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First post, by peate

Posted on 
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Hi folks, first time poster.

I'm just about to build a new rig with an Audigy rx which has an EMU chip thus enabling me to use the great kX drivers. I still have my old SB Live Platinum with the Live Drive. The disappearing PCI slot kinda forced me to upgrade. I thought about an adapter PCI to PCI-E, but they seem kinda bulky and suspect. Has anyone used them successfully?

There are some pins on the rx for the front jacks on most PC cases (headphones and Line/Mic input) and a few others though I'm not sure what they do. I'll know more when I get my package.

I guess you know where I'm going with this. I want to use the Live Drive for the Line-in (RCA inputs) and headphones. MIDI and digital I don't need. Does anyone know the pin assignment on the Live Drive IR? There are a lot of pins and jumpers on there, it's pretty confusing. I guess I only need some of the ones from the 40 pin header?

Any help will be appreciated

Thanks.

Reply 1 of 1, by Wanderer

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Hi @peate.
I can provide a bit of info on PCI-to-PCIe bridging options.

1. I tried Audigy 2 ZS with an Espada "E PCI F-PCI M4 p Ad" riser based on PLX PEX 8111 chip. The card seemed to work, but there was no sound from the MIDI synth (probably some kind of DMA problem). By the way, Audigy Rx uses PEX 8112.
2. PCI enclosures from aliexpress (like this one) work fine with Creative sound cards, according to my conversation with one retailer (but I decided not to buy one, so cannot confirm that was true). This adapter fits into a 5.25" bay - not bulky at all.
3. A similar dual PCI riser but without a case was confirmed to work with a Creamware DSP board. Those cards place very high demands on PCI thoughput and latency, and were earlier believed to only work with professional-grade Magma expansion systems. If this adapter is powerful enough to drive a Creamware card, then it should handle a Creative one just fine. But this is only my opinion.
4. Magma sells several PCI-PCIe options (e.g. this or this). An owner of one told me it worked fine with Pro Tools, Creamware, Korg OASYS PCI and PCI graphic adapters. But he warned that it wouldn't work with 2 different cards at once. I haven't found evidence of a Magma chassis used with a Creative card, but think this should be the safest of all PCI-PCIe options, although the most expensive and bulky.

HTH

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