The SoundFont 2.0 version of the file format was developed in 1996. Files in this format conventionally have the file extension of. The first and only major device to utilize this version was Creative's Sound Blaster AWE32 in 1994. A specification for this version was never released to the public. The original SoundFont 1.0 version of the file format was developed in the early 1990s by E-mu and Creative Labs. The sound quality of SoundFont banks is generally regarded as superior to standard GM banks, and many SoundFont banks have been created specifically to replace GM banks with samples of each corresponding instrument.

SoundFont banks are tightly integrated with MIDI devices and can be seamlessly used in place of GM patches in many computer music sequencers. Quality is also dependent on the number of samples taken for a given range of pitches. Generally speaking, the quality of a SoundFont bank is a function of the quality of the digital samples and the intelligent association of samples with their appropriate pitch ranges. Each sampled waveform may be associated with one or more ranges of pitches and dynamics. A SoundFont file, or SoundFont 'bank', contains one or more sampled audio waveforms (or 'samples'), which can be re-synthesized at different pitches and dynamic levels. SoundFont technology is akin to software sampling.

SoundFont is also a registered trademark of E-mu Systems, Inc. SoundFont is a brand name that collectively refers to a file format and associated technology designed to bridge the gap between recorded and synthesized audio, especially for the purposes of computer music composition.

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