GUIDE: Telling apart good Genesis 1s and Genesis 2s from bad ones.

[Galaxie]

I have a genesis 2 made in Indonesia looks to be a full board model. I also have 2 others 2's to look at.

[ZombieKohhi]

Hey Ace, this was from a while ago

"Originally Posted by ZombieKohhi
How does the audio and video of the Sega CDX compare to all the other models?
Video: Generally sharp with some instances of heavy edge pixellation, but is generally darker and more saturated than most Genesis models.

Audio: Very clear sound with FM Synthesis just a touch louder than it should be. The headphone jack has deeper bass, but the clarity is still there.

I will soon be uploading several videos on YouTube to demonstrate the difference in sound quality between different Genesis models and their motherboard revisions so you can see for yourself how they sound like. I'm in the process of completely rewriting this guide to not only include the Genesis Model 1 and Genesis Model 2, but also to include the Genesis Model 3, the CDX, the Nomad, and any other American, European and Japanese hardware variants. Once that's done, I'm to link the comparisons on the first post. The thread title should also be renamed to account for the extra little bits of information concerning anything that's a Genesis Model 1 or 2."

Did you ever upload those youtube videos?

[Ace]

I'm caught up in so many things, I only ever managed to record audio samples from my VA3 Genesis Model 1 and VA1 Genesis 3. It may still be a while before I get those comparison videos made. I will arrange them by game, so each game will get its own video, 3 songs per game. Now, of course, I can't show every Genesis variant ever made, but I can show these in the order they're listed:

-VA3 Genesis Model 1
-VA5 Japanese MegaDrive Model 1
-Late VA6 Genesis Model 1
-Early VA6 European MegaDrive Model 1
-VA7 Genesis Model 1
-VA0 Genesis Model 2
-VA1 Genesis Model 2
-VA1.8 Genesis Model 2
-VA2 Genesis Model 2
-VA2.3 Genesis Model 2
-VA3 Genesis Model 2
-VA4 Genesis Model 2
-VA1 Genesis 3
-VA2 Genesis 3
-Sega CDX (from all 3 audio outputs)
-Nomad (from both the A/V out and headphone jack)

I could probably add in a VA2 Genesis Model 1, but the one I have has had repairs made to its audio circuit which may have altered the stock audio of the console, so I may need to pick up another one.

[SILEeeles]

This thread is interesting and even helped me to find out more about my, at the moment, sort of working model 1. Model 2's will always be my favorite though. That's what I grew up with. Turning it on, seeing the TMSS and then getting into the game. It bugs me that the model 1 I have (1992, VA4) doesn't have the TMSS haha. I know some people prefer if its not there, but for me, that was one of the best memories I had of the Mega Drive 2 as a kid; seeing those words. None of us (certainly people that I knew of) really cared how they sounded back then either, it was all about the fun and the games.

I'm interested to get into doing some mods and hacks, so this places seems like a great place to be for that and as I said, this info is really helpful

[MaxWar]

For me its the opposite, the TMSS is mostly an eyesore, hahaha.

[DemVil12]

Yesterday my Chinese VA3 arrived ( yeah, 76 days for 1st class intl ).
When i detached up this unit, i noticed that it's a VA3 with Sony CXA1145M. Made in the end of '93.
When i connected that one to a TV = VA3 Model 2 with NO VERTICAL LINES AT ALL. Picture has more smoother colors, i.e more "natural". It's a bit dark and blurry, but otherwise far better than my other VA3 with Sony CXA1645M.
I found this a bit ironic...
I will post the MB pics soon...

[Jay See Double You]

Hey guys! Sorry if someone's already posted this on this thread, 99 pages is a little much to peruse through (heck, sorry if I posted this myself a year or so ago and forgot that I had in the meantime) but here's a great resource to go to to hear a good Genesis vs a bad Genesis:

http://milkcrate.com.au/_other/sega_comparisons/

Compare clip 1 (model 1 mega drive via headphones) to clip 5 (model 2 mega drive AV mono). Night and day difference! Track is by chiptune artist Freezedream. I can't recall the name of the track, or the name of the album, but this album was apparently not released til later as a CD or digital download. If I have my facts straight (which I might or might not), it was actually originally released as an actual Sega Genesis cart. :-)

[l_oliveira]

Don't know if this is pertinent, but VA5 (board with 160 pin 315-5402 ASIC) DO HAVE TMSS when set to "EXPORT" and no TMSS when set to "DOMESTIC" (Japan). 50/60Hz setting have no effect on that. So when people say they saw VA5 with TMSS keep that in mind.

[omp]

/snip

Oh hey matey! Good to see you here!

[DemVil12]

Yesterday my Chinese VA3 arrived ( yeah, 76 days for 1st class intl ).
When i detached up this unit, i noticed that it's a VA3 with Sony CXA1145M. Made in the end of '93.
When i connected that one to a TV = VA3 Model 2 with NO VERTICAL LINES AT ALL. Picture has more smoother colors, i.e more "natural". It's a bit dark and blurry, but otherwise far better than my other VA3 with Sony CXA1645M.
I found this a bit ironic...
I will post the MB pics soon...

As i said, here they are:





It's a bit interesting that my VA3 has a copyright date of 1994 ( and case's date numbers are 1994/07 too ), but components itself are from 1993.
Also strange that it is a Chinese unit. All Chinese VA3s are with CXA1645M/KA2195D, no?

P.S Taking pictures with digital camera from a CRT tv is -----.
In other words, the result are always the same like in this image:



P.P.S Ace, i may be a little disturbing, but i think it's time to add some info about Sony CXA1145M VA3 Model 2.
I will take another picture from my CRT tv, with Sonic 1 running.

[BetaWolf47]

I myself have given up on finding a good model 2 Genesis. Every one I've dealt with, including one with a KA2195D, one with a CXA1145, and TWO with a CXA1645, have all had horrible (trust me when I say "horrible") edge pixellation and really dark video in general. Unless there's a simple fix for it (i.e. recapping it), then I'm just going to recap my VA6 model 1 and be done with it. Perhaps I should try a different power supply or something?

[DemVil12]

My working VA3 has a dark and very oversaturated ( really!) picture with color smearing, which makes white texts to look horrible. And yes, it's pixellated too.
But there is no vertical lines, like on VA4.
Rainbowing on this is not that harsh one that was on my VA4.
But what really makes my feel bad about this unit, it's a HORRIBLE saturated image which makes my eyes cry after ~20 mins of playing.
Lowering contrast on a TV somewhat helps, but picture becomes very dull.
Is there any fix for that? I remember Ace posted a fix, which was just an resistor + ~100-220uf cap. Has anyone already tried that on CXA1145 ?

[DemVil12]

I myself have given up on finding a good model 2 Genesis. Every one I've dealt with, including one with a KA2195D, one with a CXA1145, and TWO with a CXA1645, have all had horrible (trust me when I say "horrible") edge pixellation and really dark video in general. Unless there's a simple fix for it (i.e. recapping it), then I'm just going to recap my VA6 model 1 and be done with it. Perhaps I should try a different power supply or something?

Im too. My Japanese VA6 MD1 just arrived at my local post office, i'll take it and see if it works ( the Yahoo listing was saying that it "unchecked").
Recapping will WON'T fix bad video quality, it's just a poorly design.

[omp]

I myself have given up on finding a good model 2 Genesis. Every one I've dealt with, including one with a KA2195D, one with a CXA1145, and TWO with a CXA1645, have all had horrible (trust me when I say "horrible") edge pixellation and really dark video in general. Unless there's a simple fix for it (i.e. recapping it), then I'm just going to recap my VA6 model 1 and be done with it. Perhaps I should try a different power supply or something?

Don't give up matey, I spent a decent 2 weeks asking sellers on ebay (American Sellers willing to ship to Australia) to find another 2 VA2.3 Genesis 2's! I have 4 now (will be selling a modifed one soon), so they are out there.

[DemVil12]

Received My JP VA6 today... It works.
However, it has very annoying rainbow stripes, mostly noticeable on a solid black screens.
Also has a loud hissing sound in the headphone output. I can even say that it's VERY loud, and it always here, NO MATTER, if there sound plays or not.
A/V Out ( mono ) is fine for hissing, but it's sounds a bit strange ( low volume, and sound sometimes strains ).
Is that normal for a VA6 motherboards? Or my unit is just a faulty?