Someone else who has this mod speak up! There is a competitor for this product out there but I think it is more expensive. Thanks for the review. So you think maybe it would be acceptable on a pin without the speaker mods? One that did not have as much bass? Or overall just crappy no matter what pin it is in? Did you try it in another pin?

Thanks for the review as I was thinking about putting this mod on my Tron too.

Did you test different headphones? Most are cheaply made and don’t deliver a rich sound. Some, expensive, headphones are built to have more bass.

Thanks for the review as I was thinking about putting this mod on my Tron too.
Did you test different headphones? Most are cheaply made and don’t deliver a rich sound. Some, expensive, headphones are built to have more bass.

The sound is still coming from the same place. Of course a $20 set of head phones isn't going to sound as good as your bass intensive $130 sound upgrade kit! You paid $65 for the convenience of playing Pinball quietly. If you want good sound buy yourself a pair of real cans!

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+1. Appreciate the review, but incomplete until you document what kind of headphones (mfr, etc.) you were using.

You can hook up crappy headphones to a multi-thousand dollar top-end audio receiver, and the sound will be.... crappy.

You've got to give us the brand and model number.

Headphones have to have the right impedance to match the driving circuit.

That is one of the reasons so many cans cannot be driven directly from the iPod with good results.

Hi guys, while i cant speak for the Buckwerx model since i have not tested it, I will say I have tested Tron with our kit from Pinnovators.com. Any over ear headphone should give you enough bass response and highs to show the quality of the Tron sound track and pinball machine. Using inexpensive ear buds I don't recommend. I understand not everyone can afford $400 Dr Dre beats pro headphones but there are many good brands out there with over ear style for $50-$100. Let me tell you though having those Beats Pro on while playing the game is amazing..I currently have a customer with a Tron Le that removed his coin door and had a chrome door installed just to install our kit(Tron Le doesnt have dba slots for hp kits). He also has the after market speaker system installed for his private partys. Our kits do have a adjustment pot on the back side which will allow you to adjust the tone deeper for people that do like a little more bass. We installed our kit inside a Tron Pro at the pinball wizard arcade so if your in Nh bring a set of ear phones with ya(www.pinballwizardarcade.com). We also will be running a sale shorty on our kits and are working on other things as well. please email me at [email protected] for questions. Thanks

p.s.-maybe give buckwerx a second try with a better set of headphones before you sell it off?

Not really as the coils are still firing off at the same volume

Just wanted to say that this right here is Class A competition. There are too many companies out there that just throw their competition under the bus and act like no one but them makes a product with any redeeming features.

This. One of the most respectful posts I have ever seen on Pinside!

I don't have a dog in the race, but the pinnovations kit at the Allentown show sounded AMAZING on the 3 machines they had set up. I think they had nice headphones. I was impressed.

Chris

yeah, i dont really get the headphone thing for this reason...

"oh here, let me put on these headphones so i don't disturb you. 'KATHUNK THUNK THUNK... THUNKTHUNKTHUNKTHUNK."

No he doesn't. He paid $35.00 for them. That's all I need to know: they are crap.

The sounds of the coils etc. are not nearly as loud as the volume from the speakers. So while it obviously won't be completely silent, it will still be a hell of a lot quieter than blasting the volume through the speakers.

I can very easily play my pins if I turn the volume way down and not wake up my kids. The sound from coils etc. are not remotely loud enough to wake them up. It's not like the pin is in the same room with them.

yes, that has been the same thing people who havn't tried it since day one always say. Everyone who trys it quickly changes there opinion..While it does provide you the option to make your game play quieter its not the main benefit to having the kits from Pinnovators or Buckwerx installed...the main benefit is it immerses you into the game, you hear call outs better, sounds you never really noticed, your not distracted by anything else going on in the area, and it makes you a better player because it keeps you more focused. People like myself crank the shit out of my headphones and its like playing your cabinet speakers at full volume. Yes anyone in the room will hear some clicking of pop bumpers and flippers but no one half way across my house or upstairs can hear the games call outs and sound track deafening in my ears..If i tried to achieve that same loudness with my cabinet speakers the whole house and outside could hear it...if your bedrooms arent close to your games and your floors are carpeted they wont here the clicking or coils.

How are you guys installing external subwoofers?

It's definitely all in the headphones, I have one and a set of Bose headphones sound great

our kits that we designed for jersey jack pinball was a complete sound package. we designed the amplifier, speaker system, and amplified headphone jack. unlike wms and stern kits which run off the sound board our headphone kits in JJP games have a amplifier built into the hp jack door. we designed the main amplifier from the ground up so we included a audio output from the amplifier to a connection at the back of the cabinet...a simple cord from the jack on the back of your cabinet sends a signal to any external surround sound system or a powered subwoofer which i personally love. we do not currently have that option for stern or wms games...hmmmmmm

This is the coolest part of Pinnovators stuff. I can't wait to use the line-out on my TZ for video recording!

LOL

Plug in some Dre Beats and try again. All in the headphones.

Is the buckwerx guy on here to weigh in?

... not sure if serious...

I bet he is.

dr dre beats pro $400
generic headphones $35
difference with adequate power supplied to either one? Hell Ya!!!

$200 cans mean nothing when we spend that much on a plastic ramp.

I already have these (use them through a dedicated headphone amp) but there are other slightly cheaper alternatives that will work almost as well:

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-650-Headphones/dp/B00018MSNI/ref=sr_1_3

Using earbuds with one of these systems doesn't make much sense in my opinion.

Bingo.

totally serious. I own beats headphones and the bass is amazing vs. many other headphones. If you want more bass, invest in better headphones.

Hey, Buck here from Buckwerx. I'd first just like to thank lllvjr from Pinnovators for his gracious professionalism. I can't wait to hear the Pinnovators audio system when our WOZ is delivered!

As a few people have mentioned here our adapter does exist as a lower cost audio solution. For that reason we opted for fixed resistor values on both the bass and treble audio feeds that give reasonable levels on most Stern games. If you're handy with a soldering iron you can swap out the 100 ohm bass resistor for a lower one (or even a pot if you want to get fancy).

Otherwise, a nicer pair of headphones may be a good option. I own a pair of these and have been very pleased with them: http://www.amazon.com/Philips-SHO9560-28-Over-Ear-Headphones/dp/B003VNKKUS
They do a great job at their $80 price point (and I bet you could find them cheaper).

Good luck with resolving this problem (or with a pinnovators kit if you decide to go that route). Feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected] or PM me if you have any questions!

BTW-Beats are way over-rated. I listened to them head to head with Bose...and I'm not the biggest Bose proponent...but that's what I happen to be wearing right now as I type this. And they were $50 cheaper.