VOGONS


First post, by TheMobRules

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Hello

I have a Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Digital (model SB0220) that has a proprietary white front panel audio connector, apparently this card was bundled with Dell PCs that had this special connector for the front panel (though I bought mine as a retail version back then IIRC, never had any Dells).

Then I found out by browsing some old forums that this connector is compatible with the front panel audio that comes with pretty much all cases nowadays. The only thing needed is building a connector like the Dell one and connect it to the case front panel. Then I stumbled upon this site where a guy found out which were the necessary components for building such a connector:

http://audigy2zshowto.blogspot.com

(He uses an Audigy card but the front panel connector is the same as my SBLive)

Since I use my headphones a lot and this SBLive was going to be part of a new build I'm working on I decided to use a case with front panel audio and try to build a connector for the card. There is a seller from Hong Kong offering these on eBay, but I didn't want to wait for the shipping and I had all the tools needed. Besides, it seemed like an interesting little project.

One thing to be aware of is that the pinout for the proprietary SB-Dell connector described in the link above is not entirely correct. After some additional research I found the proper way to map the pins to the Intel HD Audio FP connector specs (the pins in the SB connector are numbered from 1 to 10, with pin 1 being far to the right next to the CD-IN connector):

SB -- Intel HD Audio
1 -- GND
2 -- PORT 2L
3 -- SENSE2_RETURN
4 -- PORT 2R
5 -- SENSE_SEND
6 -- PORT 1L
7 -- NC
8 -- PORT 1R
9 -- SENSE1_RETURN
10 -- PRESENCE#

The following link shows the position of the pins that connect to the case HD Audio:

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/suppor … /000005512.html

And finally, here is the result (I used my Engineer PA-09 crimping tool for building each connector, it seems like a daunting task to do it with pliers like the guy in that link did):

d2PNL6o.jpg

Hope this is useful for anyone wanting to connect their SBLive/Audigy to the front panel connector of the case!

Reply 2 of 8, by Scraphoarder

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cdoublejj wrote:

anyone sell it premade anymore?

Search for "Front panel audio adapter cable for creative" on eBay and you got some results. I bought 5 some months ago just to have some extras if they disappear. When i got them i was going to use one for an Audigy 2 card, but after opening the case it revealed my card didnt have the header soldered on 😵

Reply 3 of 8, by Zoomer

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Even though this topic is pretty old I still would like to add to it since it's the second google result after that link with incorrect wiring OP provided.

First of all thanks for your research. I wonder why this connector is even proprietary at all. Is that for selling front panel modules and external addons?

Anyway, the cables available on Ebay wired only for headphones output, mic-in pins are not connected (you can easily check that on Ebay photos). They're also wired according to the incorrect info from the aforementioned link so the "sense" isn't working (no autodetection when headphones are plugged in). So in my quest I've stumbled upon this diagram which makes sense (heh). Still I don't want to purchase a very specific crimping tool (have enough tools already) so I decided to order pre-wired (pre-crimped) connectors available on Aliexpress (and I bet on Ebay too) with an intent to solder wires of both ends in the middle. Will report back with results.

MB: Asus P3B-F 1.03 (2x ISA)
CPU: PIII-S 1.4GHz/VIA C3 800MHz
RAM: 256MB PC133
Video: GeForce 4600Ti/Voodoo 5 5500/Voodoo 3 3500 for DOS Glide
Audio: SB16 OPL3 + Audigy Platinum Ex
OS: Windows 98

Reply 4 of 8, by falconnic

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TheMobRules wrote on 2016-02-22, 20:49:
Hello […]
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Hello

I have a Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Digital (model SB0220) that has a proprietary white front panel audio connector, apparently this card was bundled with Dell PCs that had this special connector for the front panel (though I bought mine as a retail version back then IIRC, never had any Dells).

Then I found out by browsing some old forums that this connector is compatible with the front panel audio that comes with pretty much all cases nowadays. The only thing needed is building a connector like the Dell one and connect it to the case front panel. Then I stumbled upon this site where a guy found out which were the necessary components for building such a connector:

http://audigy2zshowto.blogspot.com

(He uses an Audigy card but the front panel connector is the same as my SBLive)

Since I use my headphones a lot and this SBLive was going to be part of a new build I'm working on I decided to use a case with front panel audio and try to build a connector for the card. There is a seller from Hong Kong offering these on eBay, but I didn't want to wait for the shipping and I had all the tools needed. Besides, it seemed like an interesting little project.

One thing to be aware of is that the pinout for the proprietary SB-Dell connector described in the link above is not entirely correct. After some additional research I found the proper way to map the pins to the Intel HD Audio FP connector specs (the pins in the SB connector are numbered from 1 to 10, with pin 1 being far to the right next to the CD-IN connector):

SB -- Intel HD Audio
1 -- GND
2 -- PORT 2L
3 -- SENSE2_RETURN
4 -- PORT 2R
5 -- SENSE_SEND
6 -- PORT 1L
7 -- NC
8 -- PORT 1R
9 -- SENSE1_RETURN
10 -- PRESENCE#

The following link shows the position of the pins that connect to the case HD Audio:

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/suppor … /000005512.html

And finally, here is the result (I used my Engineer PA-09 crimping tool for building each connector, it seems like a daunting task to do it with pliers like the guy in that link did):

Hope this is useful for anyone wanting to connect their SBLive/Audigy to the front panel connector of the case!

Hi @TheMobRules , wanted to see if you could make me one of these awesome SoundBlaster Live cables that gets my tower AC97 Headphones and Audio to work? I would gladly send you money your way, if you could make and ship one for me. Let me know.

Best

FalconNic

Reply 5 of 8, by TheMobRules

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falconnic wrote on 2022-02-07, 02:43:

Hi @TheMobRules , wanted to see if you could make me one of these awesome SoundBlaster Live cables that gets my tower AC97 Headphones and Audio to work? I would gladly send you money your way, if you could make and ship one for me. Let me know.

Best

FalconNic

Hello FalconNic

I would happily send you one of these cables for the cost of parts + shipping, the problem is that first I need to source the parts I cannot get locally, such as the JST housing and contacts (I live in South America, no way to get such specific parts from local stores). International shipping costs from Digi-Key or Mouser (US) would be way too high for just a few components, and since COVID getting stuff shipped from China at a low price has become almost impossible.

What I can do is this: next time I prepare a large order from Digi-Key or Mouser for other projects I will contact you and if you're still interested I can include the necessary components for the cables in the order. However right now I cannot say for sure when that will be, and also keep in mind the shipping from here to the US might be more expensive than what you're willing to pay for a simple cable.

Regards

Reply 6 of 8, by ptr1ck

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Is it known if the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz is the same as the Sound Blasters?
My Audigy 2ZS isn't putting out sound but my TBSC is in good shape.
I just ordered a connector from moddiy.com. They informed me it is HD Audio and not AC 97.

"ITXBOX" SFF-Win11
KT133A-NV28-V2 SLI-DOS/WinME

Reply 8 of 8, by ptr1ck

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Pierre32 wrote on 2022-03-06, 03:55:

This is what I ordered.
https://www.moddiy.com/products/Creative-Soun … Cable-20cm.html

"ITXBOX" SFF-Win11
KT133A-NV28-V2 SLI-DOS/WinME