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Frame from ZX Spectrum 1-bit music: Agent X (Tim Follin, 1985) Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed

ZX Spectrum 1-bit music: Agent X (Tim Follin, 1985)

aki__
Music
YouTube
3 HN users recommended this music video3 months2015–2026 score 3.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

Cited as the prime example of what clever programming can do with a 1-bit audio output.

A recording from real hardware of Tim Follin's multichannel 1-bit music for Agent X on the ZX Spectrum. It shows several voices coaxed out of the single-bit beeper.

“Tim Follin's tunes for example are basically treating the beeper like a 1-bit DAC, with amazing results.” (HN, 2026)

1 strong recommendations · 2 recommendations · Music

3 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@JetSetIlly May 2026 Strongly recommends
on HN thread Playing Atari ST Music on the Amiga with Zero CPU
> Well, that and the fact that after the 48K beeper the 128K was never going to sound less than incredible Some of the stuff people do with the 48k beeper is incredible though. Tim Follin's tunes for example are basically treating the beeper like a 1-bit DAC, with amazing results. [this video]
Tim Follin treats the beeper like a 1-bit DAC.
@zimpenfish May 2015 Recommends
on HN thread A Pixel Artist Renounces Pixel Art
Check out Tim Follin's N-channels-through-1-bit on the Spectrum's piezo-electric buzzer. [this video] (AgentX) [link] (AgentX II)
Multi-channel music through the 1-bit Spectrum beeper.
@mdp2021 Sep 2024 Recommends
on HN thread Furnace – the biggest multi-system chiptune tracker ever made
> even the ZX Spectrum beeper is supported You know what we can do with 1-bit music, right? I.e. Tim Follin's Agent X ( [this video] ) or Agent X II ( [link] ) or Chronos ( [link] ) or Raw Recruit ( [link] ) or Future Games ( [link] )... A modern attempt, the ON and OFF album by Rich 'Tufty' Hollins ( [link] )
Tim Follin's 1-bit beeper music.

Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.

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