Super SD System 3

[geise]

With prices on games now there is no way I'd just start getting rid of my games from the early days. As nice as they are I would still want to play my actual owned games at some point, even if I owned one.

[Keith Courage]

I do not own one of these but I'm curious as to why people are complaining about sound being heard during loading sequences. Especially since the original systems have noise over the audio during the time the CD drive needs to access something as well. So if anything it's more authentic.

Anyone have audio issues with theirs? Just watched this review and the audio problems sound pretty bad. Turns me off from the idea of buying one of these.

(Skip ahead to time 7.00 for audio issues)

[PCEngineTrev]

I ordered mine last week, cant wait to get it!

They seem to take an age to ship though. How long after ordering did ppl here get their units? Im based in the UK.

[SavagePencil]

Anyone have audio issues with theirs? Just watched this review and the audio problems sounds pretty bad. Turns me off from the idea of buying one of these.

(Skip ahead to time 7.00 for audio issues)

Yes.  The audio during SD access sounds a loud buzz through the speakers, but you didn't seem too concerned with that.  There is high-end clipping and distortion (also check out the MLiG video for examples).  Additionally, there is a consistent level of hum that doesn't appear if you play the audio straight from the console's AV port.  But you have to use the SSDS3 port if you want CD audio.

[pixeljunkie]

I do not own one of these but I'm curious as to why people are complaining about sound being heard during loading sequences. Especially since the original systems have noise over the audio during the time the CD drive needs to access something as well. So if anything it's more authentic.

Anyone have audio issues with theirs? Just watched this review and the audio problems sounds pretty bad. Turns me off from the idea of buying one of these.

(Skip ahead to time 7.00 for audio issues)

I have my system hooked into a receiver and out to some pretty damn nice speakers. I turn my system up pretty loud as well because I play a ton of Lords of Thunder repeatedly. I am using a standard white PCE with this and cleaned the EXT BUS pins profusely. I get faint buzzing during the game loading from the main menu and some games I will slightly notice a tiny buzz if things in the game are silent. As far as the issues with CD audio levels being distorted or overly loud...I haven't run into that yet. But I do know that is something they plan on correcting with a future FW update. The thing is incredible and can't recommend enough.

[haightc]

I don't notice the audio noise that much on my system.
 I have my SSD3 hooked up to a coregrafx using HD retrovision cables to a JVC Dseries TV.   
I also have a SuperGrafx with a SuperCDROM2 connected to a JVC professional monitor.   
Comparing the the two the audio balance is definately different and the SSD audio is noisy that the SuperGrafx.     A PC Engine that is in need of a recap will definitely sound worse than this.
The is still some game play bugs that need to be worked out.   For example, I have been playing Mysterious Song recently on my SGFX+CD combo.   The game plays great on the CD system but for sure there is some pause between world map scene and the battles for switching audio tracks.
Playing this same game on the SSD3 there is no pauses and go in and out of battle is instant.
However one audio on the SSD3 seems quieter and less dramatic then on the real hardware.    On an RPG I guess this tones get a little droll after a few hours, but the SSD3 balance I feel kill a little of the wow factor.   Also with the SSD3 there were several graphical errors in the initial cut scene to present on original hardware.    IMO the SSD3 isn't still at a point where you could just store away your OEM CD-ROM. 

[synbiosfan]

I found the retro-access scart and jpn 21pin cables don't buzz no matter how loud I crank the stereo. SuperGrafx OSSC, Vizio & xrgb3, Samsung.

The component cables (forget their name) do buzz on my crt at LOUD levels.

I have a rev2 SSS3 and other than trying cheap cables first, had a lot of fun using it. I'm not ready to sell my Duo-R just yet.

[SavagePencil]

Cool.  I’m glad you’re not encountering the issue!

The team has acknowledged that it’s a problem and have a firmware update that they hope will take care of it.  It’s in beta now.

[Kavas]

I was about to pull the trigger on this as most of the graphical issues have been fixed in V2 boards and from what I have seen I am ok with. However, the audio buzz issue people are reporting would drive me crazy. While looking into this I stumbled upon this video (

) and it seems pretty loud and obnoxious. I bought a CoreGrafx II and plan to recap it for this, then run it through a pack-a-punch scart to my Framemeister. Not sure what this guys setup is but through the extensive reading Ive done on the subject lately, it seems the White PCE is more prone to this issue, and maybe those using HDRetro component cables causes issues. Also be sure to clean the pins and make sure they are not bent. Check your power supplies.

But is this really something that can be fixed through firmware?

Would love to see/hear more comparisons from the de-facto PCE community !

[NightWolve]

Yeah, these little hiccups reinforce what I already felt given that Japanese team's 720p DVI/HMDI UperGrafx output booster is on the horizon.

https://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=20882.0

I think you need to wait in both cases as they continue to hammer out issues and improve, but in the long run, a module that outputs a digital signal is far more future-proof than SSD3 which should've at least had YPbPr by default for US customers if you're gonna stick with analog video signals.

I'm kinda glad I'm not really in the market for these since I only own a Turbo Duo, and with the way NeoSD got so defensive with me (when I replied in his thread about the Japanese product after someone asked for HDMI output) I would have little interest to give him my money even if I had a PCE/TG-16 unit.

[Trenton_net]

@Kavas: I have the latest revision of this device (V3, which is V2 with a reversed cap). While I can confirm that I do hear slight noise while the SD card is being accessed, it isn't very loud in my opinion and goes away when you start playing games. I am however using a Core Grafx and not a white PCE, so that may be a contributing factor.

I do know that when using a White PCE (when I had one) with my briefcase and Framemeister setup, I had a bunch of issues with it. Mainly video noise/sync and other problems. All of them went away when I moved to a Core Grafx, or Core Grafx II. Coupled with the Core Grafx jailbar fix, the picture looks pretty flawless.

[tzakiel]

Can anyone confirm that the mc Cthulhu works work ssds3 games?

[tzakiel]

I see the pics in this thread suggesting flipping the c60 cap but the pics show v2 boards (terraonion.com). Wasn’t the cap fixed already on v2 boards?

[Koa Zo]

I see the pics in this thread suggesting flipping the c60 cap but the pics show v2 boards (terraonion.com). Wasn’t the cap fixed already on v2 boards?

It was actually a problem that was introduced with initial v2 boards.
If you ordered in recent weeks you likely have a corrected board.
It was mainly the preorder people who got a DIY kit.

[NightWolve]

Pat NES Punk and Ian did their show on it recently. I'm of the same mindset as Pat, really would love a solid DVI/HDMI output solution so hoping to see better progress some day with that Japanese UperGrafx product, while Ian is happy with PCE SSD3.