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Many games support the Sound Blaster 16 in their sound setup utility, but the majority of them just play the same low-bitrate (usually 11kHz) 8-bit samples when configured for the SB16 anyway. This is because games still came on floppies until the mid-90s, so disk space was at a premium, plus they had to cater for the lowest common denominator, which was the Sound Blaster Pro 2 that only supports 8-bit digital audio.

From 1995 onwards, however, games started incorporating "true 16-bit audio" recorded at higher bitrates, usually at 22kHz. Especially games released on CD-ROMs fall into this category. When these games are not configured for the Sound Blaster 16 or the Gravis Ultrasound (if supported by the game), they play back their 16-bit recordings at 8-bit resolution. This results in increased background noise, but that is the only drawback whatsoever. In other words, the jump from 8 to 16-bit audio is definitely noticeable, but it's not exactly a night and day difference as it only affects the noise and nothing else. Arguably, the higher 22kHz bitrate is much more important in the perceived audio quality than the background noise (or the lack of thereof).

Below is a list of "true 16-bit audio" games that actually benefit from playing them on a 16-bit soundcard. The majority of these games support the Sound Blaster 16 (enable it via sbtype = sb16), and a smaller percentage the Gravis Ultrasound (GUS) (enable with gus = on).

Game	Year	Internal Sound Data	PCM Output Format	Audio Engine/Library	Comments
AH-64D Longbow	1996		16-bit stereo @ 22kHz	Miles AIL/MSS
Blood	1997		16-bit stereo up to 44.1kHz	Apogee Sound System	Mixing/output rate defined in BLOOD.CFG
Command & Conquer	1995	ADPCM mono @ 22kHz	16-bit mono @ 22kHz	HMI SOS
Command & Conquer: Red Alert	1996	ADPCM mono @ 22kHz	16-bit mono @ 22kHz	HMI SOS
Crusader: No Remorse	1995		16-bit stereo up to 44.1kHz	Asylum Sound System	Requires v1.06 ASYLUM.DLL and 16-bit DMA selection. Mixing/output rate defined in CRUSADER.CFG (22kHz default)
Crusader: No Regret	1996		16-bit stereo up to 44.1kHz	Asylum Sound System	Requires 16-bit DMA selection. Mixing/output rate defined in CRUSADER.CFG (22kHz default)
Descent II	1996		16-bit stereo @ 22kHz	HMI SOS	Mixing/output rate defaults to 11kHz if system has < 16MB RAM. (Can be overridden with '-Sound22K' command-line switch.)
Duke Nukem 3D	1996	8-bit @ 11kHz (MIDI music)	16-bit stereo up to 44.1kHz	Apogee Sound System	Mixing/output rate defined in DUKE3D.CFG
Dungeon Keeper	1997		16-bit stereo @ 22kHz	Miles AIL/MSS
Eco Quest 2: Lost Secret of the Rainforest	1993		16-bit mono @ 11kHz & 22kHz	SOL	Requires updated AUDBLAST.DRV
Eradicator	1996		16-bit stereo @ 22kHz	Miles AIL/MSS
Fade to Black	1995		16-bit stereo @ 22kHz	Miles AIL/MSS
FX Fighter	1995		16-bit mono @ 22kHz
Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist	1993		16-bit mono @ 11kHz & 22kHz	SOL	Requires updated AUDBLAST.DRV
Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist (CD)	1994		16-bit mono @ 11kHz & 22kHz	SOL
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers	1993		16-bit mono @ 11kHz	SOL
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (CD)	1994		16-bit mono @ 22kHz	SOL
Gabriel Knight II: The Beast Within	1995		16-bit mono @ 22kHz	SOL
Hi-Octane	1995		16-bit stereo @ 22kHz	Miles AIL/MSS	Freeze after intro when GM selected. Fix here
King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride	1994		16-bit mono @ 22kHz	SOL
Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out	1993		16-bit mono @ 11kHz & 22kHz	SOL
Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out (CD)	1994		16-bit mono @ 22kHz	SOL
M.A.X.	1996		16-bit stereo @ 22kHz	HMI SOS
Mission Critical	1995		16-bit stereo @ 22kHz	Miles AIL/MSS
Pepper's Adventures in Time	1993		16-bit mono @ 11kHz & 22kHz	SOL	Requires updated AUDBLAST.DRV
Police Quest IV: Open Season	1993		16-bit mono @ 11kHz	SOL
Police Quest IV: Open Season (CD)	1994		16-bit mono @ 11kHz	SOL
Quake	1996	?-bit @ 11kHz (CDA music)	16-bit stereo up to 44.1kHz	Mixing/output rate defined with '-sspeed ' command-line parameter (11kHz default)
Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness	1993		16-bit mono @ 11kHz & 22kHz	SOL
Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness (CD)	1994		16-bit mono @ 11kHz & 22kHz	SOL
Rise of the Triad: Dark War	1994	8-bit @ 11kHz	16-bit mono @ 11kHz	Apogee Sound System
Shadow Warrior	1997	8-bit @ 22kHz (CDA music)	16-bit stereo up to 44.1kHz	Apogee Sound System	Mixing/output rate defined in SW.CFG
Shattered Steel	1996		16-bit mono @ 22kHz	HMI SOS
Slater and Charlie Go Camping	1993		16-bit mono @ 11kHz & 22kHz	SOL	Requires updated AUDBLAST.DRV
Space Quest 6: The Spinal Frontier	1995	16-bit @ 22kHz (MIDI music)	8 & 16-bit mono @ 22kHz	SOL
Star Trek: The Next Generation – A Final Unity	1995		16-bit stereo @ 22kHz
Torin's Passage	1995		8 & 16-bit stereo @ 22kHz	SOL
Under a Killing Moon	1994	16-bit @ 22kHz (MIDI music)	16-bit stereo @ 22kHz	HMI SOS
The Pandora Directive	1996		16-bit stereo @ 22kHz	HMI SOS
Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger	1994	16-bit @ 22kHz (MIDI music)	16-bit mono @ 22kHz	HMI SOS	16-bit status applies to FMV only. Gameplay mixing/output is 8-bit stereo @ 11kHz.
Wing Commander IV	1996	16-bit stereo @ 22kHz	8 & 16-bit stereo @ 22kHz	HMI SOS

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References

• https://github.com/dosbox-staging/dosbox-staging/issues/407
• https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=54670

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