Folks keep calling 56k modems 'dial-up' but the real sound was different

I was digging through an old stack of PC Gamer CDs from 1998 and saw a forum post claiming the 56k handshake lasted 45 seconds. That's total nonsense. My US Robotics Sportster took maybe 8 seconds to lock on, and the screech was way more aggressive than people remember. Everyone replays that same grainy AOL sound clip, but real 56k had a sharper, faster finale. Anyone else got the exact noise burned into their brain from a specific ISP?

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the_reese18d ago

Man, your Sportster must've been blessed. Mine screamed for a solid 20 seconds every time.