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Real SID chips - will it be possible?

    Well since the 6581 and the 8580 were also not identical to each other back then, the 8580 sounding more muted due to fixing the percussion bug in the 6581, I would start by asking you why is that such a big concern? I mean it as a genuine question as I've seen FPGA SID recreations that actually sound better than the originals (can't remember the name though). From a personal standpoint, I've mostly known the 8580 due to being a C128 owner back then (though we did own a VIC-20 and a C64 for a little while too) so, in my very humble opinion, it can definitely be improved upon. Plus, you get four FPGA SIDs with the MEGA 65 not just one.

    Quote from Beauvais

    Will there be any chance of utilizing real SIDs for the MEGA65?


    This is currently my biggest concern, that the FPGA SIDs will not be fully identical to 6581/8580, so is there anyone that know if it will be possible to have e.g. a SIDFX-clone in the cartridge port or alike (I love my SIDFX in my C128)? :-)

    Short answer: Yes ! It is on the list of future additions, but yes it is do-able
    But like Bloodypriest already stated, we have 4 pretty good sounding SID chips in the MEGA65 as FPGA implementations together with OPL already.

    Quote from Bloodypriest

    Well since the 6581 and the 8580 were also not identical to each other back then, the 8580 sounding more muted due to fixing the percussion bug in the 6581, I would start by asking you why is that such a big concern? I mean it as a genuine question as I've seen FPGA SID recreations that actually sound better than the originals (can't remember the name though).

    Because all (pre-2010) music on the C64 has been made for the 6581 or the 8580... taking their specialities in to action in each of their ways. And music has is in many cases been composed specifically for either a 6581 or 8580, sounding best on these, where others uses both chips, for a stereo effect.


    So it "sounding better" is not the same as "sounding original" ;-)


    I am not in doubt that the FPGA SID can be fine, and for sure will be the standard solution on MEGA65, but ideally we can still utilize the good old real SID chips, to get this even closer to an authentic feel on those old demos or games, if we are in the mood for that, so we do not need the hazzle of shifting computers back and forth.

    Quote from adtbm

    Short answer: Yes ! It is on the list of future additions, but yes it is do-able

    But like Bloodypriest already stated, we have 4 pretty good sounding SID chips in the MEGA65 as FPGA implementations together with OPL already.

    Can you by any chance reveal more on what this means in practical terms or is this still too unclear? :-)

    Will this be via a cartridge or some addon to the board itself?

    Let me quote from this review of the MEGA65 DevKit by RGCD:


    https://www.rgcd.co.uk/2021/02…it-first-impressions.html

    Quote

    Whilst discussing Monstro Giganto it's also worth mentioning the performance of the MEGA65's dual soft SIDs - something that is especially important considering the 250+ words of sampled speech the game contains. Honestly, the MEGA65's SID emulation is one of the best I have heard on a hardware C64 clone to date - far superior to TheC64 and cleaner sounding than the otherwise brilliant Ultimate64. So whatever the MEGA team are doing on that front, they're doing it right!

    Quote from Beauvais

    Can you by any chance reveal more on what this means in practical terms or is this still too unclear? :-)

    Will this be via a cartridge or some addon to the board itself?

    Both is possible, but we have not decided yet at all. Like i said, it's planned for the future


    Thanks Snoopy for the quote, only thing to add, in the meantime the amount of the MEGA65s SID chips have been doubled, to 4 SIDs.