The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super Nintendo) (Super NES) (SNES) is Nintendo's second home console. In Japan it is called the Super Famicom (SFC) and in South Korea it is called the Super Comboy.
Audio[]
Unlike it's predecessor, the Nintendo Entertainment System, the SNES has it's own audio chip called the SPC-700 which is created by Sony. The chip's ROM contains audio samples which is accessed to be played with an assembly code understandable by the SNES' CPU, the 65c02, and the SPC-700. The sample was then modified before output to meet the required note specifications. How long is the note? How long do I have to wait before playing the next note? What is the pitch of the note? The modified sample is then passed to the Digital Sound Processor to be either outputed on the left speaker, right speaker, or both. Yes, the SPC-700 can produce stereo sound. Heck, it is also with Dolby! The audio can be compared to MIDI, but way . . . way . . .much better.
SPC-700 Sound Channels[]
The SPC-700 contains 8 independent channels which can play any sample in the chip's RAM. It can also play DPCM samples that should not exceed 64 kB or else you will hear screeching sounds.