Single Speaker Set Replacement Considerations

I strongly recommend that you consider replacing both sets of speakers in your game at the same time; the incremental cost is minimal and this guide was written along those lines. However, should you decide to only tackle one set, here are some things to keep in mind.

Replacing Back Box Speakers Only

Pre-DCS Sound System Games

I don't recommend this due to the series wiring arrangement of the back box speaker set and the cabinet speaker. It is difficult to achieve balanced sound and a proper impedance load on the amplifier without doing 90 percent of the work required to replace both the back box and cabinet speaker sets.

DCS Sound System Games

The biggest issue in replacing only the back box speakers in DCS sound system games is the resulting imbalance in sound level between the back box speakers and the cabinet speaker. This is largely due to the fact that the series-connected replacement speakers have an impedance of 8 ohms, whereas the original configuration has an impedance of around 4 ohms (actual impedance varies with frequency). The amplifier on the sound board is able to deliver more power to a load with a lower impedance, so the new speakers won't sound quite as loud as the originals.

One solution would be to use two 8 ohm replacement back box speakers wired in parallel, which would present an impedance of 4 ohms. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to find 8 ohm coaxial speakers.

An easier solution would be to add a 4 ohm resistor in series with the cabinet speaker to reduce the power delivered to the speaker. You could also install a 4 ohm L-pad between the output of the sound board and the cabinet speaker. If you can't locate a 4 ohm L-pad you can use a two-section (aka "stereo") 8 ohm L-pad and wire the front and rear sections in parallel.

Replacing Cabinet Speaker Only

If you're going to replace only one speaker set I'd recommend replacing the cabinet speaker; the improvement in bass reproduction using a woofer compared to the stock cabinet speaker is significant. You will probably find that the back box speakers are too loud compared to the woofer; in that case you will need to install a level control for the back box speakers.

Pre-DCS Sound System Games

You must install the replacement sound system wiring harness described in the wiring replacement speakers section, and you must use an L-pad level control. This is necessary to present a proper impedance load to the amplifier. Failure to abide by this warning may cause damage to the amplifier IC on the sound board.

Disconnect the existing cabinet speaker, make any necessary mounting arrangement modifications, then connect the new woofer to the new wiring harness following the directions in the wiring replacement speakers section.

Connect the back box speakers to the new wiring harness by cutting the existing 4-pin connector off the back box speaker cable and installing the specified 2-pin Molex in-line connector (03-09-2022) on the speaker cable. The black speaker wire connects to the black wire in the new wiring harness, and the black-yellow speaker wire connects to the yellow wire in the new wiring harness.

DCS Sound System Games

This is relatively straight-forward if your game has a DCS sound system; the cabinet wiring harness and sound or A/V board connections are already set up to operate two sets of speakers independently.

Disconnect the existing cabinet speaker, make any necessary mounting arrangement modifications, then connect the new woofer to the existing cabinet wiring harness.

If you do need to add a level control to the back box speakers I would recommend building the replacement sound system wiring harness described in the wiring replacement speakers section. You must use an L-pad level control in this installation.

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