NES stereo sound cables

Post by **RadarScope1** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:14 am

Anyone use these? The nerd in me wants to think this is cool, but if NES game were only programmed for mono sound, then what is the point?

http://www.oldschoolgamer.ca/salepics/25-46.jpg

Post by **Mozgus** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:36 am

You can actually create true stereo sound for your NES by manually wiring up directly to specific spots on the mainboard coming from pins on the sound chip. I forget the exact instructions, but you can take the 5 sound channels and assign them to either left or right or both. Most people like to assign square 1 to left, square 2 to right, and the rest left on both.

As for those wires, they probably just split the audio into 2 wires, which helps people like me with a sound system, who dont want to only hear their NES sound from 1 side of their room.

Post by **Pullmyfinger** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 3:04 am

That sounds pretty interesting, I'll try it out one day, the day I get a big tv with a fancy sound system

Post by **racketboy** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 6:30 am

Mozgus wrote:You can actually create true stereo sound for your NES by manually wiring up directly to specific spots on the mainboard coming from pins on the sound chip. I forget the exact instructions, but you can take the 5 sound channels and assign them to either left or right or both. Most people like to assign square 1 to left, square 2 to right, and the rest left on both.

As for those wires, they probably just split the audio into 2 wires, which helps people like me with a sound system, who dont want to only hear their NES sound from 1 side of their room.

I thought I heard that most TVs now will know well enough to send the sound to both speakers anyway if you only have mono sound....

Post by **marurun** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:21 pm

That's not really true stereo, hacking one channel to one side and one to the other. It's interesting but can make some games bizarre. I think it's just better to leave the thing mono.

Post by **Mozgus** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 3:45 pm

marurun wrote:That's not really true stereo, hacking one channel to one side and one to the other. It's interesting but can make some games bizarre. I think it's just better to leave the thing mono.

Well NSFE does it, and it sounds great. It just doesn't separate 100%. More like 50%.

Post by **metaleggman** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 3:53 pm

I just bought an RCA Y-cable, male on one end with two females on the other side, and then it works with any random RCA composite cable I have. Some of the TVs in my house automatically take mono and put it over both speakers, some don't, so this just makes sure I have universal compatability in my house.

How much does that cable cost anyhoo? Couldn't find it on the site...

Post by **RadarScope1** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 5:52 pm

It's 8 bucks.

This is nothing more than an overpriced splitter cable it seems. I'm pretty sure my TV only runs the sound through a single speaker (it's 10 years old!). I'm sure there's no way this cable is doing anything "smart" to actually split the sound channels coming out the hardware. Probably just doubles the signal. I can get the same effect from a $2 Y cable from radio shack, like you mentioned. Then again, if I had this thing I wouldn't have to have a cable connected to a cable. Damn obsessive tendencies ....

Post by **Mozgus** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 6:36 pm

I didn't even bother to buy a $2 splitter for my nes. I just made one myself.

Post by **marurun** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 8:47 pm

I've had two or three of those little grey Y splitters around for ages and there's always one plugged into the NES. Splitting the mono signal doesn't really seem, to me anyway, to degrade the quality of sound from the NES much at all.