I snagged a bunch of these cool transparent/colored PS1 shells, and I finally got to working on the green one. The controller is a $9 nonbranded wireless one from ebay, but it feels totally solid and best of all works perfectly. All I could find on ebay for colored buttons were for the PS3, fortunately they fit in here just fine. The sticks are for the Xbox 360. Their shade of green actually matches the system better than the ones I got with the PS3 buttons. Plus I hate those convex Playstation sticks, my sweaty fingers always slide off.

Next, I plan to trim down the controller/memory card port so it will fit along the right side of the case toward the back (internally). Then I’ll hard wire in the controller receiver and memory cards. Finally I plan to cover the area where those used to sit with something cool. I would do that anyway, but the hideous dull grey next to glowing nuclear waste green looks like “a moustache on the Mona Lisa” as my professor used to say 🙂

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HP Lovethrash wrote:
Next, I plan to trim down the controller/memory card port…

Nicely done! I would probably sand the tops of the LEDs to reduce the “hot-spot” effect, but otherwise very cool.

Also… why would you keep the controller/memory card ports? They’re a waste of space since you can just wire the receiver and (a) memory card(s) directly to the mobo (or use some kind of mating headers to make them easier to change out).

Also, why is it an “audiophile” system? Did you do something to improve the audio output? Did you use gold-plated, oxygen-/gluten-free, non-GMO, cables? Did you replace the CD-ROM controller chips with vacuum-tubes to give the PCM data more warmth and prevent wow and flutter? 😉

RunnerPack wrote:
Nicely done! I would probably sand the tops of the LEDs to reduce the “hot-spot” effect, but otherwise very cool.

Actually, I think that’s an iPad adjustment. It looks more uniform in person. If by sand you mean poke at with a Dremel at full RPM, then done haha. I only have crystal clear LEDs at the moment so I have to diffuse the tops the old-fashioned way.

Also… why would you keep the controller/memory card ports? They’re a waste of space since you can just wire the receiver and (a) memory card(s) directly to the mobo (or use some kind of mating headers to make them easier to change out).

That would be great if I could remove them! I didn’t have time to pull all the shielding off the ports, but what I could see through a gap made me think there was some additional circuit in there. There’s a warning about a fuse as well, maybe that wouldn’t be needed if I took that port out? I never play 2-player games, and rarely say “well, that PS1 memory card is full!” so a minimalist approach would be fine.

Also, why is it an “audiophile” system? Did you do something to improve the audio output? Did you use gold-plated, oxygen-/gluten-free, non-GMO, cables? Did you replace the CD-ROM controller chips with vacuum-tubes to give the PCM data more warmth and prevent wow and flutter? 😉

I can’t get the articles linked to open, but it’s explained a little here: https://www.destructoid.com/playstation-1-the-audiophile-s-dream–32269.phtml

Something about the DAC used in the 5501 and earlier models makes people think it has qualities of really high-end equipment. I haven’t done much testing but it’s a fun secret to know.

Also, kind of related- the system plays CDs just fine, games tend to open but sometimes hang at a black screen after the developer intro screens or when entering a particular level. I was playing Crash Bash and could get into one level fine, but another level would hang at a black screen each time I tried to open it. The disc itself seemed fine, or at least good enough to be read.

The disc spindle is missing one of the three bearings, but I assumed the function would be a lot more “stop and go” if that was causing trouble. Does this sound more like an issue with the laser or drive itself? I have another system of the same model # that I can try swapping the whole drive out with.

Finally got around to finishing this, in case anyone cares heh…added one more LED in the middle up front, hardwired the wireless receiver and memory cards inside, then walled off the holes where the former controller/memory ports were.

The panels blocking the front port spaces are from the bottom of a spare 32X case. I cut out the areas with those shielding squares since the metal had a cool dilapidated look. The piece on the player 1 side happens to have a notch that allows me to see the “connection” LED on the receiver inside.

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