40 pin IDC male connector at the soundcard.
The AD_EXT connector is a proprietary 40-pin (2×20) IDC ribbon-cable header fitted to Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS and X-Fi PCI audio cards, used to connect the card to a front-panel drive-bay unit such as the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Drive or the X-Fi I/O Drive. The connector carries S/PDIF digital audio streams, I2S digital audio signals, general-purpose I/O lines, MIDI UART signals, and power rails over a single flat ribbon cable. Creative explicitly states that the AD_EXT cable is proprietary and must not be substituted with a standard IDE ribbon cable, as doing so risks electrical shorts and permanent damage. On X-Fi cards a separate 26-pin AD_Link connector provides an additional link to the X-Fi I/O Console, distinct from the AD_EXT header.
| Pin | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | +5V | |
| 2 | - | No pin |
| 3 | GND | |
| 4 | GND | |
| 5 | SPDIF 0 IN | SPDIF 0 Input |
| 6 | GND | |
| 7 | GND | |
| 8 | GND | |
| 9 | SPDIF 0 OUT | SPDIF 0 Output |
| 10 | - | No pin |
| 11 | - | No pin |
| 12 | - | No pin |
| 13 | P16VCLK | 24.576 MHz clock |
| 14 | GND | |
| 15 | I2S FrameSync | I2S FrameSync |
| 16 | GND | |
| 17 | I2S BitClock | |
| 18 | GND | |
| 19 | I2S Input | I2S Input to P16V (AUX 2) |
| 20 | GND | |
| 21 | I2S Input | I2S Input to P16V (Line-In 2 / Mic 2) |
| 22 | GND | |
| 23 | GPO1 | GP Output 1 |
| 24 | GPO2 | GP Output 2 |
| 25 | GPO0 | GP Output 0 |
| 26 | GND | |
| 27 | SPDIF 3 OUT | SPDIF 3 Output |
| 28 | GND | |
| 29 | SPDIF 1 OUT | SPDIF 1 Output |
| 30 | GND | |
| 31 | SPDIF 2 OUT | SPDIF 2 Output |
| 32 | GND | |
| 33 | GPI1 | GP Input 1 |
| 34 | to TAD | to TAD connector |
| 35 | GPI0 | GP Input 0 |
| 36 | ? | to pin 10 @ J1 |
| 37 | UART (MIDI) OUT | MIDI OUT |
| 38 | GND | |
| 39 | UART (MIDI) IN | MIDI IN |
| 40 | - | No pin |
Notes
- The AD_EXT header is a 2×20-pin (40-pin) IDC male connector on the sound card; the mating end on the drive bay is a corresponding IDC female header.
- Creative’s documentation explicitly warns that the AD_EXT ribbon cable is proprietary and must not be replaced with a standard 40-pin IDE ribbon cable, as doing so risks electrical shorts and permanent damage to the card and drive.
- On X-Fi series cards (SB046X, SB055X, SB073X), a separate 26-pin AD_Link connector is also present for connection to the X-Fi I/O Console; this is distinct from the AD_EXT header, which is used for the X-Fi I/O Drive.
- Pin 2, pins 10–12, and pin 40 are absent (no-pin positions), serving as keying to prevent incorrect cable orientation.
- The individual signal assignments of this header are not published in Creative’s official manuals, which describe the connector only at the functional level.
Signals
- +5V — 5 V power supply rail to the drive bay unit
- GND — signal and power ground
- SPDIF 0 IN — S/PDIF digital audio input stream 0
- SPDIF 0 OUT — S/PDIF digital audio output stream 0
- SPDIF 1 OUT — S/PDIF digital audio output stream 1
- SPDIF 2 OUT — S/PDIF digital audio output stream 2
- SPDIF 3 OUT — S/PDIF digital audio output stream 3
- P16VCLK — 24.576 MHz master clock signal for the P16V audio processor
- I2S FrameSync — I2S word-select (left/right channel) synchronisation signal
- I2S BitClock — I2S serial bit clock
- I2S Input (AUX 2) — I2S digital audio input to the P16V processor, routed as Aux 2
- I2S Input (Line-In 2 / Mic 2) — I2S digital audio input to the P16V processor, routed as Line In 2 or Mic In 2
- GPO0, GPO1, GPO2 — general-purpose digital outputs
- GPI0, GPI1 — general-purpose digital inputs
- to TAD — connection routed to the TAD (Telephone Answering Device) internal connector on the card
- Pin 36 — function not publicly documented (connects to pin 10 of J1 on the drive bay)
- UART (MIDI) OUT — UART serial output for MIDI data transmission
- UART (MIDI) IN — UART serial input for MIDI data reception