Speaker upgrade details Bally/Williams

[joele]

I mentioned this in my 'shadow restoration' thread and was asked for details, I am doing the upgrade on my Dr Who at the moment so will detail the process here as I go...



OK I bought one pinball pro set but considering they are around US$165 plus shipping they are way overpriced for what they are, I worked out I could do the same upgrade on the rest of my machines for around AUD$125 (inclusive) with I think better speakers..

I am still in the process of upgrading my Dr Who which is the first one I am doing this on so may take a while to put full details here but will update as I go..

Also need to point out, knowledge/ideas obtained from - http://dziedzic.us/wpc_speaker_replacement.html

First list of items I used..
- Speaker wire (Can buy in bulk from many places including bunnings)
- L-Pad 50W 8Ohm http://www.parts-express.com/speaker-l-pad-attenuator-50w-mono-1-shaft-8-ohm--260-255
- MAXP64 6.5" Subwoofer (4ohm for DCS 8ohm for pre DCS) http://www.parts-express.com/lanzar-maxp64-65-600-watt-woofer--292-2590
- 6.5" speaker spacer for the subwoofer - www.ebay.com.au/itm/190967641632
- Pair of Pioneer 2 way 5.25" speakers (4ohm)   www.ebay.com.au/itm/181358880446
- Subwoofer Crossover (you save a fortune on shipping buying multiples) www.ebay.com.au/itm/131160599410

I bought 4 subwoofers and Lpads from parts express and had them sent together so I could do all my remaining machines, still cheaper than buying the subwoofers locally, which is sad as shipping doubled the price of the speakers..

Will post pics of the process over the week...

[johnwartjr]

I've done plenty of games using that guide. I think you've got the right idea :)

[rads]

Looking forward to following this.  Keep the updates coming.

[joele]

The subwoofer in with 6.5" spacer underneath it..

[joele]

This is taking a while as too many things on at the moment, but anyway.. Below you can see the original speakers and then on one side I was able to just screw in the new speaker but for the other with the smaller hole I had to whip up a riser on the 3d printer to support the speaker (could always have cut a new backboard too I guess)...







Now time to do some wiring...

[Homepin]

Great job - I have to comment on the "specs" on the Pioneer speaker however - 220W - hahahahahahhahaa - what a load of RUBBISH!!

More like 2.2W in reality.....to handle 220W the voice coil would need to be wound from wire about 0.5mm thick and to get a 4ohm impedance it would need to be about 20 times the size of that speaker (figures from my head but could be calculated).

You really would expect that Pioneer wouldn't follow the blatant lies that some other speaker manufacturers make but sadly it seems not.

[joele]

Great job - I have to comment on the "specs" on the Pioneer speaker however - 220W - hahahahahahhahaa - what a load of RUBBISH!!

More like 2.2W in reality.....to handle 220W the voice coil would need to be wound from wire about 0.5mm thick and to get a 4ohm impedance it would need to be about 20 times the size of that speaker (figures from my head but could be calculated).

You really would expect that Pioneer wouldn't follow the blatant lies that some other speaker manufacturers make but sadly it seems not.

can't beat them join them?

notice underneath 35W nominal ;-) I take that as 35W maximum.. lol... either way I'm sure they will sound better than the 20 year old stock ones..

The subwoofer is worse BTW, it says 600W maximum on it 

[Zedman]

This is on my to do list in a while. Thanks for all the links and congratulations on a job well.done! Z

[joele]

All finished now, pretty boring will post some shots though, followed the wiring diagram below (well other than using green in place of yellow wire, as I have none)..

The sound is definitely improved but the actual audio source isn't the highest quality on Dr Who (pre DCS) so can't expect perfection.. The main advantage to me is the subwoofer is now actually a subwoofer and I can adjust its level vs the speakers, that does make a noticeable difference..



Few boring progress shots as I went..

[Marty Machine]

Great job - I have to comment on the "specs" on the Pioneer speaker however - 220W - hahahahahahhahaa - what a load of RUBBISH!!

aaaah, but it does say "220w MAX".....so you could get 220watts out of it for about 1millisecond 

[pinsanity]

Thanks for posting the details.

Better price and better quality than those PinballPro sets.

Lot more interesting as a DIY as well.

[turbo27]

Enjoyed the post so much, have just completed my ST TNG with, I reckon, huge improvement.

Followed Joele, and the link for the how too. Excellent site.

I used different speakers, similar spec, less cost, maybe as good as sound. By purchasing in bulk, saved a heap , and enough to do my IJ after I decal!

4 pack of 4 ohm car speakers - perfect replacement size, didn't have to adjust holes at all on the one side. No need for a mounting block
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/231047985830?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

2 pack of subs, once again perfect replacement size, same holes, no changes, no need for a mounting block.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/231170832147?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Being a Williams DCS game did not need a cross-over for the sub.

L-pad being the only thing I needed from Parts Express, their postage cost was going to kill me. So purchased a more expensive one from Jaycar, but still came out ahead.
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=AC1672

Total cost $130.29 for the speakers including postage and $45.90 for two l-pad from jaycar.
So each machine was $88.01

Wire up exactly as per diagram from link - sounds massively different. Bass even vibrates the floor 
Already had speaker wire, not as pretty as the coloured stuff but used a permanent pen to highlight the colours.

Thanks again for the original post

[Caveoftreasures]

excellent thread guys and just a great resource for a lot of members.

went to a mates house who followed this thread and the sound was soooo much better.

again thanks for sharing. 

[johnwartjr]

I made a jig for enlarging speaker panels, works really well, although I don't like using a circle cutter... would rather use a router!

[KBRI1700]

Fantastic effort

Very informative