart's output to that of my actual NES via headphones and concluded that the NES analogue out outputs at ~22050hz, but that might be inaccurate.
For SNES, if I'm going for accuracy, I use mudlord's GME plugin with the "actual SNES output rate" option enabled. As far as SNESamp, just take the "like the SNES" settings and disable the analogue simulation. If you really want to be anal, you could always make wav logs from bsnes or SNESeSe, but I haven't tried that approach yet to verify accuracy.
Thanks JILost for sharing your sample frequency tests! That seems about right to my ear as well, but I'm going to stick with 32000 just in case it's slightly above. I'd rather the output be a smidge too good than a smidge too bad.
I looked up NEZplug and there were a number of people who complained about the inaccuracy. Maybe without the mentioned fixes? It also looks like it isn't being updated anymore, so I'm going to stick with NotSo Fatso. If anybody can prove that that plugin's accuracy leaves much to be desired, I'd be happy to change.
I read some forums b/w mudlord, blargg, and some others that is still being posted to today, about making a more accurate SPC plugin. Since it's a bit early, I'll stick with SNESamp for now, but I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye on it.
NEZplug not being updated? Perhaps not by the original author, but it's certainly being updated regularly. Have a look at http://offgao.no-ip.org/program/nezplug++.html. Give that a try, and see for yourself if it's what you're looking for. As for NotSoFatSo, it's not being updated either. If you're going to use NotSoFatSo though, then you'll probably want to use UNKOWNFILE's build, which has *WAY* better VRC7 support than the original NotSoFatSo has. I've also heard good things about NSFplug, but I don't use it myself, so I don't have much input on that one.
Hope that helps a little though. Mouser X over and out.
Yeah, NEZPlug is long dead, don't use it for recording. NEZPlug++ though, the one Mouser linked, is updated frequently and has the highest compatibility out of all NSF plugins.
Thanks for pointing out UNKNOWNFILE's NotSoFatSo, which I am now using the latest build (April 2008). I tried NESPlug++, but it's not playing nicely with my barebones version of Winamp 2. I assume with UNKOWNFILE's VRC7 support, the output of both plugins should be comparable?
For anybody who is interested concerning SNESAmp accuracy: blargg from ZSNES: "I doubt anyone could tell the difference, except for a few cases where some obscure inaccuracy is exposed. An accurate player will click in Donkey Kong Country - Fear Factory about 41 seconds in, and Cave Dweller Concert around 71 seconds in (1:11) on the right side. The opening monster scream on Chrono Trigger - Last Battle also sounds slightly off if the pitch modulation isn't emulated exactly"
As far as the SPC plugin, there's one out there (in_spc) which uses BSNES's sound core and there's in_mgme, which uses a (possibly related) cycle-accurate SPC core, so there's not much reason not to use that one if you're going for dead-on accuracy. There's actually the occasional incident ("For Pete's Sake" from the first Earthworm Jim, for example) where in_spc is accurate and SNESamp isn't...and it's very, very noticeable. But you're right, SNESamp is very accurate and 95% of the time, it'll do just fine.
I haven't tried NotSo recently, but I do know that when I was recording a Castlevania CD for my friend and wanted the use of emulation to be undetectable, I scrutinized line-in recordings from my Famicom and compared them to the output from several plugins; NEZplug++'s output was, to my ears, indistinguishable from the WAV, so I stopped trying to find a better one. I might have to check a recent version of NotSo out some time and compare that to the WAV, too.
While I'm not the authority on this, I would agree with JILost about NotSo and NEZplug. UF did a comparison recording awhile back, and the difference was noticeable. However, most of UF's comparisons were to show how emulators handled the VRC7 chip. Since UF has been working on NotSoFatSo, I think that as far as VRC7 emulation goes, NotSoFatSo is the plugin of choice. But since there's very few games that use the VRC7, you might want to use NEZplug instead (I've heard enough to believe that overall, NEZplug has the better emulation, but that UF's NotSo build is the one for VRC7 tunes). You can always do a comparison to see which, in your opinion, is the better plugin of choice. If you have a NES cart (and NES) (or can find the right kind of OST), you can get the matching NSF and try various settings to see which is the optimal situation.
Generally, in regards to NSF, I do what Knurek or anewuser tells me. While I like NSF, they both like it a lot more than I do. Sorry I can't help much more than I have. Mouser X over and out.
shameless plug by unknownfile at 1:21 AM EDT on September 7, 2008
hi.
notsofatso ufmix is now using mame code. this means that i am now attempting to piss off people that matter.
Anybody have an opinion on the most accurate GBS and GFS plugin? Is there a maximum sample rate that the original Game Boy uses?
Unknownfile, I've tried several versions of your NotSoFatSo, but all of them are botching the very first note you hear when losing a life in Super Mario Bros. I've matched the settings for the last official release of NotSoFatSo, and that plugin doesn't have a problem. I'm using Winamp 2.