List of sound chips

s come in different forms and use a variety of techniques to generate audio signals. This is a list of sound chips that were produced by a certain company or manufacturer, categorized by the sound generation of the chips.

Programmable sound generators (PSG)

Manufacturer	Chip	Year	Channels	Applications	Notes
Atari, Inc.	Television Interface Adaptor	1977	2	Atari 2600 and Atari 7800 video game consoles, Video Music	Combined sound and graphics chip, integrated circuit
Atari, Inc.	POKEY	1979	4	Atari 8-bit, Atari 5200, some Atari arcade machines, certain Atari 7800 cartridges
Atari, Inc.	Atari AMY	1983	64/8	Intended for 65XEM	HMOS chip, additive synthesis chip
Atari, Inc.	Atari MIKEY	1989	4	For the Atari Lynx	Combined sound and LCD driver, has 4-channels with an 8-bit DAC
General Instrument	AY-3-8910	1978	3	Arcade boards, computers, Intellivision	N-type MOS large-scale integration chip
General Instrument	SP0250	1981	1	Sega G80 arcade system board	Linear predictive coding speech synthesis NMOS chip
General Instrument	SP0256	1984	1	Intellivoice, MicroSpeech, Datel Electronics Vox Box, Tandy Voice Synthesizer, VIC-20 and Atari 8-bit serial-connected and homebrew kits, Fuzzbuster radar detector	LPC speech synthesis NMOS LSI chip
Konami	RC	1981	1	Konami Scramble and Gyruss arcade system boards
Konami	VRC6	1989	3	Certain Konami-produced Famicom cartridges
MOS Technology	VIC (6560 / 6561)	1977	4	VIC-1001 and VIC-20	Combined sound and graphics NMOS chip
MOS Technology	SID (6581 / 8580)	1981	3	Commodore 64 and Commodore 128 computers, Elektron SidStation synthesizer sound module	NMOS chip / HMOS-II chip
MOS Technology	TED (7360 / 8360)	1983	2	Commodore 16, Commodore Plus/4	HMOS chip
Microchip Technology	AY8930	1989	3	Covox Sound Master Card
Oki Electric Industry	Oki MSM5232	1983	8	Arcade games, Korg Poly-800 polyphonic synthesiser	Complementary MOS chip
Philips	Philips SAA1099	1984	6	SAM Coupé, Creative Music System
Ricoh	Ricoh 2A03 / 2A07	1983	5	Nintendo Entertainment System home console, arcade game Punch-Out!!	NMOS chip, delta modulation channel is for pulse-code modulation sampling, 7-bit DAC.
Sega	Sega Melody Generator	1981	1	Sega G80 arcade system board
Sharp Corporation	Sharp LR35902	1989	4	Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance	In Game Boy Advance, it's used for Game Boy/Game Boy Color mode and supports software-mixed PCM as a secondary function.
Sharp Corporation	Sharp SM8521	1997	1	Game.com	Noise generator
Sunsoft	Sunsoft 5B	1992	3	Famicom cartridge Gimmick!	Derivative of Yamaha YM2149F
Texas Instruments	SN76477	1978	1	Space Invaders arcade system board, ABC 80
Texas Instruments	LPC Speech Chips\|LPC Speech Chips]	1978	1	Speak & Spell, Speak & Math, Speak & Read, arcade games	Pitch-excited LPC speech synthesizer, digital signal processor, P-type MOS chip
Texas Instruments	SN76489	1979	4	Various arcade system boards, Master System console, BBC Micro home computer, Sharp MZ-800, IBM PCjr and TI-99/4A computers
Texas Instruments	SN76489A	1982	4	ColecoVision and SG-1000 consoles
Texas Instruments	SN76496	1982	4	Tandy 1000 computer
Texas Instruments	TMS3615	1981	2	Arcade games
Texas Instruments	TMS3617
Texas Instruments	TMS3630
Texas Instruments	TMS3631-RI104 / RI105
Toshiba	Toshiba T7766A	1988	3	Some MSX models	AY-3-8910 compatible chip
Unisonic Technologies Company	UM66, TXXL series		1 or 2		3-pin CMOS LSI based chip that contains pre-programmed read-only memory
Yamaha	Yamaha YM2149	1983	3	Various arcade boards, MSX computers, Atari ST computer	NMOS LSI chip based on AY-3-8910
Yamaha	Yamaha / Sega VDP PSG (SN76496)	1984	4	SG-1000 II, Master System, Mega Drive/Genesis and Pico consoles, Game Gear handheld game console	Based on Texas Instruments SN76496. Integrated into the Yamaha YM2217, Yamaha YM2602, and Yamaha YM7101 VDP chips. In Mega Drive/Genesis, it is both secondary to the Yamaha YM2612 FM chip and for Master System mode.
Yamaha	Yamaha YM3439	1991	3	Atari Falcon and MSX computers	CMOS LSI variant of YM2149

Wavetable synthesis

Manufacturer	Chip	Year	Channels	Applications	Notes
Atmel / Dream	SAM9407	1993	4	Quasimidi digital synthesizers, computer sound cards	High-speed CMOS chip
Atmel / Dream	SAM9707	1998	4	Quasimidi digital synthesizers	Digital signal processor core
Ensoniq	Ensoniq 5503	1984	32	Mirage synthesizer and Apple IIGS computer
Hudson Soft / NEC / Epson	Hudson Soft HuC6280	1987	6	NEC's PC Engine console	CMOS chip
Konami	Konami SCC	1987	5	Certain arcade system boards, game cartridges for MSX
Namco	Namco WSG	1980	3	Several Namco arcade system boards
Namco	Namco 52xx	1981	1	Namco Galaga and Namco Pole Position arcade system boards
Namco	Namco 54xx	1982	8	Namco Pole Position arcade system board
Namco	Namco 15xx	1982	8	Namco Super Pac-Man arcade system board
Namco	Namco CUS30	1984	8	Namco Pac-Land, Namco Thunder Ceptor, System 86 and Namco System 1 arcade boards	Similar to the earlier 15xx WSG, but capable of stereo sound.
Namco	Namco 163	1987	8	Namco-produced Famicom games
Nintendo	VSU-VUE	1995	6	Virtual Boy portable console	Silicon-gate CMOS chip
Ricoh	Ricoh 2C33	1986	1	Famicom Disk System
Sharp Corporation	Sharp LR35902	1989	1	Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance	In Game Boy Advance, it's used for Game Boy/Game Boy Color mode and supports software-mixed PCM as a secondary function.
Sharp Corporation	Sharp SM8521	1997	2	Game.com

Frequency modulation (FM) synthesis

Manufacturer	Chip	Year	Total FM operators	Max FM channels	Max ops / channel	Applications	Notes
ESS Technology	ESFM synthesizer	1994	72	18	4	Most ESS Tech sound chips	Based on Yamaha YMF262 silicon-gate CMOS chip. Includes wavetable interface. Two modes, one "OPL2/3 compatible" and the other the native superset.
Konami	VRC7	1990	12	6	2	Famicom cartridge Lagrange Point	Modified derivative of Yamaha YM2413. Labeled as DS1001 by Yamaha as an internal code.
Yamaha	YM2128 (OPS) / YM2129 (EGS)	1983	96	16	6	Yamaha digital synthesizers	Chipset
Yamaha	Yamaha YM2151	1983	32	8	4	Mid-1980s to mid-1990s arcade systems, Sharp X1 and X68000 computers, MSX, Yamaha digital synthesizers	NMOS chip
Yamaha	Yamaha YM2203	1984	12	3	4	Some 1980s arcade games, NEC computers	3 additional Yamaha YM2149 SSG square wave channels, silicon-gate NMOS LSI chip
Yamaha	Yamaha YM3526	1984	18	9	2	Bubble Bobble arcade game, Commodore 64 SFX Sound Expander	Silicon-gate CMOS LSI chip
Yamaha	Yamaha Y8950	1984	18	9	2	MSX-Audio cartridges for MSX	Very similar to Yamaha YM3526, additional adaptive differential PCM channel, silicon-gate CMOS LSI chip
Yamaha	Yamaha YM2164	1985	32	8	4	Yamaha FB-01 MIDI Expander, IBM Music Feature Card, MSX, Korg DS-8 and List of [Korg products\|707] digital synthesizers	Based on Yamaha YM2151
Yamaha	Yamaha YM3812	1985	18	9	2	Sound cards for PC compatible\|PC], Yamaha Portasound keyboards	Silicon-gate CMOS LSI chip
Yamaha	Yamaha YM2413	1986	18	9	2	Japanese Master System, Sega Mark III, MSX, Yamaha Portasound digital keyboards	Silicon-gate NMOS LSI chip
Yamaha	YM2604 / YM3609	1986	96	16	6	Yamaha DX7 II and TX802 digital synthesizers	Chipset
Yamaha	Yamaha YM2608	1986	24	6	4	NEC PC-88 and PC-98 computers	3 additional Yamaha YM2149 SSG square wave channels, 7 additional ADPCM channels, silicon-gate NMOS LSI chip
Yamaha	Yamaha YM2414	1987	32	8	4	Yamaha digital synthesizers, Korg Z3 guitar synthesizer
Yamaha	Yamaha YM2610	1987	16	4	4	SNK's Neo Geo console, arcade systems	7 additional ADPCM channels
Yamaha	Yamaha YM2612	1988	24	6	4	Sega Mega Drive/Genesis console, FM Towns computer, Sega arcade systems	PCM supported on one of the channels
Yamaha	Yamaha YM3438	1989	24	6	4	Sega Mega Drive/Genesis console, FM Towns computer, Sega arcade systems	Improved Yamaha YM2612, PCM supported on one of the channels, silicon-gate CMOS LSI chip
Yamaha	Yamaha YMF262	1990	36	18	4	Sound Blaster Pro 2.0 and later cards for PC	Silicon-gate CMOS chip
Yamaha	Yamaha YMF271	1993	36	18	4		12 additional PCM channels
Yamaha	Yamaha YMF278	1993	36	18	4	Moonsound cartridge for MSX computer
Yamaha	Yamaha YMF292	1994	32	32	32	Sega Saturn console, Sega ST-V, Model 2A/2B/2C CRX and Model 3 arcade systems	PCM supported
Yamaha	Yamaha YMF288	1995	24	6	4	NEC PC-98 computer	Based on Yamaha YM2608
Yamaha	Yamaha YMF7xx	1997	36	18	4	Embedded audio chipset in some laptops and sound cards	Integrates Yamaha YMF262
Yamaha	Yamaha YMU757	1999	8	4	2	Some 2000s and 1990s cellphones, PDAs
Yamaha	Yamaha YMU759	2000	32	16	2	Some 2000s cellphones, PDAs	8 channels for 4 operators, an additional ADPCM channel
Yamaha	Yamaha YMU762	2001	64	32	2	Some 2000s cellphones, PDAs	16 channels for 4 operators, 8 additional PCM/ADPCM channels
Yamaha	Yamaha YMU765	2003	64	32	2	Some 2000s cellphones, PDAs	32 PCM/ADPCM channels, 16 channels for 4 operators
Yamaha	Yamaha YMF825	2011	32	16	4
Yamaha	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yamaha	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Pulse-code modulation (PCM) sampling

Manufacturer	Chip	Year	Max PCM channels	Max sample depth	Max sample rate	Applications	Notes
Analog Devices	AD1848	1992	Multiple stereo channels, unlimited	16	48,000	Original Windows Sound System card by Microsoft, Ensoniq Soundscape S-2000 and Elite cards	Digital-to-analog codec chip, 2-channel stereo input/output
ARM Ltd.	VIDC20	1994	8	16	44,100	Risc PC computer
Atari Corporation	Jerry	1993	Variable, limited by software	16	44,100	Jaguar console	DSP, also supports pulse-width modulation and wavetable synthesis
Atari Corporation	SDMA	1992	8	16	49,170	Falcon computer	Integrates Motorola 56001 DSP
Crystal Semiconductor	CS4231	1992	1	16	48,000	Windows Sound System compatible, Gravis Ultrasound card
Drucegrove	Digitalker MM54104	1980	1	1	13,000	Namco Galaxian and Scorpion arcade system boards, National Semiconductor Digitalker DT1050 speech synthesizer	Delta modulation differential PCM speech synthesis chip
Gravis Computer Technology\|Gravis]	GF1	1992	32	16	44,100	Gravis Ultrasound card
Harris Corporation	HC-55516	1981	1	1	32,000	Irem M27, Sinistar and Midway Y Unit arcade system boards	Continuously variable slope DM adaptive DM speech decoder
Intel	Intel High Definition Audio	2004	8	32	192,000	IBM Personal Computer, IBM PC compatible computers
Konami	Konami K007232	1986	2	7	32,000	Konami Bubble System, Twin 16 and Teenage [Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade game)\|TMNT] based arcade boards	PCM
Konami	Konami K053260	1990	4	12	32,000	Konami TMNT based arcade board	KDSC
Konami	Konami K054539	1991	8	16	32,000	Konami Xexex based, Mystic Warriors based and GX arcade boards	ADPCM
Macronix	Flipper	2001	64	16	48,000	GameCube and Wii console	ADPCM, Dolby Pro Logic II
MOS Technology	Original [Amiga chipset#Paula\|MOS Technology 8364 "Paula"]	1985	4	8	28,000	Amiga computer
Namco	Namco C140	1987	24	12		Namco System 2 and System 21 arcade boards
Namco	Namco C219	1992	16	12		Namco NA-1 and NA-2 arcade system boards
Namco	Namco C352	1992	32	16		Namco System 22, System FL, NB-1, NB-2, ND-1, System 11, System 12 and System 23 arcade boards	Linear PCM and μ-law PCM samples supported
National Semiconductor	LMC1992	1989	4	8	50,000	Atari STE and TT030 personal computers
NEC	μPD7751	1985	3	8	8,000	Sega System 16 arcade boards	ADPCM, Speech synthesis chip
NEC	μPD7759	1987	1	8	8,000	Sega System 16B and System C2 arcade boards, Sega Pico console	ADPCM, Speech synthesis chip
NVIDIA	MCPX	2001	64	16	48,000	Microsoft Xbox console	3D sound support, Dolby Pro Logic, DTS, DSP, MIDI DLS2 Support
Oki Electric Industry	Oki MSM5205	1979	1	12	32,000	Various arcade system boards, NEC's PC Engine CD-ROM² game console	Adaptive DPCM chip
Oki Electric Industry	Oki MSM6258	1987	1	12	15,600	Sharp's X68000 computer	ADPCM
Oki Electric Industry	Oki MSM6295	1987	4	12	7,576 32,000	Various arcade system boards	ADPCM
Oki Electric Industry	Oki MSM9810	1999	8	14	32,000	Sammy arcade system boards	ADPCM
QSound	QSound DSP16A	1992	16	16	24,000	Capcom's CP System Dash and CP System II arcade system boards, Sony's ZN-1 and ZN-2 arcade system boards	PCM/ADPCM, positional 3D audio support via QSound
Ricoh	Ricoh 2A03 / 2A07	1982	1	7	15,745	Nintendo Entertainment System home console, arcade game Punch-Out!!	NMOS chip, DM channel is for PCM sampling
Ricoh	Ricoh RF5c68	1989	8	8	19,800	Fujitsu's FM Towns computer, Sega System 18 and System 32 arcade boards
Ricoh	Ricoh RF5C164	1991	8	8	31,300	Sega CD console add-on	1.5 μm silicon-gate CMOS chip
Roland Corporation	Roland LA32	1987	16	16	32,000	Roland synthesizers, Roland MT-32 MIDI sound module	Linear Arithmetic synthesis
Sanyo	VLM5030 Speech Synthesizer	1983	1	8	8,136	Arcade game Punch-Out!!	Speech synthesis chip
Sega	SegaPCM	1985	16	8	31,250	Sega arcade systems
SGI	Reality Signal Processor (RSP)	1996	100	16	48,000	Nintendo 64 console	DSP, combined sound and graphics processor, ADPCM, MP3 support
Sharp Corporation	Sharp SM8521	1997	1	8	32,768	Game.com handheld
Sony	Sony SPC700	1990	8	16	32,000	Super [Nintendo Entertainment System] console	Bit Rate Reduction ADPCM
Sony	Sony SPU (Sound Processing Unit)	1994	24	16	44,100	Sony PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles	ADPCM; two cores on PS2
Sony	Sony SPU2	1999	48	16	48,000	Sony PlayStation 2 and early PlayStation 3 consoles	ADPCM, Dual-core sound unit, Supports Dolby Digital, DTS; emulated on PS3 for backwards compatible PS1/PS2 games
Yamaha	Yamaha Y8950	1984	1	8	~50,000	MSX-Audio cartridges for MSX	ADPCM, Speech synthesis chip
Yamaha	Yamaha YM2608	1985	7	16	55,500	NEC PC-88 and PC-98 computers	ADPCM
Yamaha	Yamaha YM2610	1987	7	16	55,500	SNK's Neo Geo console, arcade systems	ADPCM
Yamaha	Yamaha YM2612	1988	1	8	26,633 29,000 44,100	Sega Mega Drive/Genesis console, FM Towns computer, Sega arcade systems
Yamaha	Yamaha YMW258-F	1991	28	16	44,100	Sega arcade boards, Yamaha instruments	Advanced Wave Memory sampling
Yamaha	Yamaha YMF271	1993	12	12	44,100
Yamaha	Yamaha YMF278	1993	24	16	44,100	Moonsound cartridge for MSX computer
Yamaha	Yamaha YMF292	1994	32	16	44,100	Sega Saturn console, Sega arcade systems
Yamaha	Yamaha YMZ280B	1995	8	16	44,100	Cave, Data East, and Psikyo arcade systems	ADPCM supported
Yamaha	Yamaha AICA	1998	64	16	48,000	Dreamcast console, Sega arcade systems	ADPCM
Yamaha	Yamaha YMU759	2000	1	8	8,000	Some 2000s cellphones, PDAs	ADPCM
Yamaha	Yamaha YMU762	2001	8	8	48,000	Some 2000s cellphones, PDAs	ADPCM supported
Yamaha	Yamaha YMU765	2003	32	8	48,000	Some 2000s cellphones, PDAs	ADPCM, Analog Lite, and speech synthesis supported