Quoted from pinwiz71:WH20_Buzz , I totally agree with you on the "keeping things original", but compared to my newer machines, the sound system was very archaic. My only point of confusion now is how to connect any type of audio cable to the A/V board. It is a very specific 4 pin IDC type connector. Pinball Pro has a kit that is plug and play harness for the back box speakers, but requires the use of the original cabinet speaker harness (which is in pieces now). I bought some extra molex connectors that matched the original, but they appear to only be rated for maybe 18 gauge wire max. If I used a beefier audio cable, I don't think it would seat correctly. Thoughts?
Not sure why you would want such a big speaker wire ? 18 gauge wire with 8 ohm speakers would equal about 800 watts of power.. 18 gauge as a rating of about 10 amps.. 22 gauge can still provide 5 amps and nearly 200 watts of power. The amp used for your speakers is a TDA2030, it :
Typically it provides 14 W output power (d = 0.5%) at 14 V/4 Ω. At ±14 V or 28 V, the guaranteed output power is 12 W on a 4 Ω load and 8 W on an 8 Ω (DIN45500).
So a speaker can draw a maximum of 12-14 Watts, and you want to use a 800w cable ? There is absolutely nothing wrong with using 22 gauge wires to wire such small speakers, and no gain except toughness of the cable to use such a big wire. Plus , 12-14 watts would mean you're driving the speakers at the maximum volume , all the time , and there is a constant sound playing non stop to generate the full 14 watts.. Your cables are probably pulling about 5-6 watts at the most during a normal game..
Of course , there is nothing really wrong with using such a big wire , but it's really not necessary.