HINT: The AudioPCI driver, APINIT, requires an Expanded Memory Manager (EMS) to be loaded, such as EMM386.EXE. Therefore, it was more practical to configure DOS games to utilize the General MIDI synthesizer and digital sound effects whenever possible for better sound quality. However, without actual hardware for FM synthesis, FM music and sound effects were simulated using samples, often with unacceptable results. The AudioPCI DOS driver included Ensoniq Soundscape 16-bit digital audio and sample-based synthesis support, along with support for Sound Blaster Pro, AdLib Gold, General MIDI, and Roland MT-32. After the takeover from Creative, this driver was incorporated into the Creative Sound Blaster Live! The driver virtualised a Sound Blaster-compatible card through the use of Non-Maskable Interrupts (NMI), effectively capturing commands that would be send to an IRQ (Interrupt Request Line) and redirecting them to the AudioPCI card. To OEMs the card was sold for ~$50 USD a piece. It was rare for PCI sound card manufacturers to bother with DOS compatibility now that Windows was taking over the world. For this new card they devised an ISA software audio emulation driver that was compatible with most DOS games. At the time, the company was getting squeezed out of the market by Creative, and so needed to change direction away from high-end audio and into the budget OEM market. In 1997, Ensoniq introduced AudioPCI - a budget PCI sound card.
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