I originally made this video expecting to demonstrate the weaknesses of the built-in UltiSID inside the Commodore 64 Ultimate Starlight Edition.

But something unexpected happened.

Apparently, the latest firmware update, the same one that introduced mouse support, also included improvements to the UltiSID emulation…

Because suddenly:

🎸 the guitar in Skate or Die sounded GOOD.

That completely changed the purpose of this video.

Instead of exposing flaws, this became a true audio comparison for the real Commodore sound enthusiasts.

After a short introduction, I let both versions play:

the built-in UltiSID
and a real original 6581 SID chip

To make the comparison fair and easy to follow, I alternate between the two sound sources every two musical bars.

This way:

the song remains enjoyable to listen to
while the sound differences remain easy to hear

The result?

A surprisingly fascinating comparison between:

modern FPGA SID emulation
and the legendary original SID hardware

This video took an entire day of:
🎛 recording
🎬 editing
🎧 fine-tuning transitions
…and carefully syncing both audio sources

But in the end, the result became exactly what I hoped for:

A real UltiSID vs 6581 showdown for Commodore audio fans.

👉 Call to Action

If you love:
🎹 SID music
🕹 Commodore 64 hardware
🎧 audio comparisons
⚡ FPGA technology
🎛 retro sound experimentation

…then this video is definitely for you.

👍 Like the video
💬 Tell me which version YOU prefer: UltiSID or real 6581 SID
🔔 Subscribe for more Commodore 64 Ultimate discoveries, SID comparisons, and retro hardware experiments

And let me know:
Should I compare more games and demos in future SID comparison videos?

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