# Pinball Mod Install: Color Changing Speaker Lights by speakerlightkits.com

**Source:** Straight Down the Middle  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2020-04-05  
**Duration:** 18m 0s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyzEHcSNDTE

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## Analysis

Zach Sharpe from Flippin' Out Pinball demonstrates the installation and customization of Speaker Light Kits' RGB color-changing speaker ring lights on a Stern Stranger Things Premium Edition machine. The mod involves tapping into the game's power supply, replacing standard speakers with Kenwood units featuring reflective backing, installing illuminated rings with spacers, and programming color patterns via remote control. Sharpe emphasizes the mod's affordability ($80-100), ease of installation (approximately 10 minutes), and visual impact.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Speaker Light Kits cost approximately $80-100 for the basic kit, with optional colored rings (e.g., purple) at around $30 — _Zach Sharpe discussing pricing during the mod overview and installation walkthrough_
- [HIGH] The installation process takes approximately 10 minutes — _Zach Sharpe directly states 'that's it. It's done. The speaker lighting kits are installed and it took me all of what? 10 minutes'_
- [HIGH] Speaker Light Kits are available for Stern Premium and Pro Edition machines with appropriate speaker and bracket configurations — _Sharpe mentions Doug sells a $100 kit with brackets for Premium Edition models, and notes the basic kit works with compatible speakers_
- [HIGH] The lighting system automatically syncs with game power—lights turn on when the game powers on and turn off when it powers off — _Zach states: 'whenever you turn on your The Games, it's tapped into the power supply. So it's going to turn on when the game comes on. It's going to turn off when the game goes off'_
- [HIGH] The rings offer multiple color modes and pattern customization through a remote control, with ability to create custom DIY patterns — _Demonstrated throughout the second half of the video showing different color combinations, speeds, and pattern creation using the remote_
- [HIGH] Sharpe considers Speaker Light Kits one of the most affordable mods with high visual impact — _'They're cheap. It's one of the cheapest mods that brings the most impact out whenever you look at your The Games'_
- [HIGH] The installation can be performed by non-technical users with basic tools (nut drivers, screwdrivers, pliers) — _Sharpe emphasizes his lack of handyman skills but ability to complete installation: 'but even i can do this'_

### Notable Quotes

> "One of the most eye-catching, beautiful, RGB color changing mods that you can do on your pinball machine."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, opening remarks
> _Sets up the mod as a visually significant customization option_

> "They're cheap. It's one of the cheapest mods that brings the most impact out whenever you look at your The Games in your collection."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, mid-introduction
> _Establishes value proposition: affordable cost-to-visual-impact ratio_

> "Purple fits this like no other."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, color customization discussion
> _Demonstrates thematic color matching capability for specific game themes_

> "Awww! Come on Doug, really that easy huh? Okay, I'll take it."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, power connector installation
> _Expresses surprise at simplicity of power connection step_

> "There's nothing like the looks of those circles and the spinning ring and everything. I just, that's where it's at for me."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, speaker selection discussion
> _Personal aesthetic preference for circular ring lights over full panel lighting_

> "Word of the wise whenever you're done... always put this in the coin box so I don't lose this."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, final storage recommendation
> _Practical tip about storing the remote control accessory_

> "That's why i like these ones with the just circles instead of the whole one... because where you see it shining on the playfield glass when you're playing it's in areas that the ball doesn't go so you don't have to worry about that too much."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, reflection discussion
> _Explains design advantage of circular lights in reducing visual interference during gameplay_

> "They addictive because if you have this on your Stern Pinball machines in your collection you're going to want to have it for all of them."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, closing remarks
> _Suggests the mod's appeal drives collectors to install on multiple machines_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Zach Sharpe | person | Host of Straight Down the Middle pinball show, owner/operator of Flippin' Out Pinball distribution, demonstrates mod installation and product review |
| Speaker Light Kits | company | Manufacturer of RGB color-changing speaker ring lighting kits for pinball machines; sells through speakerlightkits.com |
| Doug | person | Appears to be owner/operator of Speaker Light Kits; provides product, instructions, and customer support |
| Flippin' Out Pinball | company | Pinball distribution and retail company owned/operated by Zach Sharpe; provides sales contact information |
| Straight Down the Middle | organization | Pinball-focused video show hosted by Zach Sharpe; part of Pinball Network |
| Stern Pinball | company | Pinball machine manufacturer; multiple games featured (Stranger Things, Elvira's House of Horrors, AC/DC, Game of Thrones, James Cameron's Avatar) |
| Stern Stranger Things Premium Edition | game | Stern pinball machine used as primary demonstration machine for Speaker Light Kits installation |
| Stern Elvira's House of Horrors Premium Edition | game | Stern pinball machine already equipped with Speaker Light Kits mod; shown as example of installed result |
| Kenwood | company | Speaker manufacturer; produces 5.25-inch speakers with reflective backing used in Speaker Light Kits installation |
| Stern James Cameron's Avatar Limited Edition | game | Stern pinball machine referenced as equipped with non-reflective glass; Speaker Light Kits also compatible |
| Pinball Network | organization | Network of pinball-focused media content; hosts Straight Down the Middle show |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Aftermarket lighting modifications, Pinball machine customization and modding, RGB lighting systems, DIY installation guides
- **Secondary:** Product affordability and value, Game theming and aesthetic customization, Speaker hardware upgrades
- **Mentioned:** Pinball accessories and vendors

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.87) — Zach Sharpe expresses consistent enthusiasm for the Speaker Light Kits product throughout, praising affordability, ease of installation, visual impact, and customization options. No negative critiques of the product itself; minor acknowledgments of reflective concerns are presented matter-of-factly without diminishing overall endorsement.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Content creator actively promoting aftermarket vendor products and soliciting community submissions of installation photos to showcase mod adoption across collector base (confidence: high) — Sharpe directs viewers to contact address (SDTNpinball@gmail.com) with photos of installations, invites community participation in mod showcase
- **[market_signal]** Sub-$100 aftermarket lighting mods demonstrate strong market for affordable aesthetic customization with minimal technical barrier to installation (confidence: high) — Sharpe emphasizes $80-100 price point as key value driver and notes mod's accessible installation even for non-technical users; characterizes as 'cheapest mods that brings the most impact'
- **[product_strategy]** Speaker Light Kits RGB lighting system positioned as affordable, high-impact visual upgrade for Stern pinball machines with customizable color patterns and synchronized power management (confidence: high) — Full video demonstrates product features, installation process, and customization capabilities with detailed walkthrough of color and pattern options
- **[technology_signal]** Adoption of addressable RGB lighting in modular speaker ring form factor as standard aftermarket customization option for Stern Premium/Pro machines (confidence: medium) — Product positioning as one of most popular and addictive mods; Sharpe notes widespread desire to install on entire collections once installed on single machine

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## Transcript

 Thank you very much. Hey, welcome back everybody. It's me, Zach Minney, from Flip N Out Pinball Distribution, your favorite pinball dealer, as well as straight down the middle of Pinball Show and the Pinball Network. I've got another box of goodies that I get to install on one of my favorite games, Stranger Things by Stern Pinball, but I'm going to shift your attention over that way, shift it over to Elvira. It's hard not to look at her, right? This is an Elvira Limited Edition by Stern Pinball, but if you see in my lineup, what stands out the most is the mod right there. one of the most eye-catching, beautiful, RGB color changing mods that you can do on your pinball machine. Now these products right here, it's the lighting kit, you can change all types of patterns on them. It's at SpeakerLightKits.com, it's the greatest place for speaker lighting kits for your pinball machine. You can get acrylic figures on there, you can get all kinds of stuff. But what I love the most is on these newer LE machines you see these circles, these Kenwood Nice Deluxe speaker system. Now here's the cool thing, we're going to install a speaker light kit on this one, but even you can install one on a Pro or a Premium that looks just like this. I'm going to show you how here in a bit. But there's red rings, look at that, it's unbelievable. So I get so many compliments from that one on Elvira, I thought it would be really cool to install one on Stranger Things. And one of the newest cool things that he came out with over at Speaker Light Kits, Doug, so we've got our Speaker Light Kit here, check it out. So if you don't like the red, it's not an issue. This is phenomenal. You can pick the colors of the rings that you want. Purple fits this like no other. I was talking to Doug and I was like, the red works, but man, if you did different colored rings, that would be over the top awesome. He's like, yeah, we do. So you can purchase different colored rings for whatever game you're setting up on your Stern pinball machine. I've got purple. We'll probably do something like that. It's going to be really fun. I'll walk you through the process of installing them and showing you how easy they are. In the meantime, once you fall in love with them, They're cheap. It's one of the cheapest mods that brings the most impact out whenever you look at your games in the collection. So follow me, follow the link down below at SpeakerLightKits.com, order yours, and as always, let them know that Zach from Flip N Out Pinball straight down the middle or the Pinball Network sent ya. Let's do it. The following here is what comes in the package for the SpeakerLight Kit. You've got your two rings with the embedded RGB lighting throughout them and quick connectors. we have our optional i think these things are only like 30 bucks it's it's insane uh we got our purple rings that we're going to replace the red ones we've got our power supply and this plugs into the power supply that goes to the power on the game and then we have our remote control for programming what different colors or patterns that we want to use we've got my favorite tools here you guys know me i'm not uh i'm no handyman but even i can do this so we've got an all-in-one that we use the sockets on both sides as well as a phillips head and this thing you probably don't need but I don't leave home without it because my needle nose pliers can work they can work as pliers they can work as a screw they can work as everything so the first things first I turn my game off let's get into the backbox and see what we're going to be dealing with the first step is locating the backbox keys they're usually typically found on the inside of the coin door on a hook, locate those. We are going to simply pull this down. It rests like that. I go ahead and I take out this just so it's not in the way. I always put it in a nice place because on these LEs they are glass What we going to be doing in a nutshell we going to be pulling these speakers up placing these in between putting them back down routing the wires back hooking it into the power supply, and it's done. Looking at Doug's instructions, it reminds us to unplug the actual cord from the back of the game or unplugging it from the socket itself. You don't want any stray voltage running through because these the products do run off of the high power here we're going to be getting into this box so it would be best for us to unplug all of it i have done that the first step is we're going to make this connection this goes into inside this power box there's a connection for a bill acceptor now that's where we're going to get power for this speaker lighting system so what i'm going to do is i'm going to open up this box generally i'm to have to just loosen these, shift this up, get these nuts out, pull this apart, and there's going to be a connector inside that just simply snaps right in. We're going to run the cords back out, put all that back. We're going to try to go through this first. I don't know if you have to remove that or not. This is an 11-32 nut driver. But keep in note, you might want to take pictures that this is a bit different than the one we're going to remove there. There's one back here. Ta-da! We didn't even have to do the other one. That's awesome. Hey, looky there. There it is. There's our plug that we need. It does have a protector in there so we'll pull that off. You guys ready to see how simple this is? Ready? Awww! Come on Doug, really that easy huh? Okay, I'll take it. I will take it. Now the trick here is that it's got an open bottom so I always just kind of round it down there just a hair so it keeps everything out of the way. put it back on there then we will reinstall this nut and this nut remember these are different than this one always come in with the finger and then we will do the other two You guys might have more luck using the tool to place these nuts back on. I don't. I like doing it with my finger and then tighten them up with the nut driver. Nice and snug. as I always say, no need to over tighten because then if you do, you can break something. Finished. So now we have our power tapped in to the system. Take this, plug it in there, and we're just going to sit this back here until we get the speakers installed, and then we're just going to plug them in. Again, if you need to take pictures to remember where each of these nuts go. Always do that. There are four nuts holding each speaker in place. Also, make sure to realize what the orientation of the speaker is. Speaker comes up. And what's really nice on these speakers, your Kenwood, I think they're five and a quarter speakers, they have the silver backing. So the light really shines nicely on these. Now, Doug did say that on your pro premium models you can actually do this he sells a kit it's a hundred bucks gets you the speaker lighting kit and the brackets needed for these upgraded speakers so you can get it all from doug and then if you find you some uh some five and a quarter deluxe speakers by kenwood or something that has a nice silver or white backing you can put them in there if not the speaker lighting kit I think is only 80 bucks something like that it not expensive at all Just set these to the side make sure you don puncture that And what you have here you going to have some spacers Four spacers. Remove the sponge. Then, see? That's what makes the ring red. Now I did also notice it's important that when you're putting these back in, I did it like that. There's a little bitty smaller hole, a more oblong hole, and then two regular holes down there. So you want to match that the same way as you did when it was going in. And we can see why now. These speakers, remember, the RGB are going to face towards the game. There's two regular holes here, a little bit of a smaller hole there, and an oblong hole there. And that's why it's done like that. So if I had the other one, I could still put it on there, but then this wire would be going back that way. I'd rather do it like this. this into place. Now, we install the speaker back on there, like so. And then we'll put the four nuts right back and tighten that in place. Now the regular speaker lighting kit that he sells for the Pros and Premiums, that full panel, that is a nice visual effect as well. But for me, there's nothing like the looks of those circles and the spinning ring and everything. I just, that's where it's at for me. Tighten a little at a time until all four equally tighten together. Tighten together. Somebody on the last video had an issue with the way I say washer, washer, washer. Now, I'm going to spare you guys, but I'm to do the same for this side. come in Tokyo and say you're going to get good jokes here On to the next step. Take the provided splitter. Click one. Click two. Now in this bag with the remote control. plug that in there then you have your connector for that tada now as always you can clean these wires up and i'll probably zip tie those up But you guys, that's it. It's done. The speaker lighting kits are installed and it took me all of what? 10 minutes. You can pull that out so that this is activated. Let's set it up. We get our back glass. and just like that the speaker lighting kit has been installed even the pattern fresh out of the box is awesome but i'm going to mess around using this the possibilities are endless on the colors the patterns there's all kinds of stuff we're going to mess with that in a second but word of the wise whenever you're done and you can channel like you can program which which different ones you want to like a series of oh I like these eight that I've created but a word of the wise always put this I always put it in the coin box so I don't lose this speakerlightkids.com look down at the bottom order yours now let them know that I sent you and beware they addictive because if you have this on your Stern Pinball machines in that collection you got to have it for all of them. So, I want to see your pictures as well. Submit some pictures to SDTNpinball at gmail.com. We want to see a collection with all of these speaker lights on there. I think it would be really cool. You can even have them static like if I just wanted these to be purple right in there with the spin, whatever you want to do to it. Let's play around with it. Okay, I can turn them off. I can turn them on. I like this kit because whenever you turn on your games, it's tapped into the power supply. So it's going to turn on when the game comes on. It's going to turn off when the game goes off. We can just have a stationary red, a green, a blue, even a white. That's pretty stellar. That's a different mode. Once you're within those modes, you can change the speeds to faster. You can slow it down substantially if you want to. I do kind of like that. We'll change a different mode. That is cool. That reminds me of an old VHS tape or something. Betamax. that it's a blue and a purple oh and then oh i like that red and blue i could sit down here on the elvira one i had i'll sit down here for like an hour and create different patterns that i like that one will look cool sped up i bet oh yeah it's pretty eerie actually red spinning and the blue is sharp isn't it guys purple fits this game though what do you guys think slow down a little bit like that and for those of you who worry oh you're going to get a reflection first off this is a uh the stern le non-reflective glass so you don't see as much of it but in the spots that you do so that's why i like these deluxe ones with the just circles instead of the whole one um because where you see it shining on the playfield glass when you're playing it's in areas that the ball doesn't go so you don't have to worry about that too much oh that might be it so i'm going to add this add diy and added it so once i add that i can go back through the ones that i've saved using the diy plus and minus so i've saved that one though because that is stellar you know you want one or 12 14 i like that speed right there i'm going to save it and see how it clicked that means i added that pattern also if you guys notice i have the i'll turn it off i have the purple rings which looks great when the machine's turned off but when you turn it on it's translucent enough that even the green can bleed through even your other colors can bleed through where it doesn't have to stay purple that's neat whoa whoa so see you go through all the different color patterns on one pattern oh yep that's nuts that one is just straight trippy Let's go back through the do-it-yourself ones. I saved that one. Now, between those two, I kind of like that one. Ah, but I really like that one. Oh! Oh! Which one do you guys think? That one's nuts. That one's real nuts, though. That one's like bolder and darker. Yeah, I'm going to keep it there for now. Wow. I don't know how well it showed up there, but thanks for watching. If you're ready for a brand new pinball machine, you can always call me, Zach, at FlippinOutPinball. That's Zach, Z-A-C-H, at Flipp, the letter N, outpinball.com. Or just call me, 812-457-9711. See you guys later. Stay safe. you

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 7cc81dec-d709-4bb4-ad1a-ad543622d8c6*