Want to upgrade to color dmd for Met Pro.
Do I get LCD or LED?

This questions gets asked a lot for a lot of games... the answer really is your own to answer... what do you prefer? LCD has a lot more options available for dot size... but LED is brighter and has better contrast. I had a PIN2DMD in my MET and thought it looked pretty great but have a ColorDMD in my TWD and also thought that looked great. I've replaced my MET with a LOTR recently and when I get around to adding a ColorDMD to it I will go LCD... all personal preference. I find the LCD supporters to be more vocal on Pinside and will quickly tell you how much better the LCD is. The LCD was around for so much longer than the LED I gotta wonder if they were both released at the same time if the opinions would be different.

Thanks and that sounds like the clear winner\choice.

So should I just hook it up via piggybacking the cabinet speaker with alligator clips or solder or should I get a Pinnovator’s PinSub Kit? Didn’t know if there is any noticeable difference between these two connecting options?

Thanks again for all the help\advice.

I got the pinnovator kit. I prefer spending a little extra to get a clean and proper connection. You know it's going to work the best so why mess with clips and sketchy connections. I also prefer the LCD colordmd. LED is too bright and too much contrast for my tastes. I believe it can be adjusted but LCD looks perfect out of the box. Only issue with LCD is that it has to be mounted back around an inch on games like MET because of how metal backbox designed. Plan on getting the gasket to seal the edges and give it a clean look. LED is a direct replacement and doesn't need extra stuff so quite a bit cheaper.

Polk psw10 is perfect and really brings the sound up a notch. Mine stopped working, though. It's blowing fuses as soon as you plug it in even with the power switch off. Makes a hum sound for a few seconds then it's done. Emailed customer service and hope they can help me sort it out. Nothing looks fried on the inside so no idea what's wrong.

Get the Pinovators kit, big difference in sound quality.

Sorry to hear that, how old is it?

Yes, it is skinnier at the top of the metal diverter post.

As far as rules.. It stays down if you hold the left flipper during a skill shot plunge. It stays down if your orbit shot is completing a combo.

Thanks again everyone for the help and advice, Polk sub and Pinnovator’s sub kit ordered.

Does the sub need to be on the ground for the best sound or does it matter? I just didn’t know if it would be better if it was higher up and closer to chest level? I have a small table next to the pins and curious if putting the sub higher up would be better than underneath the pin.

Does the sub only produce bass or does it also produce any mid sound?

I’ll try this recommended setup before I try to upgrade the back box speakers.

I appreciate the help.

Thanks so much, I installed it and it helped when plunging and shooting the Right orbit but the ball still bounces back when shooting the Left orbit. Oh well, better than it was.

Like 2.5 years old. I was hoping it was one of those easy problems pins often have like loose wire or fuse. It 's not going to be too expensive to replace but like to know what happened to it. Maybe Metallica is just too metal for it lol. Hoping I can just mail the guts to Polk and they can fix it for free.

Just put it under the pin and it will sound fine. It's only bass but does make things sound better. I wouldn't replace the backbox speakers. I don't think you are going to improve the sound that much and not worth it. Save money for mods that make a huge difference like colordmd or for the next pin.

I don't think you need a large sub, but they certainly make a difference. Especially true if you only have one machine running.

Thanks for the help and it’s weird as it seems like it’s split 50/50, some people say stock is fine and upgrading speakers won’t really help with the newer Sterns while others say they are cheap paper speakers and it would help a lot putting in new speakers.

Too late LOL, already ordered so we’ll see.

On a different note, does anyone know where this thumb screw goes, see pic below? When I was unboxing, it was loose in the cabinet.

Thanks
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^^^^^Coindoor mechs. Looks like one of those screws.

If I could only do 2 mods. Shaker would be #1, sub, #2. Makes a huge difference If you can crank it up! If the significant other makes you keep volume down at 30 or 40, yeah, but 50s, sounds bad ass!!

Thanks for the help with the part.

Regarding the sub, I’m curious how it’s going to sound as the highs and mids from the stock speakers just sound bland, like an alarm clock radio, no real umph to get into. Don’t get me wrong, it’s clear but just want a little more and figured I’ll try the sub and if I still want more, perhaps upgrading the back box speakers will suffice.

Did anyone purchase the Metallica manual from Marco? If so, is it actually a good manual, meaning is it in order and are the schematics actually legible or is it just a printout of that out of order and disorganized manual on Stern’s site?

Mine did come with a condensed manual but it doesn’t have all the mechs and schematics and while Stern’s online manual (Metlab pdf) has more info, the scans aren’t really good quality, especially when zooming in on the schematics.

Was just curious as it’s $45 and wondering what you get for that.

Thanks again.

Flipper Fidelity speakers makes a hugh different to stock speakers.
I have them in my MET Premium and they sound very good.
I also have a stand alone sub in another game but to me the Flipper Fidelty is better.

I have flipper fidelity speakers as well. I ended up with a sub and figured I'd give it a shot. OMG. It shakes the house. The combo of both is great!

I can imagine that

See that’s where I keep reading conflicting opinions. Some say what you both do while others say (a lot earlier in this thread) when they replaced\upgraded theirs with one of these kits, they weren’t much better and one even said it was worse in terms of losing highs and mids and their stock speakers performed better.

I guess my thing is that I know the Polk sub will give it more umph but I’d like to get a little more umph from the back box in terms of mids as I can live with the highs that is being produced. So that’s where I’m at, do I just use the Polk and stock speakers or would adding a FF kit (even the lowest end co-ax ones) be better than what the stock is? I’m tempted to get their Meaty Beaty Bass ones but those don’t have volume control but the cabinet speaker is a three-way and it’s only $30 more than their base co-ax ones.

I know, first world problems.

Thanks for the help.

Just get the sub and keep the stock backbox speakers. I bet you will like it.

Well what did you expect? It's like asking 1000 Pinsiders which game is better MET or ACDC. Pinball is ALL about personal preference. Most times you just have to try different things on your own and if you don't like something you bought well "that's pinball" and maybe you can sell it to someone else.

Thanks, can’t wait to try it out.

Not really expecting anything specific, just wanted to get everyone’s thoughts\feedback based on their experiences. I totally agree on the “that’s pinball”, learned that quick when I started down this rabbit hole almost four years ago.

Thanks again everyone for the help and info regarding speaker upgrades. I won’t continue on this subject as the last thing I want to do is run it into the ground.

Do the stock speakers sound bad to you? They sound fine to me. I just wouldn't expect much better sound from a pin and rather save $150.

I would agree... that is what I did with my Met pinball... I use 10” klipsch external sub... that baby roars... I will admit going back to backbox issued speakers only seems a little off even after turning it up...
So far I’m happy with only external sub

Ed, where are you located? You'd be welcome here to listen to mine.

It’s not that they sound bad, it’s just the curiosity of if they would sound better (better highs and more noticeable mid range sounds) as now it just is pretty flat (still clear and loud but no umpire if that makes sense). As I’m making my way through this thread, so far made it to page 155, there are some that say upgrading stock speakers isn’t worth it while others say it helps a lot and some even say the Polk didn’t work well for them.

I’m just going with the Polk sub for now. I’m just trying to research as much as I can as I would hate to upgrade the stock speakers and not hear any real noticeable difference worth the cost of upgrading. I upgraded my MMR myself using some Kicker speakers and noticed quite a difference but alas that was a different machine and company entirely.

Hope that helps clear up why I’m asking as I’m not trying to annoy.

Thanks as always for any and all help and info.

Thanks for the offer, but in FL

Add the sub.... it’s a World of difference

My MET does the exact same thing.

Mine does it also

Really? I have never seen this.

Should I be able to backhand the right ramp on Metallica?

I’ve been able to do it a couple of times, very tight shot.

It's not strong enough/an easy angle for a straight backhand. If you can bump/tap it off the flipper and then hit it in "the air" you can but it's not an easy shot and there is no real benefit to it.

I've found the same thing, backhanding the right ramp is more often done with a ball in flight than under control. If you've got control a pass over to the left flipper is 'easier' but I prefer to take a shot at the piston target if the lights are flashing or if it is ready to collect... with the new code there is not always value to shooting it whenever you'd like... old code shooting it always gave you a blown piston regardless of how many pop-bumper hits you had. The ball always returns from the piston target down the same path and gives you control on the left and allows you to collect another insert to build for mystery... and I always found that to be a gratifying shot.

Easy to backhand from a cradle on my machine. Coil stops probably blown out. I'll replace them.

Thanks guys

Would anyone be interested in a pdf of the Premium\LE Manual?

The manual that is on the Stern site, while it appears to have everything (schematics, mechs, etc.) it is so disorganized.

I emailed Stern to see if they had a better one as I really didn’t want to pay $45 for a printed one and sure enough, they emailed me one for the Premium \LE. I did check with them first to make sure it would be ok if I shared it and they said it was fine.

Now while this manual is A LOT better organized, it is just for the Premium and LE, so there is no info about the Pro specific mechs. So what I then did was go through an older version (better quality resolution) of the current online manual that seemed to have everything and copied pages that weren’t in this manual they emailed. I also replaced some of the pages with better resolution pages from this older manual, basically you can zoom in on some of the schematics better than the manual they emailed me. Just keep in mind it’s not perfect and you’ll notice some of the page numbers are not in order because some of those pages were from a different manual in a different order but all the info on the original page was the same, just a better resolution\quality.

So, I figured I would check to see if this would even be relevant (being Metallica is over 5 years old) and if anyone might want/need a better copy? I’ll have two files, the one that Stern emailed me, untouched, and then the one where I added everything that wasn’t present in the emailed manual that was in the older manual.

If so, would it be more beneficial to start a new thread just for this so that it won’t get buried here? Not sure where to put it, maybe in the technical assistance thread?

Also, are google drive links allowed on here? Sorry, just don’t want to do anything not allowed and just trying to give back a little as so many of you have helped me so much throughout the years.

Thanks

Edit: Link to the manuals:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1PCToZpxWWMWjtYyTsMeq-VCoACMcMH35

Yes please! Post up the Google drive link I'd love to replace my crappy manual.

Will do, it's below and just let me know if it doesn't work as I don't do much with Google Drive. I'll also edit my original post with the link and wait for more feedback if others feel that I should create a separate thread.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1PCToZpxWWMWjtYyTsMeq-VCoACMcMH35

Yep. Mine has did it from day one. I just thought it was normal?

same here. I thought it was odd but it never affected the game so I didn't give it a second thought

Question regarding back box speaker wiring..

In looking at the manual and looking how my speakers are currently wired, they do not match. In the manual it states it’s wired in series, Red-White to Left Speaker positive, then a wire connects the Left speaker’s negative to the Right Speaker’s positive and finally the Red-Black wire connects to the Right Speaker negative.

Mine does have the Red-White to the Left positive BUT the Red-Black is going to the Right Speaker’s positive instead of negative???

I know they use a capacitor now and on mine, both speaker’s negative connections run through this capacitor but if mine should match the manual, shouldn’t the wires on the Right Speaker be swapped?

I’m still new to speaker wiring upgrades so hoping someone has more knowledge about this than I do. Pics are below to show what the manual has and then how my speakers are currently wired. I’m getting sound fine and perhaps they changed it or this is a parallel setup?

Thanks as always for the help.

31D95972-B7E6-4A66-819B-C9216A89B654 (resized).jpeg

6E06A249-F212-446F-965D-091E22B22F85 (resized).jpeg

8C467F2E-9ACB-4EDA-9530-B15BA6AAA074 (resized).jpeg

I believe your manual is wrong. My game is wired same way.

So does this mean something is wrong with our game then?

Never noticed, it ill be checking in a bit!!

Just checked, my LE did the same thing.

Must be normal then i would think.

Mine doesn’t do that. I have an original run Pro.

I have an led run premium with metal backbox. Just double checked to see if I'm crazy and when I flip the switch, it just shuts off. No message.