Round Cable for Live! Drive IR

[dansajd]

Hey all. I just finished a search of the forums and came up empty, so if I'm repeating a question, I apologize, but know that I *did* look first...

Anyway, I've been scouring the web for the last week or so trying to find any place that sells a custom-made rounded cable for the Live! Drive IR that comes with the SB Live Platinum, Audigy and Audigy2. I hate the fact that I just spent all this money building and modding a case and, intertwined with all my beautiful Antec Cobra cables, is this fugly ribbon cable going to the top of my case.

I can't believe I'm the only one who has this issue, so I'm curious to know what those of you with these drives have done to work around this or, if you've had better luck in your searches for a round cable than I have, where you found them. I wouldn't be opposed to fashioning my own, but if I'm going to do that, I'm not sure where to begin to look for the mesh covering. So any pointers on that might be helpful as well.

Thanks all!

 

[techfuzz]

IIRC, the cable is just an IDE cable with one pin hole blocked off to ensure you plug the cable in correctly. Why you ask? Because the 40 pins are just soldered to the boards where a hard drive has a plastic sheath with a notch in it to ensure correct insertion. Just buy a regular rounded IDE cable and make SURE you match up pin 1 on the cable with pin 1 on the card and Live!Drive. You might want to get a REAL 40 wire IDE cable as opposed to an 80 wire ATA/100 cable if possible. You might experience problems with the extra small wires in the 80 wire cable.

techfuzz

 

[dansajd]

Thanks techfuzz. This is one of those instances where you kind of smack your forehead and say, "Duhhhhh....". I suppose if I had analyzed the cable a bit closer, I would have seen the truth behind what you're saying. It just never occured to me that there was just a pin missing from the config.

I just so happen to have an extra Antec cable, which would perfectly match the rest of my rounded cables in the case. But you specifically mention that there may be a problem using the 80-wire cable. Is this just pure speculation or have you heard/read somewhere that people have experienced issues with this? Does anyone even manufacture rounded 40-wire cables?

 

[XRdirtHead]

I always wanted to put a rounded cable on my live drive but also thought it was a special cable....doh!

 

[techfuzz]

Originally posted by: dansajd
But you specifically mention that there may be a problem using the 80-wire cable. Is this just pure speculation or have you heard/read somewhere that people have experienced issues with this? Does anyone even manufacture rounded 40-wire cables?

Yes, I am purely speculating that this might be an issue. I have not heard nor read anyone reporting a problem using an 80 wire cable as opposed to a 40 wire cable. The only reason I said that is because *I* would consider myself to be an audio connoisseur and I was considering all the issues that could arise. You see, most audio signals are transmitted through cables, and more often than not those signals get better with the larger gauge wire. My assumption was that the small diameter wire used in 80 wire cables might inhibit or be subject to more interferance than a 40 wire cable with larger diameter wires.

techfuzz

 

[dansajd]

Currently, the only two things I use my Live! Drive for are the front headphone and mic inputs (much easier than reaching around to the back of the case) and I use the additional Aux inputs for my TV Tuner card (I keep the wires off to the side when not in use). Point being, I'm not utilizing the drive for any sound recording (other than the occasional tape I might want to convert to mp3) or anything of the sort. As such, I'm willing to try an 80-wire cable to see what happens. If you have any suggestions on tests I might run to see if there is any performance degradation, I'd be glad to run them and post my results for anyone else considering doing the same thing.

 

[techfuzz]

The only test I can really think of is to listen to the output through your headphones and see if you can notice a difference in quality. I wouldn't spend any time running "benchmarks" or anything like that, just let us know how everything turns out.

I use my Live!Drive for the same stuff you do; it's an easy place to plug in headphones or other inputs. I still have the digital out on the back connected to my dolby digital decoder for surround sound. It has served its purposes well over the last couple of years. I might upgrade to the Audigy 2 or M-Audio Revolution in the next couple of months, but it isn't a high priority item for me right now. Must pay off CC bills and such first!!!

techfuzz

 

[dansajd]

No dice. The IDE cable has pin 20 blocked. The "missing" pins on the IR Drive cable are closer to the end (8 or 10ish). *sigh*

 

[techfuzz]

Originally posted by: dansajd
No dice. The IDE cable has pin 20 blocked. The "missing" pins on the IR Drive cable are closer to the end (8 or 10ish). *sigh*

Not all IDE cables have the 19th pin blocked. I am physically looking at an IDE cable that has ALL the pins open. When the 19th pin is blocked, it is for the same reason as the 8th/10th pin is blocked on the Live!Drive cable, to ensure correct insertion. Some IDE cables use a blocked pin while others use a key on the connector. Find a connector that uses the key instead of the blocked pin.

techfuzz