The Test Results

I've been using the 8MB soundfonts from Creative Labs for the last few years because they were the best that I know of. I've tried numerous free soundbanks available online, but none of them sounded as balanced, although some of them had more realistic instruments. Evaluating the tones of the instruments is like choosing speakers. Some like loud and tight bass while others prefer looser or less boomy bass. It's all very subjective.

Once I loaded up the Utopia Live! soundbank, I played some MIDI files from my collection - some of Creative Lab's 'classic' MIDI files which came with the AWE32; and some from PC games like the original Doom. I instantly noticed the difference. The sound samples were evidently recorded with high fidelity in stereo. The percussion kits are the most impressive, the hihat is crisp and the bass drum has the correct bass punch. But the most remarkable difference is the 'STEREOID' technique, which makes any MIDI files using drum kits sound a lot richer. The woodwinds are great but I think a few brass instruments like the trumpet have some room for improvement.

The effect was so profound that when I switched back to Creative Labs' 8MB sound bank, everything sounded dull. Even MIDIs created by Creative Labs sound much better with the Utopia Live! soundbank. Pieces like symphony.mid which came with the old AWE32, makes you feel like listening to real live orchestra!

In my opinion, id Software's Doom2 has some of the best MIDI music score ever found in a game. Listening to the music score alone is as enjoyable as playing the game! Honestly, the music was just like Utopia said it would be - 'alive'. The game would definitely be a lot more enjoyable using the Utopia Live! soundbank. :-)

However, the piano included in the full version isn't a whole lot better than the Creative Labs' 8MB soundbank. That's probably due to the 32MB limit of the Sound Blaster Live!. A separate public beta Enhanced Acoustic Piano Version 0.8 which is also available for download, is much better. Fantastic actually.

Eight different Acoustic Piano soundbanks were included and the largest bank is 12.1MB in size! Acoustic Piano 1 has a 'clean' piano sound while Acoustic Piano 2 has more bass. Personally, I prefer Piano 1, because that's how the real piano sounds. The added bass in Piano 2 sounds a little artificial.

Using the Warcraft 2 Audio CD, I can finally compare the real Roland SC MIDIs and the Utopia Live!.

Acoustic Piano 1 - mono - 1 polyphony (6.4 MB)
Acoustic Piano 1 - mono - 2 polyphony - extra depth layer (7.1 MB)
Acoustic Piano 1 - stereo - 2 polyphony (11.6 MB)
Acoustic Piano 1 - stereo - 3 polyphony - extra depth layer (12.1 MB)
Acoustic Piano 2 - mono - 1 polyphony (5.2 MB)
Acoustic Piano 2 - mono - 2 polyphony - extra depth layer (5.8 MB)
Acoustic Piano 2 - stereo - 2 polyphony (10.3 MB)
Acoustic Piano 2 - stereo - 3 polyphony - extra depth layer (11.2 MB)