I think you answered your own question with "If I had the money..." The LE has a few extra play features and LEDs, but the cabinet with the extra lighting is absolutely beautiful. That said, the Pro is a solid game that you will be happy with.

http://www.sternpinball.com/upload/games/star-trek/pro/Star%20Trek%20Pinball%20Features.pdf

Here you can find an overview of the 3 models.

Why not a premium? Same playfield as the LE, just none of the extra cabinet stuff.

LE/Premium have:
-Metal ramp returns
-Mode start VUK
-Laser light show for Klingon Multiball
-Enterprise toy
-Left outlane kickback
-"Crashing" Vengeance effect
-4 playfield Flasher spotlights, 2 of which are hidden in asteroids
-Warp ramp chase lights
-Every insert is a color changing LED (only the Starfleet inserts are color changers on Pro)
-Powdercoated trim (red on Prem, blue on LE)
-Flashers behind backglass
-Color changing Apron lights

LE has extra bling over the Premium:
-Light up "animated" rails (the enterprise lights up and shoots red lasers...the "lasers" can also be seen on the inside sides of the cabinet)
-Lit up plexi Starfleet insignias on the backbox
-Special speaker panel with starfleet insignia speakers that light up
-Mirrored backglass
-Built in shaker motor

I've played both and bought the Pro. I don't miss the LE features with the exception of the ball save kickback which is pretty cool. The overall look is better on the LE, but that doesn't seem worth the huge price difference. The LE also comes with a shaker, which is cool, but that is just a $200 fix. You won't be sorry with the Pro.

I own a Premium. Bought the Premium because of the features listed in the previous post. Having the kickback and the VUK which feeds the ball back to your left flipper via the left ramp rather than shooting out of the left hole into the slings was the major reason for me. This game is all about combo shots. Playing the pro really breaks the flow when it fires into that left hole...at least for me.

Premium is gonna be roughly $1000 cheaper than an LE in the same condition. Assuming you're comparing used to used.

NIB a Premium will run you roughly $2000 more than a NIB Pro.

Is it worth it? I mean, no, not really, $2000 is a lot of money. Did I buy the Premium over the Pro? Yup, zero regrets, but not out any sense of "value", I just wanted the extra stuff, and I could afford it. You gotta answer those questions for yourself.

Don't count out the Refinery Pro. Better and more game interactive backbox flasers, beautiful lit armor package, game interactive light up apron which I would take over the laser any day of the week, it can come with the enterprise toy and Klingon ship for a few extra bucks, extra LED flashers in the playfield, nebula lighting and so much more. All the Pros come full LED, the "crash" effect on the LE is disappointing to say the least, you can install a shaker for cheap. I think the only thing you would miss on the LE/Premium is the colour changing inserts, vuk and kickback (but pro will likely have a virtual kickback with new code). Are those three things really worth all the extra dough? I didn't think so, but you decide, play a Refinery Pro then play an LE.

Can't put a price tag on that light show!

ST is the only pro I have where pro/premium is an option. Bought the premium NIB and traded "down" to the pro within a couple months. I consider it the greatest of Pros on a scale of how close the pro comes to premium playing experience.

Another happy ST Premium owner here. Played a bunch with my 9 year old son last night. He got his first Kabayashi (sp?) multi-ball - that was neat for both of us.

IMHO, ST Premium is a fast, fun game - that just might have the potential to be considered one of the top 10 with a hefty code update. C'mon Karl Urban custom speech power pack!

I was in the same boat when I was deciding between Pro and Premium.

The three biggest things the Premium offers that I think really do make a huge difference:

VUK on the Mode Start - I know people say they've added some felt or made minor adjustments to their pro to make it so the ball doesn't release into the slings or in a dangerous drain situation, but I'm not about making those adjustments. The VUK makes that shot so much more predictable and fair.

Kickback - there's not much to be said. If you've played a game with kickback, you know how awesome it is. If they add a software save in the next update, this feature will be more a little less of a selling point, however it does put the ball into play in a different way than a plunge. One negative! Even though the kickback stays lit for a few seconds in case the ball kicksback weird, there is still the chance that the kickback will mess up and not plunge the ball all the way and still result in a left outlane drain. It's only happened to me a few times in all my games, but it does happen.

Full LED - Wireforms aside, this is the cosmetic feature that blows me away more than anything else. You have to see it to really appreciate it. It's a cosmetic upgrade (whereas VUK and kickback are gameplay), but it's one of the coolest and flashiest things ever.

That said, I think the Pro is a fair option on this game. The major gameplay differences (VUK and kickback) are not as bad as something like missing a lower playfield or lacking modes, so if you opt for a Pro, you won't feel cheated.

Also, prices have already been argued, but I would go with a Premium and save $1000 if you're looking at going the Premium/LE route.

The LE is one of the most gorgeous machines ever made. There have been a bunch of them for sale lately. They made 800 of them, which is a huge production run for an LE. Many people are impatient and don't want to wait for the code update, which is why the prices continue to fall on them. I'd say if you can snag a nice modded LE for $6,500, go for it. If you toss that offer out there, I wouldn't be surprised if someone hits you on it.

Go Pro Alex. Use the extra cash left over for something else.

That's an option as well ...

That's why I buckled and got one, even though I wasn't going to. I was gonna maybe wait and get a Premium down the road...but the lit up and animated rails are just too slick, I had to get it

While it's pricey, I do like the extras on the Prem/LE and would recommend either of those over the Pro. Even though I got the LE, I personally think the Premium art & color scheme look the best.

I would jump on that $6500 in a heartbeat if I didn't have to get it shipped...bring it on!

It's just dialling it in. That kick out was not designed to cause a problem. Mine has never done anything other than send it straight to the left flipper for an easy catch. This kick out seems to have achieved status it does not deserve. Adjust it a bit if it is causing a problem and happy days. The VUK is really nothing other than cosmetic.

I really like the backbox and cabinet art on the premium, and the red is very slick. I do, however, prefer the backglass on the LE.

Shipping sucks. I had to pay to get my NIB LE shipped, and I live 20 minutes from the Stern factory.

I disagree entirely - cosmetic? No no no - it has an impact on gameplay (and a pretty big one at that). You get a 100% consistent feed to the left flipper, whereas with the kick out hole, you may be able to get it to a reasonably high degree of "ideal feeds", but you're tweaking that yourself and working it to your advantage.

Its fine if you don't like it, but don't be silly and call it purely cosmetic when its actually a gameplay feature. Wireforms I can see being cosmetic, though.

Not working anything to any advantage. The kick out was not designed to be a problem. Yes, the VUK gives a 100% repeatable feed. But the kick out is not designed to give an overly unpredictable feed. If the kick out is causing a problem then THAT behaviour is not as designed. Fixing the kick out to be a better feed is not tweaking something for an advantage. They didn't set out to put a problem into the Pro that didn't exist in the premium. And I DO like the VUK. I like the aesthetic of it. I bought a premium first. My point is just that the kick out gets a bad rap that it doesn't deserve, and the main, real difference with the VUK is cosmetic as the end result from that scoop is the same..feed to the left flipper. And don't forget that in the original design the VUK was supposed to send the ball back through the warp ramp, but they dropped that idea because they couldn't get it to work properly. It was never designed simply to give a better feed to the left flipper.

I had a premium on order and changed to a pro. Never looked back. Why? Because all that money saved is toward the next pin. All the extras are just bling, light shows etc you can get from refinery anyway. The game is IMO the best pro there is just beating the met pro. The game is so fast and flowy that the lack of the vuk is negligible.

I have the LE, my friend had the Refinery pro.

IMO the pro is very nice, and the LE/premium is better but only if you don't mind paying extra.

For me, I have less space than I have money. What I mean, if I could sell all my 7 pins and get 10 cheaper pins, I couldn't fit 10. So in other words I'd rather get better games than more games, but I totally see the other option.

To me the crashing ship is cool, the laser light show is ok not the best but not horrible but I could live without it.

I prefer the art and side rails and enterprise etched in with lights which IMO think is very nice and why I went with the LE over the premium. (If this was sold as an aftermarket kit for the pro, it's not but if it were I would bet it costs $600 from looking at Tron side armor in that price range). Not saying it is or is not worth that much but just one way to look at it.

To me, the full insert color changing LEDs are the 'Ne plus ultra' of all pinball lighting and make the pro look average in comparison. No upgrade for the pro but to me I would judge this lights to be worth $400 at least, if the Tron Eli ramp light costs that the insert light show on ST premium is at least as nice IMO.

If you don't care a lot about the light show, then the pro is nice, but to me knowing the full insert color changing is an option, it would be hard for me to live with the pro. But as for game play they are very close.

Yes this exactly ^^^^^^ the game was never designed for that VUK it was designed for something much better I would have got a premium if they didn't change that feature, but they did unfortunately. My kick out returns the ball very nicely to the left flipper every time, I do agree the VUK is a pretty useless "feature".

I'm hoping that the new software will make it so sometimes the ball is shot up to the ramp, and other times it is released straight back to the flippers. Wasn't that the whole point of the fancy rotating thing?

Well, the rotating things acts as a ballstop so it lands in the saucer, then rotates to shoot up - so, it is peforming multiple functions. Sure it's been done before without the rotating mech - but it's a great design with no bounce-outs.

But if it ejected the ball without rotating, it would essentially act like a normal saucer, right?

Yup! I'm having a hard time thinking of when it would be a good idea to just eject it that way instead of to the ramp...just because it can do it - what would be the point? I dunno, I'm pretty happy with it blasting to the ramp.

Obviously, it is better for the player to have the ball go to the ramp where it is delivered safely to the flipper. I was thinking that there could be some way to qualify this in the software as a risk/reward type of thing. The state could be indicated by either a solid or blinking "Mission Start" insert.

Now that I think about it, I'd love to see a hurry up mode utilizing this saucer similar to the "Jungle Jackpot" mode on Congo.

Indeed~!

I thought it would be neat if the shot was 'lit' then it would act as VUK, but if not lit would just shoot the ball straight back out.

A lot of talk about the left drain as well. With the LE/Prem it has the kickback the Pro doesn't. I'm not real sure if it's just mental for me or not but I seem to get a lot more drains on that left outlane with the LE/Prem than I do with my pro. I think it has to do with not having that upper post rubber there. To me, with the LE/Prem you get the kickback but more frequent drains on that side and the pro you miss the kickback but get easier saves. Which makes me look at the kickback as a cool feature vs game play type of feature. With that in mind, I actually don't think it needs a virtual ball save on the Pro's but I'm sure I'll be in the minority there.

On to the VUK - I actually wish the Pro had this. While the left kicker does feed the ball to the left flipper it changes the shot type necessary vs the Pre/LE. With the pro, it's generally necessary to catch the ball then shoot for a ramp, vengence or right loop. With the Le/Prem, it flows out like a ramp shot so a trap isn't necessary. I find I like that a lot more when in Multiball as I'm not trying to catch another ball with others in play. While more a cool feature than anything, for me, it actually makes combo shooting much easier.

For buying, this title to me is one of the clearest ones that you just have to ask yourself the question of if you are financially a Pro, Prem or LE buyer. If $2-$3K isn't that big of a deal to you then get the Prem/LE. If $2-$3K equates to several more months of saving then get the Pro. I have come to the painful realization that while my taste is Prem/LE, financially it makes more sense for me to go with Pro's. Do I get a bit jelious when I play my friends LE's? You betcha. Do I enjoy my Pro's any less because i don't have the Pre/LE, nope. With the current NIB pricing I just can't afford the higher ends. TFLE was not bad but the AC/DC Prem hit me to hard and I realize I should have gone with the pro thus why my AV and ST are Pro's. Gut check time now for me and I think several others when it's time to buy.

Then get the Pro. It's true, gameplay-wise, it's not that different. If you don't mind spending a few more bucks, Prem/LE are rad.

I just bought an LE last weekend after a long search, and am so glad I did. Absolutely love the game, what a rush - especially with a big external subwoofer connected! It doesn't just do one or two things well, it does everything really well IMO (but I'm definitely in the honeymoon stage, so I'll report back in a month or two lol)

I'm hopeful we'll have the new code before then. So your timing might not be too bad.

This is what most of us are using, I have one on my Tron, sounds great:

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-10-Inch-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B0002KVQBA/ref=sr_1_1

Don't relinquish a nice new stern ST for a 20 year old game even if it's TZ. You are spot on with acdc and tron. ST go the pro and save the cash.

And JJP and the word soon don't belong in the same sentence.

Yep, good call...I have 4 and they often drop to $70-80 with free shipping. You can run two pins off one of these also. BINGO! I am waiting till it drops again to get another.

Yep. Great sub for the money! I have both my AC/DC and Tron hooked up to the same one.

I never knew that about the VUK change are there any drawings or photos of the original design?

stern-star-trek-intro.jpg