Spectrum Emulators

Name	Download	Version	Last Updated	OS	Description
Multi-Machine	Download Download Multiface 128 ROM	1.30b	6/16/98	Win95	Rightfully named Multi-Machine, this emulator, in addition to emulating the Spectrum (16/48/48+/128/+2/+2A/+3 flavors), this emulator also supports emulation for Sinclair's Z80 and Z81, the Timex Sinclair 1000 and 2068, the Amstrad CPC series, the Jupiter Ace, and the Enterprise. Work is in progress to emulate the Amstrad PCW series, the MSX series, and the TRS-80 series. Currently, Multi-Machine supports all the major Spectrum CPU state (aka 'snapshot') filetypes, such as .Z80 (48K and 128K), .SNA, and .SLT, as well as native filetypes from virtually all the older Spectrum emulators, as well as the .TAP and .TSX formats for tape files and tape data recordings encoded as .VOC sound files, and under the +3, support for .DSK disk image files . Peripheral support for Kempston and Sinclair joysticks via the PC joystick or keyboard is included. Not much is known about how this emulator works with Multiface 128, but if you want to test, the Multiface ROM is available for download (at left). Multi-Machine requires DirectX 5, and should run at full speed on any Pentium system. This emulator, along with X128, are our Spectrum emulators of choice; if you're a Speccy fanatic, and you have Win95, look into this emu seriously.
R80	Download Download Multiface 128 ROM Download R80 Keyboard Utility	0.21	11/4/99	DOS	One of the newcomers on the Spectrum emulation scene, R80 is also one of the few emulators being currently updated. It supports the Spectrum 48, 128, +3, and Pentagon, and has file support for .Z80 and .SNA (snapshot files) and .TAP and .TZX (tape files), as well as .SCR and .PCX (screenshot files) and support for Multiface 128. As with the Multi-Machine and most other Spectrum emus, joystick support is emulated via either PC joystick or keyboard. One of the peculiarities of the R80 emulator is, being that the emulator was written by a Spaniard, you will probably need to run the keyboard utility provided at the left to get your keyboard working optimally under R80. From the author's own documentation, R80 should run at full speed on a 486 DX4-100 or better, and will run fine under Win95.
Spec256	Download	1.2	9/13/99	DOS	This is the first Spectrum emulator to be in 256 colors. The latest version now supports 256 colors for Abu Simbel Profanation and Simbel's Key. I recommend this emulator if you want enhanced graphics.
Spec/XSpec	Download(DOS) Download(Win9x)	1.4w 1.12	5/30/98 6/14/98	DOS Win9x	This is just your regular ZX Spectrum 48k emulator that is available for both Windows and DOS. The Windows version has somewhat higher system requirements, but it has a GUI and some other stuff that you might find useful.
Speccyal	Download	0.68b	11/4/99	Win9x	This is a brand new Spectrum Emulator. It already has a bunch of new features and it looks very promising.
Spectrum	Download Download SPConv 1.10	0.99f	7/25/98	DOS	This is an updated version of one of the oldest Spectrum emulators around, authored by Pedro Gimeno. It only supports the Spectrum 48, and is command-line driven, and uses the .SP format, so you'll need the SPConv utility (at left) to change the format of the snapshots you have to the .SP format if you want to use them with this emu. Still, it's worth a shot to look at, as this was one of the pioneers of Spectrum emulation.
Warajevo	Download	2.51	11/25/98	DOS	This is a ZX Spectrum 48/128k and Timex 2068 emulator. It's quite fast and has a really nice GUI with advanced setup for the people that like to tweak and alter their settings a lot, so no frontend is needed or anything. Also, remember to visit this emulator's homepage and download the plugins that are available, to expand the emulated RAM, etc.
WinXZX	Download	2.1.3b	11/17/99	Windows	It's a new ZX Spectrum emulator, it emulates the 48/128k, and runs under Windows. It is a little slow, so you might need a PII class processor.
WSpecEm	Download	1.4b	11/6/98	Windows	This is a Spectrum 48k emulator for Windows that features high compability, has support for the digitizing of Spectrum tapes thorugh a Soundblaster or paralell port, real Windows joystick support, ability to save screenshots, configurable keyboard, support for long filenames, and it's freeware.
X128	Download SB SAOM version Download Adlib version Download Source Download X128 ROMs	0.92	11/6/98	DOS	This is my personal favorite as Spectrum emulators go. It features support for the Spectrum 48/128/+2/+2A/+3, as well as the Russian Spectrum clones, the Pentagon 128 and Scorpion 256 (limited support for Scorpion). It features support for .Z80 (48K/128K), .SNA (48K/128K), and .SLT snapshot files, and .TAP, .TZX and .VOC tape formats, and .DSK disk files under the +3, as well as .TRD files under TR-DOS. It includes support for Multiface 128, and of course, Kempston and Spectrum joystick emulation via the keyboard and PC joystick. The Sound Blaster SAOM version has superb sound, and runs at 100% even on high end 486 systems or better (featuring automatic reduction to 100% speed for faster processors), and the Adlib version will run 100% on low end 486 systems. The SB version is the recommended version to use, and our choice for the top Spectrum emulator.
XTENDER 1 & 2	XTender 1 XTender 2	1.17 Beta 7	3/10/98 7/5/99	DOS	XTender 1 is a Sinclair ZX80/81 emulator that runs very good on XT/AT/286/386 systems and runs mostly all of the ZX81 programs available. XTender 2 is a complete rewrite of XTender that emulates the Aszmic and PC-8300 as well as the ZX80/81. It can run any hi-res, semi-hi-res, mixed resolution and low resolution ZX81 program, it can run ZX81 programs directly from the DOS command line or by double clicking .p files in Windows 95/NT. It also features a TV-Mode with all the flickering and other fun stuff you could expect from a real TV, and it supports multiple keypresses at once, and even more. A Pentium 133 is recommended for this one to run good, but that shouldn't be a problem for most people.
ZX Plus	Download	0.23	11/11/99	Win9x	This is a Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48 and 128K emulator written for Windows 9x that utilizes DirectX. The homepage of this emulator says it might emulate other systems in the future, so keep a lookout on this one.
Z80	Download	4.00	3/17/99	DOS&Win9x;	Probably the most popular Spectrum emulator of all 2 years ago, Z80, authored by Gerton Lunter, was the king of the Spectrum emulators, with support for the Spectrum 48 and 128, as well as microdrive support and Disciple/Plus D interfaces. Z80 will run at 100% on high end 386 / low end 486 systems, which is incredibly fast for the support the emulator gives. The only drawback to Z80 is that the shareware version has a 10 second delay when you start it up, has microdrive and Disciple/Plus D interface disabled, and after 5 minutes of use, will not automatically slow down the emulation, meaning an unusable emulator for people using Pentiums or better; the registered version corrects all this. All in all, a highly recommended emulator, depending on your needs.
Z80 Stealth	Download	0.079	11/10/99	DOS	Z80Stealth is the Spectrum emulator for DOS that also works in Win98. It emulates the Spectrum 128.
ZX	Download	0.5 beta	6/18/99	Win9x + DirectX	ZX is a new Spectrum ZX 48k emulator. This emulator was originally released in Italian, but has since been translated to English. This is an early beta, so there are some bugs.

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