What Stern Pinball Hides From You!

RetroRalph·video·19m 27s·analyzed·Dec 14, 2024

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.028

TL;DR

RetroRalph details 10 hidden upgrades for pinball machines that enhance gameplay but add significant cost.

Summary

RetroRalph presents a comprehensive guide to aftermarket upgrades and accessories for new and used pinball machines, highlighting hidden costs and enhancements manufacturers don't include stock. The video covers 10 categories of upgrades (anti-glare glass, fan replacements, audio amplifiers, headphone jacks, shaker motors, pinballs, lighting kits, art blades, streaming capture devices, and cabinet sliders) with practical comparisons and recommendations. Key insight: Stern's newest machines (Metallica Remastered) now feature quieter power supply fans, suggesting manufacturer responsiveness to community feedback.

Key Claims

Stern pinball machine power supply fans are excessively loud and a near-mandatory upgrade with aftermarket alternatives available
high confidence · Described as sounding 'like an F-14 Tomcat taking off' and identified as a standard upgrade RetroRalph performs on every machine
Metallica Remastered features a new power supply with a quiet fan, suggesting Stern is addressing previous complaints
high confidence · RetroRalph observed this directly upon opening the machine and suggests checking compatibility lists going forward
Stock amplifiers and speakers in Stern and Jersey Jack machines are mediocre, requiring both amplifier and speaker upgrades to fully realize game soundtracks
high confidence · Described as a necessity for audio-focused players; PinWoofer and PinSound are recommended solutions
Expression Light kits sold for Stern machines require careful planning if audio upgrades are planned, as Pro/Premium kits use smaller 4-inch speakers incompatible with upgraded 5.25-inch speakers
high confidence · RetroRalph provides specific technical guidance: buy LE kit if planning audio upgrades
Jersey Jack machines come stock with Bluetooth headphone capability and volume control, while Stern headphone jack kits are currently sold out everywhere
high confidence · Noted as significant advantage for Jersey Jack; Stern kit availability crisis mentioned
Chrome/silver pinballs can magnetize in games with heavy magnet usage, though RetroRalph has not personally experienced this issue
medium confidence · Caveat mentioned based on reported user experiences; not personally verified
GeekWorm LVDS boards for LCD capture are unreliable during streaming and require machine reboot if they fail
medium confidence · Identified as frustrating for streamers; newer alternative from Australia mentioned but not yet tested

Notable Quotes

“The fan on a Stern Pinball Machine power supply is ridiculously loud. It sounds like an F-14 Tomcat is taking off in your game room.”
RetroRalph @ ~2:15 — Establishes problem severity and explains why fan upgrade is near-mandatory
“Stern, I guess listened... I would take a look at the compatibility list because there's a possibility that this is the new power supply they're going to be using going forward.”
RetroRalph @ ~3:30 — Signals potential industry shift toward quieter fans on future Stern machines
“You're not going to want to just change the amp because the speakers that come on these machines are really mediocre at best.”
RetroRalph @ ~5:45 — Explains why audio upgrades require holistic approach (amp + speakers)
“If you're planning on doing an audio upgrade, then what I would do is you buy the LE kit and then you buy the speaker upgrades... don't go and buy the Pro and Premium kit because the rings will actually be smaller.”
RetroRalph @ ~12:30 — Provides critical technical guidance about kit compatibility issues
“I don't know why Stern doesn't [add HDMI output to LCD screens]. My guess is that it has to do with licensing, but it is sort of frustrating when you're a streamer.”
RetroRalph @ ~15:45 — Identifies licensing as potential barrier to streaming accessibility feature
“If you have a game with a lot of magnets, maybe that could be a concern. I just like the way they look. They look so much better.”
RetroRalph @ ~9:00 — Acknowledges trade-offs and aesthetic preferences in upgrade decisions
“The art blades you buy from the manufacturer, and the original artist that did the playfield art also does the art blade. So you end up with this really cohesive-looking cabinet where the art sort of flows from the playfield onto the sidewalls.”
RetroRalph @ ~13:15 — Explains value of art blades as design continuity and immersion enhancement

Entities

RetroRalphpersonStern PinballcompanyJersey Jack Pinballcompany Pinball LifecompanyPinWoofercompanyPinSoundcompanyFlippin' Out PinballcompanyInvisiglassproduct

Signals

?
community_signal: Jersey Jack machines differentiated by superior default audio/streaming features (Bluetooth headphones, volume control stock) compared to Stern's post-purchase upgrade requirement
high · RetroRalph: 'Jersey Jack Pinball Machines, those actually come with the ability to do Bluetooth headphones out of the box as well as adjust the volume stock, so you don't need to worry about that if your first pinball machine happens to be a Jersey Jack.'
?
design_philosophy: Art blades valued as design continuation by original playfield artists; creates cohesive aesthetic flow from playfield to cabinet sidewalls as immersion element
medium · RetroRalph: 'The art blades you buy from the manufacturer, and the original artist that did the playfield art also does the art blade. So you end up with this really cohesive-looking cabinet where the art sort of flows from the playfield onto the sidewalls.'
?
licensing_signal: Stern's lack of native HDMI output for LCD screens likely due to licensing constraints; creates friction for streaming community
medium · RetroRalph: 'I don't know why Stern doesn't do this. My guess is that it has to do with licensing, but it is sort of frustrating when you're a streamer or someone that wants to capture gameplay.'
$
market_signal: Stern official headphone jack kits are sold out everywhere; supply shortage suggests either high demand or discontinuation, creating market opportunity for third-party alternatives
high · RetroRalph: 'The problem with this official kit is it's sold out everywhere right now. It's really hard to find. You can find this kit on Flippin' Out Pinball, but unfortunately right now it is sold out.'
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Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:01

hey guys welcome back to the channel in today's episode we're going to talk about things that maybe the pinball manufacturers don't tell you when you buy your first new inbox pinball machine or even a used pinball machine it's little things that maybe could enhance the experience that don't come stock with the machine or there's things that maybe the manufacturer Cuts corners on which lead to you spending a little bit more money than you thought now I'm not suggesting that everything I talk about here is mandatory that you do sure you can enjoy the experience of an outof the-box pinball machine or a used one without doing any of these things but I feel like a lot of these things really enhance the experience and if you know about them going into it it really help you kind of budget your purchase if you're looking at a pinball machine but before we get into it let's take a word from our [Music] sponsor are you looking for a new pinball machine a used pinball machine or to trade in your old pinball machine for something new look no further than flipping out pinball they can handle all your pinball needs they ship anywhere in the United States and they will give you the best experience in the business check out the link to flipping out pinball in the video description for more information now back to the video okay the first product that we're going to talk about is anti-glare glass this isn't mandatory but man it makes a huge difference especially if you're in a room with a lot of overhead lighting or if you're someone that really likes to mod your machine you're spending all this money on cool modifications you want to be able to see those things also it really does enhance the play play experience in general cuz you can really see the play field a lot better now there's different models and versions of these the one that I use the most is Jersey Jacks invisiglass although Stern has one called HD glass and there's even another company called PDI and there's also Voodoo glass so there's a lot of them out there they all pretty much do the same thing some people like others better than the other ones it's just it's just a matter of preference I've tried almost all of them I think they're all really good so it's a $250 upgrade that makes a big difference aesthetically when you're playing the game now my other little tip that I would suggest is if you decide not to do the invisible glass or the HD glass then what you could do is lower the backbox when you're in gameplay so if you have the games like I do in the background just in a track mode the backbox is going to be full lighting the service menu lets you lower that during gameplay and that does reduce a lot of the reflection should you decide to stay with the stock glass number two is very interesting I consider this one mandatory if you have a Stern Pinball Machine the fan on a Stern Pinball Machine power supply is ridiculously loud it's sounds like an F14 tom cat is taking off in your game room and if you have a whole row of them and they happen to be going off all at the same time forget about it it is super loud and [Applause]

2:56

annoying especially if you're away from your game room and you have an open concept house like I do you really hear it everywhere so there's a really cool fan upgrade that's by pinball life I think it's pin monk who sells it but it is available on the pinball life website it's one of those upgrades I do to every single machine I have I've now at this point installed probably 10 of these things machines have come and go but to me that is absolutely something I do to every single machine and if loud fan noises bother you then you probably should too okay so I had to add this to the video because the whole fan thing is interesting Stern fan have been loud for a really long time but their two latest games are X-Men and Metallica remastered well on Metallica remastered when I opened it up I saw something interesting I saw that it actually has um a new power supply and this new power supply right here this thing actually has a quiet fan you don't even hear it so Stern I guess listened and so what I would say and what I would suggest you is and by the way I'll be doing a video on Metallica soon is that I would take a look at the compatibility list for the pinball monk thing on pinball life because there's a possibility that this is the new power supply they're going to be using going forward and if that's the case you don't need to replace the fan because they put a quiet one in for you okay number three there are two companies that exist in this space that sell amplifier upgrades this is an audio amplifier upgrade for stern machines or Jersey Jack machines the company that I prefer is pin woofer I've done videos on P pin woofer on my YouTube channel pin woofer is is nice cuz it plugs right in to the main CPU of your Stern Pinball Machine it's very easy to upgrade but the reason for that is that the stock amplifier in most of these pinball machines just aren't very good you're not going to want to just change the amp because the speakers that come on these machines are really mediocre at best so pin woofer if you have a Stern Pinball Machine or a jersey Jack sells kits that include both the pin woofer amplif fire and their speaker kit which would be backbox speakers and a subwoofer the only thing you have to be aware of is if you're buying a Stern Pro or a Stern premium those speakers in the back are actually smaller 4in speakers so they're not 5 and 1/4 in speakers so you'll have to make sure you buy speaker brackets so you can mount a 5 and 1/4 in speaker on your back box to accommodate that the subwoofer you don't have to worry about he gives you everything in the kit so you're really just taking out the old subwoofer and putting in a new one CERN subwoofer is not very good and the backbox speakers on the pro and premium are really not that great they just it's it's really just the full range of sound just isn't there and so these companies spend so much time composing these great soundtracks for the these games that really to get the most out of it you really got to upgrade your speakers and the amplifier you really have to do both so if audio is Big to you and you really want to unlock the power of the soundtrack look at companies like pin wofer or pin sound for audio upgrades and I think you'll be really happy with the result number four isn't necessarily mandatory but I really like this option Stern pinball machines do not come stock with a headphone jack so the stern official headphone jack kit has not only a headphone jack but it also has a volume control knob so that when you're not using your headphones you can adjust the volume of the game without having to open up the coin door the problem with this official kit is it's sold out everywhere right now it's really hard to find you can find this kit on Flipping Out pinball but unfortunately right now it is is sold out it's really sold out everywhere I like this option because sometimes I want to play at night and I just want to have the headphones on and I don't want to disturb the rest of the house of course you could still hear the clicking and clanking of a pinball machine but you don't hear the you know the person in the room or in the house won't hear the audio sound track there are um third party options here too so pinball life actually has a non Stern specific one I tend to really like the stern one but if you want to save $50 you can buy the pinball life version I've never actually tested that one myself so I can't tell you whether or not that's a good one or not the stern one's really good it works great but if you happen to have a jersey Jack pinball machine those actually come with the ability to do bluetoo Bluetooth headphones out of the box as well as adjust the volume stock so you don't need to worry about that if your first pinball machine happens to be a jersey Jack pinball machine number five to me is a non-negotiable I think this is a feature or not a feature but an accessory that is a must have a Shaker motor every single pinball manufact factur out there has a Shaker motor option the stern one I uh for Stern Pinball games specifically there is a Stern official kit I've tested both the stern kit and the pinball life kit which and that one is actually sold I think in other places it's like a thirdparty kit it's not the stern OEM One I do notice there is a difference in the power of those okay real quick I wanted to show you the difference between the pinball life Shaker motor and the stern OEM Shaker motor I have both of the service menus set to the coil test both set to power level of five which would match the maximum power settings that the Stern Pinball Machine lets you use for the Shaker motor itself now keep in mind the pinball life one can be adjusted slightly I have it adjusted to the point where it is the most aggressive to match the stern the best way that I can so here is the pinball life Shaker it's a very smooth Shaker motor so if you're looking for something that's a bit more smooth I believe it's the same exact price as the Stern OEM one uh but that's how I would describe the pinball life one it's a little less aggressive now this is the stern

8:41

one you can obviously hear that it's definitely more aggressive cuz it's rattling and shaking some of the things within the pinball machine if you don't like that obviously you can choose either one of these Shaker Motors and set them to a less aggressive setting in the service menu but if in general you want a smoother Shaker motor I'd say the non Stern Pinball life branded one uh seems to be a bit more smooth I prefer the Jackhammer aggressive one so I usually go with the stern although um you can see I actually own both so it's really just a matter of preference but if you are looking for something that's a little harder hitting then I'd say the safe bet would be to go with the stern OEM one if you want like a smoother Shaker motor then I'd say the non Stern one that pinball life sells is probably going to be one that you'll want if you want one that's just going to Rattle and shake and just be really really strong then that is definitely the official Stern one you can get that on fliping out's website and everything we're talking about in this video I'll have links in the description to those things number six would be new pinballs so I use silver jets in all my games they look really shiny they look really nice you know they're they're probably more durable than the actual pinballs that come in a Stern Pinball Machine there was a period of time where stern was using some janky Steel on the balls this was way back they no longer do that there is no reason to throw away your stock pinballs I just really like the way the silver jets look in the game and I do believe they are a bit more durable this is one of those religion things there'll be people that'll tell you that this brand is better than that brand I think ninja is another brand so there's a lot of them out there but I think take a look at them the only caveat I'll say is there are some people that have reported that if you use these third party pinballs these Chrome real shined up pinballs they will magnetize if you have magnetic G games I've ran these in all the games back here I've never experienced that issue but I'm not saying it's not going to happen it might happen so just know if you have a game with a lot of magnets maybe that could be a concern I just like the way they look they look so much better again it's not a mandatory thing but I think it improves the the look of the pinball machine and it just it just it just makes for a better experience in my opinion was that six number seven is really Stern specific Stern Pinball has started to offer these expression light kits which are lighting kits that are integrated into the game usually you'll see them put these on the more modern newer machines I say newer in the past couple years they will actually put the expression lights on the games you can now buy that as an upgrade both for the backbox speakers and the internal um cabinet on some games like if you look at the new Metallica they actually have even though uh you can buy them now they're more of a pre-order but they will be available you can buy the the expression lights that go inside the game like you see my John Wick back there John Wick Le came stock with those expression lights it also came with the stock with the expression lights on the backbox speakers as well the only thing you have to be careful for here is there's kits for an Le and there's kits for pro premium if you do the pro premium kit you're going to need to utilize the 4-in speakers that come with that pinball machine so if you're planning on doing an audio upgrade then what I would do is you buy the Le kit and then you buy the speaker upgrades and the and the speaker panels so that you can install the larger speakers so just keep that in mind so make sure that if you think you're going to upgrade the audio don't go and buy the pro and premium kit cuz the Rings will actually be smaller and it will not accommodate a 5 and 1/4 in speaker there's a little PCB in there I wish they would sell that separately so you could piece together your own upgrade kit but unfortunately right now I think you only can buy it through their kit so it is what it is if I can find out that part number specifically but the thing is you'll have to go and Source some of the cables and things like that on your own so it's probably best to buy the stern kit for now but just keep in mind biggest caveat is just make sure that you know what size speaker you're going to go with cuz if you're going to do an audio upgrade kit then you're going to want to buy the Le kit and not the pro and premium kit what number was that number eight is Art blades art blades just really finish your game off when you go and buy a new game it's going to have unless it's an Le on the stern side and most of the other limited edition games have art blades but when you look at the lower tier games they usually don't have them they just have black sides and what I really like about the art blades is typically the art blades you buy from the manufacturer and the original artist that did the Playfield art also does the art blade so you end up with this really cohesive looking cabinet where the art sort of flows from the Playfield onto the sidewalls and it just really brings out that world underglass that you're looking for when you're when you're when you're trying to play Pinball it's like something that really just brings you into that world of whatever that game that you're playing again these aren't mandatory things it's not making the game play any better but I just feel like it enhances the overall experience okay number nine is where we're going to stop why Always ly my God so I'm going to give you something on number nine but this is more for if you're a pinball streamer so if you're someone that's streaming pinball or or you're interested in streaming pinball you'll need something to translate the L CD monitor or so you can capture it directly if you don't get this device I'm talking about then what you're going to end up with is you're going to end up with a camera that's pointed at an LCD and unless you really know how to set your camera up properly it's probably going to look washed out and it's not going to look that great there's a newer device out on the market that I haven't tested yet and of course I can't remember the name of it but I'm going to put it down here because for some reason right now I cannot remember what the heck the name of the thing is called but the one that people have been using for a while is the geek worm and I will have a link to a company that sells you the geek worm and all the cables you need because the geek worm can be very very difficult to set up in the sense that if you go and buy the board yourself there's little caveats you have to know about the board for it to work right with the LCD monitor so you can avoid all that by buying this kit that I'm going to have in the description the only caveat I'll throw on the lvds board from geekworm is that sometimes it can flake out and when it flakes out the only real recourse you have is usually to reboot the game so if you happen to be capturing some gameplay for a video or a live stream and the geek wor craps out you're going to have to start all over again uh because you can't just simply disconnect the H HDMI and replug it in it will not work but what the geekworm effectively does is it adds HDMI output to the LCD screens I don't know why Stern doesn't do this my guess is that it has to do with licensing but it is sort of frustrating when you're a streamer or someone that wants to capture gameplay because it just makes it more difficult now the other device that I'm talking about is newer I have not tested it yet um but I did buy one and it does make this a lot easier the geek worm can be a little hairy to install because you have to work with some really small connectors the device I believe is from Australia and it actually just snaps right in so there isn't really much you have to do the only weird thing about this device is it is it uh outputs DVI but they do ship it with an adapter so you can go DVI to HDMI straight into your capture card if that one is more reliable then that might be my choice moving forward when I stream pinball but for now the geek worm is readily available but just keep in mind it's not as stable as I would like and it is frustrating if you're doing a live stream and the geek worm craps out on you because you end up having to reboot the pinball machine Okay I lied about number nine being the last one this is number 10 now this one you might feel like this is a weird one but bear with me because it's not that weird so you all know that on the bottom of your pinball machine you have your leg levelers well if you have a carpeted floor or a tile floor what I find really helpful is there's these things called Snap-on happy sliders and these things are sold by uh pinball life I have them on all my machines and why I do is that even though I do have one of the Jacks that can lift up your machine that can sometimes be annoying to have to take out all the time so if I need to work on one of these games because they're on these sliders and they sell sliders for both concrete floors wood floors and tile and carpet is now you can slide your game around just to move it around so you don't always need to take the uh lift and move it around that way I just find it's way more convenient for me to be able to just drag a game out of the lineup and work on it and then push it back in it doesn't negate the reason to have the cart you're still probably going to need to have one for certain instances but I really love having these sliders it really does help now I was using standard furniture sliders for a long time but they looked kind of ugly these Snap-on ones actually come in different colors so you can actually kind of customize it to something that looks good in your room maybe you want to match your carpet color or match it somewhat closely or you want to match the color of the the colors in your game whatever you want to do so there's some customization that you can do there but they're a cheap upgrade and the cool thing about these happy sliders is they snap on to the leg levelers so I find that really useful and they don't come off so if you do lift your game up they won't fall off and that's the problem I always had with the furniture ones the furniture ones also kind of like become imprinted over time so if you use them too much and take the games on and off them then you have to go buy new ones anyways so so that is a really cool upgrade and it does come in handy especially if you tend to mod your games because you're going to be taking them in and out of your lineup quite often all right guys well that about wraps up this video I hope you enjoyed these kind of little upgrade things and these little tips that I gave you so hopefully if you're buying a new game or buying your first used game these give you some ideas of things you can upgrade that that to me will make a big difference in your overall experience and maybe it's something you just didn't know going into it this may be common knowledge for some but these are just things I learned on the way and I upgrade all of these things pretty much on every pinball machine that I get just keep in mind it does add up over time and if you didn't know about this then hey welcome to the world of pinball because this stuff is expensive but also I kind of like the idea that you can customize your pinball machine and make it your own and you don't have to do this stuff all at once you can do it as you save up the money for it and stuff like that so if you're looking for some of these accessories you certainly can go to fliping out pinball and there will be other links to other websites on some of the things that I talked about here but hopefully stuff was useful to you let me know in the comments below thank you so much for watching and we will see you on the next one