Caution:
If you have worked on the innards of computers before, you probably already know about the possible dangers so you can ignore this paragraph.
If you have never had your fingers in a computer, it isn't all that tricky, but you need to take a few precautions. First, you have
120VAC or 220VAC available at the power supply, depending on your country - enough to kill you anyway.
Second, you are probably carrying a static charge which can be discharged when you touch something like a
sound card. That static discharge is strong enough to wreck the little whatzamahoozits inside the computer. I have worked around computers for a number of years and have only seen one obvious example of someone
touching a card in a PC and frying it with a static discharge. It happened that the card was a $2000.00 USD
communication card. The guy who toasted the card said a few selective words and sent it back to the manufacturer, saying
that the card didn't seem to work. They sent a new one under warranty. Even if you have an SBLive that was given
to you for free, you don't want to fry it.
If you haven't opened up a computer before, I suggest typing COMPUTER SAFETY PRECAUTIONS in a Google Search and read up on it.
Here are some instructions with pictures, showing how to install a sound card in your computer
kX Getting Started Guide - Installing the Soundblaster Card into your computer
Now Shut your computer down and open it up. Remove the existing card and lay the 2 cards on an anti-static surface.
I am going to show 3 SPDIF connections going from an Audigy 2Z S - (AD_EXT connector) to an Audigy 1 (AUD_EXT connector).
Most Audigy cards have 2 codecs. This means that Audigy cards have the capability of having 4 mono analog inputs each. SBLives have the capability of having 2 mono analog inputs per card. You need to refer to the
pinout
that corresponds to your card to determine
which pins to use. Basically, you run an SPDIF cable from one SPDIF output (Client card) to an SPDIF input (Host card). Each SPDIF cable carries a stereo pair. This
diagram
shows 3 SPDIF cables. 2 of them are used to connect the 4 analog mono inputs from the Client card to the Host card.
The 3rd SPDIF cable (shown orange) is just there for the heck of it. I am not really doing anything with that one at the moment.
1. Run a cable, (shown blue), from pins 27 / 28 (Digital Rear) Client card to pins 5 / 6
(Z Video I2S In) Host Card.
2. Run a cable, (shown green), from pins 31 / 32 (Headphones Out) Client card to pins 15 / 16
(Coaxial / Optical SPDIF In) Host Card.
3. Run a cable, (shown orange), from pins 9 / 7 (Digital Front) Client card to
CD_SPDIF connector (CD SPDIF) Host Card. In my setup, I am not using this
SPDIF connection. I just threw it in to show different SPDIF ins and outs.
Note. You need to observe correct polarity in connecting these pins; GND to GND and
Output to Input. Generally speaking, having the pins reversed GND to input or output to GND
won't hurt your card, it just won't work, but connecting the wrong pin pair entirely could
FRY YOUR CARD!
Put both of your cards back in their PCI slots. Start your computer up. You should get some instructions about
rebooting your computer once or twice. Hopefully after that, everything is fine. Both cards are recognized
and not sharing an IRQ.
If everyting is fine, it is time to set up your custom DSP, click on the "E" link below.
A - kX Project-Short Introduction
B - kX Project-Uninstall the Creative Labs drivers-Windows 98SE
C - kX Project-Install the kX drivers
D - kX Project-Install a second card
E - kX Project-Create a custom DSP
F - kX Project-Pinouts of kX compatible cards