I am doing a "backyard" restoration of a Cyclone. I guess maybe more of a "living room" restoration, although a lot of it was done in a backyard. So it's not 100% original quality but a decent restoration with a new playfield, plastics, scoring, etc. I upgraded the speakers and the volume rheostat. However, the sound is horrible. It's so flat and confusing it's hard to hear, so crackly, etc. I know that is original and probably was great for the time. Or maybe the newer speakers just make it sound worse as they are so much better than the original.

In either case, is there any help? I am willing to go as far as install some sort of EQ inline if that is even possible. Really, I was imagining that there is either some sound upgrade (I am unsure if the chips I see for sale are just replacements or some sort of upgrade, or maybe just newer than my own so they sound better?) or some sort of inline filter that will help mellow out the harsh highs and crackles.

So from one OCD person to another, any way to somewhat solve this or improve the situation at all? I'd LOVE to leave the attraction sounds on but it's so harsh.

Thanks for the info. I'm a n00b with electronics and somewhat young comparatively to the technology so I am only so handy with a DMM. I'm going to research more on that and see what I need to do to verify those components. I am not looking for audiophile quality by any means but it would be nice to utilize the speakers just a bit and have some clarity to it.

Totally, I actually did that a while ago but the pot that is on there seems to be a different "range" than the OG. So I am ordering a basic 10k audio trim pot that seems to be what the williams needs. I'll slap that on to match the OEM and see if that helps. The one I have is really fancy, metal knob, smooth movement... who knows.