Ensoniq Soundscape OPUS Mini Review

This is a cost reduced OEM version of the Ensoniq Soundscape used by Gateway. It is similar to the Soundscape S-2000, but with a smaller MIDI patch set (1 MB instead of 2 MB). A good quality picture is available here.

Installation

Compatibility Notes

Pros

Cons

Conclusion

The OPUS is a good choice if you are looking for an inexpensive way to add some basic MIDI support to a system. It generally does not give good results however for older games that only support FM or MT-32 music. This card is best used in a secondary system, or combined with another card to handle FM. It works well with other cards, I installed it alongside a PAS16 with no issues.

Recordings

I tried to capture all modes that are supported by both the Soundscape and the game. Leisure Suit Larry 7 is included because I wanted to include a digital only recording.

Game: Song Mode Recording
Doom: E1M1 FM doom_e1m1_ssopus_fm.mp3
Doom: E1M1 GM doom_e1m1_ssopus_gm.mp3
Doom: E1M2 FM doom_e1m2_ssopus_fm.mp3
Doom: E1M2 GM doom_e1m2_ssopus_gm.mp3
Dune: Palace FM dune_palace_ssopus_fm.mp3
Dune: Palace MT32 dune_palace_ssopus_mt32.mp3
Freddy Pharkas: Theme FM fpfp_theme_ssopus_fm.mp3
Freddy Pharkas: Theme MT32 fpfp_theme_ssopus_mt32.mp3
Freddy Pharkas: Theme GM fpfp_theme_ssopus_gm.mp3
Heretic: E1M1 FM heretic_e1m1_ssopus_fm.mp3
Heretic: E1M1 GM heretic_e1m1_ssopus_gm.mp3
LSL6: Heath Spa FM lsl6_health_spa_ssopus_fm.mp3
LSL6: Heath Spa MT32 lsl6_health_spa_ssopus_mt32.mp3
LSL6: Heath Spa GM lsl6_health_spa_ssopus_gm.mp3
LSL7: Theme lsl7_theme_ssopus.mp3
Secret of Monkey Island: Theme FM secret_of_monkey_island_theme_ssopus_fm.mp3
Secret of Monkey Island: Theme MT32 secret_of_monkey_island_theme_ssopus_mt32.mp3

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