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The state of SIDs old and young today


sbm
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Hi all

So like some other folks around here, it's the MB6582 bug that has now got me.  But before I commit, I wondered about the status of obtaining the right SID clones vs tracking down the old ones.  I've seen various older postings about the clones and some comments to the sound quality.  These days, which SID clone would be best used today in a MB6582?  Or is simply sticking to the original SID still the way to go, despite their age (and maybe fake ones floating around)?

 

Thanks for any guidance.

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I managed to get eight working chips for an MB6582 at the tail end of 2018, and they're still working (touch wood). It was not cheap. 

got several from these two sellers (below) on ebay which were all working fine. Took a while for them to come up though. Will let someone else comment on clones!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/splat79
https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/commodore_mark1


 

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21 hours ago, the_duckchild said:

...got several from ...ebay...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/commodore_mark1

The going rate for SIDs on eBay has been hovering in the ~$80 USD range for a while.

it's great to see that the seller you've referenced has some current SID inventory (both 6581 and 8580) in the $35 - 40 range.

 

I've also had some good luck with this source, who typically has 8580R5 in the ~$45 range, when inventory is available.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Amigascene?ref=yr_purchases

Edited by dwestbury
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Just also as a reconfirmation: i've got eight 8580s in the MB6582 - and since 10 years all is good, all the filters are fine and i will never let go of this synth :).

For those arguing SIDs have a relatively high noise level (in contrast to the clones): that is true, but a perfect extension to your MB6582 is an (inexpensive) external multichannel noisegate. Then you will get the best of all worlds - noise-free recordings when the SIDs are not playing, and the original sound + filter behaviour when turned up. I can recommend e.g. a BSS Audio DPR-504 (around 150€).

The SIDs in my MB6582 are passively cooled with heatsinks and i would not see a reason why any of them should break soon - I think many of the damaged originals that are now on the second-hand market could have been damaged from not-perfect PSUs. But if you've got a nice (i.e. non original C64) PSU for your MB6582, i think they should be good for another 35 years :).

So, as a conclusion: I think it still makes sense to track down the originals, but buy them only from good sellers and ask the sellers if they did test the filters and can document that test.

The advantage of that approach: the price of your MB6582 will always go up from that point on. If you install clones, you could expect that better clones will arrive in a few years, whereas the original will always be the original and will be sought-after :).

Best regards!
Peter

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