Atari 65XEM
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| A standard Atari 65XE. The 65XEM was to be a 65XE with the AMY sound chip added. | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Atari Corporation |
| Type | Home computer (announced, not released) |
| Released | Announced January 1985 (Winter CES); not exhibited and never released |
| Intro price | About US$150 (announced) |
| CPU | 6502C (SALLY) |
| Memory | 64 KB RAM |
| Storage | — |
| Display | — |
| Sound | AMY synthesiser chip, plus POKEY |
| OS / Firmware | — |
| Predecessor | Atari 65XE |
| Model no. | 65XEM |
The Atari 65XEM (XE Music Computer) was an Atari 65XE with an extra sound chip, AMY. Atari announced it with the 65XE, 130XE and 65XEP at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in January 1985, but Compute! reported that it was the only one of the new computers Atari did not exhibit at the show. It never went on sale.[1]
Compute! gave the expected price as about US$150.[1] Creative Computing, writing before the show from briefings by Atari marketing manager Brian Kerr, put it at US$30 to US$50 above the 65XE and quoted Kerr calling AMY an "advanced music synthesizer on a chip", a "breakthrough" capable of "symphonic quality sound". Kerr saw the 65XEM as both a music learning tool and a performance instrument.[2]
The AMY chip
[edit | edit source]The two magazines gave these figures:
| Parameter | Creative Computing (before the show) | Compute! (after the show) |
|---|---|---|
| Voices | Up to eight, fully independent and multi-timbral | Eight |
| Oscillators or harmonics | 64 separate, software-configurable oscillators | 64 harmonics |
| Frequency range | 10.75 octaves, 4.8 Hz to 7.8 kHz | Nearly 11 octaves, 4.8 Hz to 7.8 kHz |
| Resolution | – | 1/64 semitone |
| Dynamic range | 60 dB | Over 60 dB |
| Sampling rate | 30 kHz | – |
| Clock | The XEM's internal clock, 7 MHz | – |
Creative Computing described AMY as based on digital sampling, an approach it said recreates a waveform instead of imitating it, and reported that listeners had heard it reproduce the bow attack of a cello.[2] Compute! reported that those who had heard AMY said it outperformed the SID chip in the Commodore 64.[1]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]Apart from the AMY chip the 65XEM was to be a standard 65XE; see Atari 65XE for the hardware.[2][1]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Tom R. Halfhill, "The Next Generation: New Computers at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show", Compute! issue 59, April 1985, p. 25. Report from the January 1985 show: the 65XEM as the one new computer not exhibited, its price and the AMY figures.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Tim Onosko and John J. Anderson, "Atari strikes back", Creative Computing Vol. 11 No. 3 (March 1985), p. 59. Written before the show from briefings by Atari marketing manager Brian Kerr.