The transition to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System marked a paradigm shift in audio architecture. The system utilized the Sony SPC700 sound chip, a sample-based synthesizer that allowed for 8 channels of ADPCM audio. This meant that for the first time, composers were not synthesizing waves but manipulating actual recordings of instruments—compressed strings, trumpets, drums, and choirs. This capability gave rise to the "Video Game Orchestra" and allowed for a diversity of genres that the NES could never achieve.