Castlevania/Dracula Rondo Missing SFX?

[Dacaskos]

I don't have the original hardware to compare, but I do compared to soft emulation and... the whip/hit sound fx are apparently missing, or at least, too low to be heard properly.

Is that how the original sounded or is something broken with the core itself or maybe it's just my setup. Can anyone confirm that?

[Dmadma60]

I noticed this too, and think that something may have changed with a recent update as I played hours of that game months ago on MiSTer. I turned my speakers way up and the whip/hit sound seems to be in the mix, but very low.

[FoxbatStargazer]

I am hearing the whip and hit on my Mister today most of the time. Occasionally a swing won't make noise, but most of them do. The CD volume does seem much louder than the default on Retroarch emulator though, so it might be harder to hear.

[Dacaskos]

Thanks for taking the time answering.

I tested the version from 05/17/2020 and the whip sound is a lot louder.

A lot of sfx still sounds weird or off, but I don't know if it's the game itself.

I tried a version from november 2020 and the sound was already low by that revision.

So yeah, must be... something.

[Pepeart]

Same Here

[dshadoff]

This past summer, there was a lot of work put in to adjust sound levels and digital filtering to match the mixing and the sound profile of original hardware, through the use of MDFourier.

[vgesoterica]

Haven't experienced that but I constantly get cut off audio on the Konami logo jingle when I boot Rondo

[jobvd]

Was this ever fixed?

[DiamondDave]

Was this ever fixed?

I just played it yesterday for the first time in months. I don't know if it's "fixed", but it certainly sounded better and I could hear things that weren't there before.

[RalphJB]

The whip and thwack sounds are still low compared to the CD audio.

[Toya]

The whip and thwack sounds are still low compared to the CD audio.

Do you have the sound settings on default?

[RalphJB]

The whip and thwack sounds are still low compared to the CD audio.

Do you have the sound settings on default?

The in game sounds or the core sounds?

[Toya]

The whip and thwack sounds are still low compared to the CD audio.

Do you have the sound settings on default?

The in game sounds or the core sounds?

Yes

[RalphJB]

Do you have the sound settings on default?

The in game sounds or the core sounds?

Yes

In game sounds are on default. Core sounds are on 2x for CD audio and 4x for Master Audio. I've played around with the core sounds but it doesn't appear to work. Whip sounds are still too low to be heard over the BGM.

[dshadoff]

If you have the CD audio on 2x, the whip sound will surely sound fainter than it should, because it isn't a sound produced by CD audio.
Switch "CD Audio Boost" back to "No" to get these back to balanced.

[Dacaskos]

Still sounds weird. Noticed with other games as well... the sounds are either weak or sound only a fraction of it or are missing.

[RalphJB]

Hey all,

Wanted to give an update on this one. So CD audio needs to be set to its lowest setting for this core or it'll drown out sound effects. I recently updated my sound system to a 5.1.3 setup and the sound effects come through clearly with the CD set to its lowest setting. Master audio is maxed out. Sadly, this one will largely depend on your setup as CD can still potentially drown out sfx even on the lowest setting.

[dshadoff]

It's always preferable to play with default settings, but for some reason about a decade ago, it became popular for people to replace the music on rips with louder music, and this is also the reason why there is a "CD Audio Boost" setting on the core (note: "Off" is normal console behaviour). This will of course have an impact on the balance of the other sound sources (ADPCM and PSG).

The core has been tuned to be as close as possible to the original system by testing with MDFourier, and the only sound setting I turn on/off is the "ADPCM Audio Boost", since that one was a bit difficult to adjust to be a flat frequency response.

[PistolsAtDawn]

It's always preferable to play with default settings, but for some reason about a decade ago, it became popular for people to replace the music on rips with louder music, and this is also the reason why there is a "CD Audio Boost" setting on the core (note: "Off" is normal console behaviour). This will of course have an impact on the balance of the other sound sources (ADPCM and PSG).

The core has been tuned to be as close as possible to the original system by testing with MDFourier, and the only sound setting I turn on/off is the "ADPCM Audio Boost", since that one was a bit difficult to adjust to be a flat frequency response.

Spinal Tap must have had a resurgence in influence. I did celebrate Nigel Tufnel Day on 11/11/11 and have noticed a desire to turn everything up "one louder" since then.

I never had any of the NEC consoles back when they were current, but this core has unexpectedly become one of my top favorites on the MiSTer! The CD library in particular has been really enjoyable to explore. Thanks for the hard work on the core!