I got my hands on 5 different Commodore 64 SID revisions (6581 R2 R3 R4 R4AR and 8580 R5) so it seemed obvious that a comparison would be a good idea. So I did it.
Started with a track that has been composed on a 6581 SID, recorded it with all the 5 different chips and wrote a post about the procedure. Then I thought it would be fair to do the same thing with a 8580 track and record it through all 6581's as well.
The result is a 3 part article with audio examples, waveform screenshots, some additional information and conclusion. Bring some cold beer, chips, etc. and follow these links:
SID shootout Part 1.
SID shootout Part 2.
SID shootout Part 3.
I've chose nice demoscene music instead of well-known game soundtrack because these ones are great to listen to and also show serious sound design skills, sometimes I felt the SID was crying while producing the audio.
Enjoy.
C64 SID shootout - 6581 vs. 8580
-
- KVRist
- 115 posts since 4 Nov, 2011 from Babylon 5
-
- KVRAF
- 25849 posts since 20 Jan, 2008 from a star near where you are
And I thought I was a C64 fanstrayboom wrote:I got my hands on 5 different Commodore 64 SID revisions (6581 R2 R3 R4 R4AR and 8580 R5) so it seemed obvious that a comparison would be a good idea. So I did it.
Well done
-
- KVRAF
- 7540 posts since 7 Aug, 2003 from San Francisco Bay Area
Very interesting! I still have two C64's in my garage, but I've never cracked them open to see which SID chips are inside. I always figured they were more or less the same.
Incomplete list of my gear: 1/8" audio input jack.
-
- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 115 posts since 4 Nov, 2011 from Babylon 5
Numanoid: I wish I have a 6582 and a SwinSID to make the comparison complete 
Actually, I was thinking of making another test with the R3, putting it into the Breadbin's motherboard to see (hear) if the noise travels with the SID or is it a courtesy of a VIC or another chip on the motherboard.
Deastman: in theory none of the SIDs sound the same as the circuit design has some interesting flaws. I don't have detailed knowledge about it but http://sid.kubarth.com/ should have the answer.
Actually, I was thinking of making another test with the R3, putting it into the Breadbin's motherboard to see (hear) if the noise travels with the SID or is it a courtesy of a VIC or another chip on the motherboard.
Deastman: in theory none of the SIDs sound the same as the circuit design has some interesting flaws. I don't have detailed knowledge about it but http://sid.kubarth.com/ should have the answer.