ESPectrum vs GZX

ESPectrum is free, GPL-3.0 emulator firmware for Sinclair ZX Spectrum computers on Espressif ESP32 boards. It emulates Spectrum 48K, 128K, +2A, and Pentagon 128K systems, plus Microdigital TK90X and TK95 models. Supported boards include Lilygo TTGo VGA32 and Olimex ESP32-SBC-FabGL. Video output offers standard VGA, machine-rate VGA, and 15 kHz CRT modes in 16:9 or 4:3. Emulation includes the Z80, AY-3-8912 sound, beeper and microphone behavior, contended memory, and floating-bus effects. Users can connect PS/2 keyboards, joysticks, DB9 joysticks through a converter, and a PS/2 mouse acting as a Kempston mouse. It reads TAP, TZX, SNA, Z80, SP, TRD, and SCL files. Installation uses an online web flasher or release binaries. A FAT16- or FAT32-formatted micro SD card stores programs, disks, snapshots, and captures. PlatformIO builds are described for Windows, GNU/Linux, and MacOS/X.

GZX is a ZX Spectrum emulator that runs on Windows, Linux, and HelenOS. It emulates the 48K, 128K, +2, and +2A models, and includes Kempston joystick support. It can read, write, and convert TZX, TAP, and WAV tape formats, and supports Z80, SNA, and AY snapshots. Graphics features include double-line mode, ULAplus, and Spec256 emulation. GZX also emulates the built-in MIDI port of the 128K Spectrum. It can record audio to WAV files and data sent to I/O ports, and includes a built-in debugger. Most of the emulator, including its source, binaries, font, and documentation, is free software under an MIT-style license; ZX Spectrum ROM files are excepted. The 2019.1 binary release supports 64-bit Linux and Windows. Building requires a GNU toolchain and SDL 1.2 development package on Linux or a similar operating system. Some games do not work, and many turbo-loading games from TZX fail to load.