Stern T3 - Audio problem/poor music quality. Solution?

Hey, just picked up a T3 tonite...but the sound is really "scratchy". I've played other T3's and they sound more clean and robust. This is an early run game (June 26 '03) and has 2.00 Roms. Does anyone have experience with a crappy sounding T3? What did you do to fix it?

-Obviously I need updated roms but dunno if that'll make it sound better. Maybe it will?

-Would referencing the service bulletin for Austin Powers/Monopoly sound be the solution? http://www.sternpinball.com/downloads/sb133.pdf

-Or, would this have something to do with it? This bulletin says it won't help sound quality, just compatibility issues
http://www.sternpinball.com/SB/ServiceBulletin_157.html

Thanks!

#2 10 years ago

MVM

markmon

Inactive member

Hillsboro, OR

13y 98,300 13,010 21 81

I don't think the last bulletin will help. You might try swapping in TSPP CPU board into your T3 and see how things sound. It would at least isolate the board from the speakers / ROMs. Simpsons should run on the old or new sound chipset so you can also put the T3 board into TSPP. Is the T3 board a 5136 or a 5300?

#3 10 years ago

GAC

Rarehero

Pinside member

Quoted from markmon:
I don't think the last bulletin will help. You might try swapping in TSPP CPU board into your T3 and see how things sound. It would at least isolate the board from the speakers / ROMs. Simpsons should run on the old or new sound chipset so you can also put the T3 board into TSPP. Is the T3 board a 5136 or a 5300?

The board is 520-5136-00 Rev. E

Not sure if there are updated sound roms, but my U7 sound rom is dated 5/22/03 and the voice roms are dated 5/15/03

#4 10 years ago

MVM

markmon

Inactive member

Hillsboro, OR

13y 98,300 13,010 21 81

Ok yea with the 5136, you can put in a 5136 or a 5300. So if it were me I would at least try a swap between the two machines. I've had scratchy sound caused by bad speakers in the backbox also on sterns.

#5 10 years ago

GAC

Rarehero

Pinside member

K, I'll experiment a bit this weekend. It sounds like a "digital" problem if that makes sense...the music seems scratchy and the voices seem a bit clearer. I'll just grab one of my Stern DMD/speaker panels and swap it in, see if that makes a difference.

#6 10 years ago

?Z?

phishrace

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from Rarehero:
It sounds like a "digital" problem if that makes sense...

It is. T3 has always sounded like crap. Poor sampling rate probably combined with the typical awful Whitestar audio. Folks have reported some improvement after doing the first SB above, but it will never sound 'good'. In a way, it matches the theme. Kinda cyborgy sounding. Don't waste too much effort on it.

#7 10 years ago

GAC

Rarehero

Pinside member

Quoted from phishrace:
It is. T3 has always sounded like crap. Poor sampling rate probably combined with the typical awful Whitestar audio. Folks have reported some improvement after doing the first SB above, but it will never sound 'good'. In a way, it matches the theme. Kinda cyborgy sounding. Don't waste too much effort on it.

Nah, it's not the "usual Whitestar sound" complaint. I know what a normal Whitestar sounds like...I have TSPP & LOTR...used to have Elvis and even AP. This isn't the "typical low sample rate" of the Whitestar generation...this is different. I've heard other T3's and they sound very nice compared to what mine sounds like right now.

#8 10 years ago

?Z?

phishrace

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from Rarehero:
I've heard other T3's and they sound very nice compared to what mine sounds like right now.

There are no T3's that sound nice. They all sound cborgy. You may have heard them in a room with better acoustics, but they all sound bad. Get used to it. d

#9 10 years ago

GAC

Rarehero

Pinside member

Quoted from phishrace:
There are no T3's that sound nice. They all sound cborgy. You may have heard them in a room with better acoustics, but they all sound bad. Get used to it. d

Sorry. You're wrong. You're using "bad" in a subjective way. I'm telling you...not a "Whitestar sound" issue. This sounds bad compared to other Whitestars and T3s.

Thanks for helping.

#10 10 years ago

TEK

Tekman

Pinside+ Frequent

12y 75,050 567

My T3 sounds great.

This is from Pinwiki:
If the sound is distorted, the most likely problem is the TDA1543 (U26) chip. This sounds as if the volume is very over modulated and are “clipped”. Be sure to use the TDA1543 version and NOT the TDA1543A. The TDA1543A uses another protocol (Japanese).

Did you reseat all the socketed sound EPROMs?

Good luck.

#11 10 years ago

GAC

Rarehero

Pinside member

Quoted from Tekman:
My T3 sounds great.
This is from Pinwiki:
If the sound is distorted, the most likely problem is the TDA1543 (U26) chip. This sounds as if the volume is very over modulated and are “clipped”. Be sure to use the TDA1543 version and NOT the TDA1543A. The TDA1543A uses another protocol (Japanese).
Did you reseat all the socketed sound EPROMs?
Good luck.

Yay, HELP! Thank you!

I will reseat the chips this weekend & check out the U26 chip. Think I should pop one out of one of my other games to test?

#12 10 years ago

?Z?

phishrace

Pinside member

Well I hope you get it at least to what others sound like. I'd try the first SB. Mine already had it installed when I bought it secondhand.

Part of it is the horrible base theme music. Of all of SR Stern games, it's probably the worst. The goofy WPT music is better than that.

#13 10 years ago

?Z?

phishrace

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from Rarehero:
Yay, HELP! Thank you!

Over modulating and clipping are usually due to high volume. Clipping is definitely volume related. Are you cranking the volume?

#14 10 years ago

TEK

Tekman

Pinside+ Frequent

12y 75,050 567

Quoted from phishrace:
Over modulating and clipping are usually due to high volume. Clipping is definitely volume related. Are you cranking the volume?

U26 is a DAC (digital to analog converter) and is taking the shifted "digital" data in and outputting current for the op amp to convert to voltage. This can cause the distortion he is describing and have nothing to do with the actual volume of the machine.

#15 10 years ago

TEK

Tekman

Pinside+ Frequent

12y 75,050 567

OP
Quoted from Rarehero:
Yay, HELP! Thank you!
I will reseat the chips this weekend & check out the U26 chip. Think I should pop one out of one of my other games to test?

I never like swapping discrete components from a good working machine to test another. Be careful, especially if it's soldered in, I'd hate to see you with two bad machines. Anyway, this is a last resort after you try everything else. They are obsolete and getting harder to find, but not impossible.

#16 10 years ago

GAC

Rarehero

Pinside member

Quoted from Tekman:
I never like swapping discrete components from a good working machine to test another. Be careful, especially if it's soldered in, I'd hate to see you with two bad machines. Anyway, this is a last resort after you try everything else. They are obsolete and getting harder to find, but not impossible.

There seem to be a bunch on ebay...pretty cheap. I wouldn't remove it from another game unless it was socketed.

#17 10 years ago

MVM

markmon

Inactive member

Hillsboro, OR

13y 98,300 13,010 21 81

Please update is with what you've found.

#18 10 years ago

GAC

Rarehero

Pinside member

Please update is with what you've found.

Will do! In the meantime...I'll share this fun tidbit. I bought the game from Mike Ferris, the writer of the movie!

T3_Trans.jpg

#19 10 years ago

GAC

Rarehero

Pinside member

K, just was tinkering around and I realized I had the volume at 2!!! LOL I put it up to 8 (factory setting) and it actually sounds pretty normal now (albeit a bit loud) ...which makes me think this might be the Austin Powers/Monopoly issue - and changing the resistors might be the solution here.

1 week later

#20 10 years ago

GAC

Rarehero

Pinside member