So, what exactly to I mean about “Retro Sounds”? For me, that’s any sounds or music created on hardware of the past. Classic game consoles, computers, musical instruments, etc. However, for the sake of this specific article, I’m talking about the sounds of classic computers, and even more specifically, those of MS-DOS based games.
Many people today don’t realize that back in the early days of video games, they either had no sound, or the sounds were limited to simple “beeps and boops” coming from the PC’s internal speaker. Over time, developers got creative and figured out how to push other sounds, including simple voice, through that internal speaker.
It wasn’t until 1987 with the release of three different pieces of hardware did that all start to change. The Adlib, Creative Music System (also sold under the name Game Blaster for Radio Shack), and the Roland MT-32, that MS-DOS started to see proper dedicated sound devices. Yes, sound devices existed prior, but they were machine specific, like the “Mockingboard” for the Apple II.
It also pays to note that many other home computers of the early and mid-1980’s all had their own internal dedicated sound hardware similar to the game consoles of the time, such as Commodore, Tandy, and Texas Instruments, but MS-DOS based “IBM” computers of the era did not have any dedicated sound hardware.
Between 1988 and 1992, the dedicated sound card space really started to take off with the release of the first Sound Blaster cards and the much sought-after Gravis Ultrasound. Through the 1990’s, there were a lot of different cards and clones of cards that all hit the market, bringing a wide variety of sound options to PC users.
If you’re interested in doing a deep dive into the history of PC sound devices, just Google "History of PC Sound" and go down the rabbit hole! For the sake of this article, I’m basically just going to cover the hardware I use today, to give me the sounds of those early devices that I so thoroughly enjoyed. From real hardware to emulated, everything below is available, for a reasonable price, at the time I’m writing this (September 2025). I will be covering the specific hardware I use for my MS-DOS sound needs. My focus was on compatibility and affordability.
My MS-DOS based machine actively runs two different sound cards (AWE64 and PicoGUS). I did this to maximize my compatibility across a wide range of games, from the earliest to the latest DOS titles I wanted to play. However, I’ve actually tried three different cards in my setup, and all three have their pros and cons. So below, I’m going to give my thoughts and opinions on those three different options.
OPTi 82C930
I’m going to start with a card I didn’t even know existed prior to building my DOS 6.22 based system, the OPTi 82C930. While my DOS PC has both PCI and ISA, I knew I wanted ISA sound hardware to maximize compatibility. What attracted me to the Opti was the fact they were available as new old stock (NOS), inexpensive, had a real 3Yamaha OPL chip, and got good reviews for their Sound Blaster Pro and Windows Sound System (WSS) compatibility.
VOGONS User Review: https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=70060
The great thing about the Opti card was the fact it was compatible with every single DOS game I tried with it, simply because of its good Sound Blaster Pro compatibility. While I never really dove into its WSS features, it proved to be a very capable card for a DOS based system. The only real issue with this, and many other cards of the era, is they can be somewhat "noisy". Honestly, this isn't all that big of an issue for me since it's rarely noticeable while your gaming.
Overall, the OPTi 82C930 is a great card for DOS and Windows 3.1. It sounds good, has that real OPL3 chip, and mine even has a QDSP QS700 wavetable synthesizer that can handle 32 voices at 44.1 kHz (CD quality). The biggest downside to this card is the fact it has no wavetable header, probably becasue of the QS700, but it does support MIDI over the gameport as usual.
At the time of writing this post, this exact card can be found over on eBay for about $30 as NOS (New Old Stock). Well worth the money for a good, inexpensive, DOS ISA sound card!
AWE 64 Value
This leads me to the second card I decided I wanted in my DOS system, an AWE 64. I used to own a Sound Blaster AWE 64 Gold, and it was by far my favorite sound card of all time. Sadly, many years ago, I sold it off. In retrospect, that was a huge mistake because these cards are quite rare and expensive today, often selling for hundreds of dollars over on eBay. So, I set my sights a little lower and went looking for the “Value” version of the AWE 64, the CT4520. These can often be found on eBay for a much more reasonable price, and they sound just as good as their Gold counterpart. I got mine for about $20, but they have since jumped in price to $40-$50 over on eBay. Still, much cheaper than the Gold!
The AWE 64 is a beast of a card, especially when paired with Windows 3.1 or 95. It sounds amazing and even works very well in DOS. The biggest downside was compatibility with older DOS games. A good example was the original Wolfenstien 3D, it simply refused to work. The official drivers for the card simply don’t play well with some older games. Thankfully, there is a workaround, and it’s called Unisound. The Unisound drivers solve a vast majority of the MS-DOS game compatibility issues with the AWE 64, making it a good choice as a dedicated DOS sound option.
The AWE64 solved a lot of problems from earlier versions. While it no longer used an OPL3 chip, it still sounds amazing, has a better signal-to-noise ratio (less unwanted noise) and no longer suffers from the "hanging note" MIDI bug. It also has the ability to expand the RAM beyond the 512K using modern alternatives, even further expanding the cards capabilities under Windows 9x.
https://www.serdashop.com/SIMMCONN
https://bitsundbolts.com/2025/07/01/the-smallest-first-diy-8mb-awe64-memory-expansion-board/
PicoGUS
The PicoGUS is an amazing modern ISA sound card that uses the versatile RP2040 from the Raspberry Pi Pico to emulate different classic sound cards. The name is a hybrid of the Raspberry Pi Pico it was designed around, and the Gravis Ultrasound, often just called the “GUS”. The Gravis Ultrasound is one of the most sought after early sound cards for retro enthusiasts. A GUS over on eBay can sell for several hundred dollars, putting it well out of reach for many people, or those of us that just can’t bring themselves to spend that kind of money on a 35-year-old sound card just to play games.
Enter the PicoGUS, for around $50 you can faithfully emulate not only the rare Gravis Ultrasound, but Sound Blaster 2.0 / AdLib (OPL2), CMS/Game Blaster and Tandy 3-Voice as well. It also supports full optical drive emulation via a USB flash drive, and can use some USB gamepads. It also comes in two versions at the time of writing, the full DIY version 1.1, and the fully assembled V 2.0, the one I have. You get a lot of bang for your buck with the PicoGUS. If you want a modern, versatile, and widely compatible modern ISA sound card for your retro gaming system, the PicoGUS should definitely be on your short list for consideration.
While I initially bought the PicoGUS for it's Gravis Ultrasound capabilities, I've since repurposed it as a dedicated MPU-401 interface for my Wavetable Pi (seen below). This allows me to run a primary card for all my basic sound effects and music needs, and use the PicoGUS with a Wavetable Pi installed in MPU-401 mode for all my MT-32, Sound Canvas, and Wave Effects compatible game music needs.
The power and versatility of the PicoGUS is something I cannot give enough praise for. Even more so now that they've added optical drive emulation allowing you to use CD-ROM images in MS-DOS with ease!
Wavetable Pi
This leads me to what is probably my favorite “retro sound” item I’m currently using in my DOS 6.22 system, and that’s the Wavetable Pi (WPi). Based on the amazing MT-32 Pi project, the Wavetable Pi is a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W powered card that plugs directly into your sound cards wavetable header, in my case, on my PicoGUS running in MPU-401 mode. The MT-32 project itself can run on pretty much any raspberry Pi beyond the 3B+ and Zero 2W, and there are many DIY open-source devices that have been created around it, but the Wavetable Pi is where I set my sights so I could keep everything internal to the system.
The WPi, just like the PicoGUS, is an emulator. It can emulate and add wavetable functionality to most any compatible sound card and give the user an amazing MIDI experience that was well out of reach for many of us back in the 1990’s, myself included. While it can run many different sound fonts, I have mine setup to emulate the Roland MT-32 MIDI Synthesizer. An external device that cost a whopping $695 back when it was released in 1987. In 2025, that is roughly equivalent to $2000!
The MT-32 was originally marketed to amateur musicians, but it didn’t take long for it to become the go to device for PC based music. The MT-32 was basically a sample driven 9-channel MIDI device. This means it uses sound samples to recreate music, sometimes called “Soundfonts”. The WPi, running MT-32 Pi, can emulate this, and it can do it for around $50 if you build one yourself. These projects are open source, so cost is going to vary depending on where and when you get your parts and decide to build one.
Plugged into my PicoGUS, the WPi allows me to experience how many of the games I used to love back in the DOS days were meant to sound, and it’s absolutely amazing! In the photo below, you’ll see I routed the LCD screen from my Wavetable Pi to the front panel of my system so it’s not hidden away inside the case, and can be properly displayed and enjoyed.
One important note to keep in mind should you decide to build one of these cool devices is the sound card you want to use it with. Obviously, the card needs the standard 26-pin (13x2) wavetable header on it, but you may have to alter the component layout on your WPi to clear the components on your sound card. In my case, that area on the PicoGUS is left open and free from any components, but that’s not always the case.
Below, you’ll find a link to everything you need to build your own Wavetable Pi. I will also include links to the MT-32 Pi project and some of the other devices you can build based around it, just in case one of them better fits your needs. Functionally, they are all basically the same, but use different layouts, hardware, and can be accessed and controlled differently.
Wavetable Pi: https://github.com/scrapcomputing/WavetablePi
MT-32 Pi: https://github.com/dwhinham/mt32-pi
In my MS-DOS 6.22 system, I'm now running the AWE64 Value seen above, and the PicoGUS in MPU-401 mode with the Wavetable Pi installed and set in MT-32 mode. This combination is absolutely amazing in MS-DOS. I'm using a simple external mixer to combine the outputs from the two cards. This setup allows me to use the AWE64 for all my basic sound needs, and use the Wavetable Pi in any games that support it. It sounds incredible, and 1993 me would have drooled over such a setup! If you're looking for the ultimate MS-DOS sound setup, having a good base sound card, as well as any of the MT-32 Pi variants, is the way to go in my humble opinion. You can spend as much, or as little, as you like. I chose to get the most bang for my buck and I could not be happier with the result!
Well, I think that about covers it. With the above-mentioned hardware, I can recreate all the sounds of a bygone era of gaming that I remember on my MS-DOS 6.22 system. While you can do all of this with full software emulation on a modern PC with ease with tools like DOSBox and ScummVM, I personally enjoy playing and enjoying my games on the original hardware they were designed to be played on while I can. Sure, there was the obligatory pain and suffering along the way, as is the nature of old hardware. Issues I had to resolve, I changed my mind a few times, and might change it again in the future, who knows. If you do decide to build yourself a retro gaming PC, I highly suggest the great community over on VOGONS if you need any help!
All of this hardware is 30+ years old at this point, and eventually, it’s all going to stop working. Sure, I can repair it all to some degree, but the day will come when all he have left is emulation, either full software or via hardware with something like an FPGA. So I don’t mind using of mix of old and new hardware to get the results I’m looking for.
I hope you found this post helpful! Until the next one, keep feeding your nostalgia!
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