Sound Blaster Live Drive compatibility

[MIDIman]

I used to have an original Sound Blaster Live X-Gamer w/ Live Drive. I traded out the card about a year ago for a Sound Blaster Live 5.1 (SB0220) and just never used the Live Drive with it.

Now I have a project where I need SPDIF out from the Live Drive, and when hooking it all up, I realized that the connection I usually used with my Live Drive (CT4860) is not the same as the SB Live 5.1 card - i.e. the newer card appears to have a small 10 pin connector rather than the nearly 40-pin conncetor on the old live drive.

Is there any way to make the old Live Drive compatible with the newer SB 5.1 card? Or perhaps, can I use the 1/8" Digital DIN via an adapter of some kind from Radio Shack?

There are a number of connectors on the live drive - J1 = AUD_EXT; J2 = DITIAL I/O Card; J3 = Digital DIN; J4 = AUD_EXT2, each with a different number of pins.

 

[Shooters]

I have a SoundBlaster Live! Platinum 5.1 which came with the Live Drive and mine has the 40-pin connector with the flat, IDE-like, ribbon cable. To my knowledge, all of the cards in the Live! 5.1 line were like this.

 

[MIDIman]

Odd...is it possible that my SB 5.1 version is OEM and just didn't include it? Its definitely not on the card. The only odd pin connection on the card is this white 10-pin that I haven't seen before.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[MIDIman]

Here's a pic of exactly what I have:
Link to SB0220 @ directron

Link to a picture of the Live Drive I have
Another link to the Live Drive I have

 

[Shooters]

I just did some digging and it turns out that your particular card (model #SB0220) does not have the connections needed for hooking up a Live Drive. Oddly enough the SB0220 is Creative's "newest" release of in the Live! 5.1 line of cards (I think all the previous ones had model numbers starting with "CT"). My guess is that after the release of the Audigy, they didn't want to spend any unnecessary money manufacturing retail Live! cards anymore so they stripped out some non-essential features (like the Live Drive connectivity), gave the card a new model number, and directed it more towards OEMs.

 

[MIDIman]

suck...thanks Shooters...

Any clue what that 10-pin connector is? There's no text anywhere near it.

Is there any way I can use the 1/8" Digital DIN on the card?

Something like this connector at Radio Shack perhaps?

Another good pic of all the cards and drives

 

[Shooters]

From the pictures you linked it looks to be a SPDIF connector.

 

[Shooters]

Originally posted by: MIDIman
Is there any way I can use the 1/8" Digital DIN on the card?

Yeah you can. What are you trying to connect to?

 

[MIDIman]

a SPDIF output on another PC - i.e. going RCA composite out of another PC's Echo Mia, and digital into the soundblaster.