Before the AWE32, PC sound was a nightmare of beeps and boops via the OPL2/OPL3 FM synthesis. The AWE32 changed the game by including onboard RAM (512KB, expandable to 28MB) dedicated entirely to loading SoundFonts.
: Before high-capacity storage, SoundFonts were a "cheap, lightweight" alternative to hardware synthesizers. The Format's Role old soundfonts
Since modern computers no longer use specialized soundcard memory for audio synthesis, you need software "players." An unofficial introduction to soundfonts | Flag user Before the AWE32, PC sound was a nightmare