Stereo speakers on a cab made for classic games?

[EightBySix]

If I only want to play classic games, do I need 2 speakers, or were they all mono at that point?
When did games start to have stereo sound?

Thought it might save a bit of space in my cab build....

[leapinlew]

If I only want to play classic games, do I need 2 speakers, or were they all mono at that point?
When did games start to have stereo sound?

Thought it might save a bit of space in my cab build....

It probably isn't needed, but it's a nice upgrade to get a inexpensive 2.1 system. I think I paid $20 on a small 2.1 system for my first cab. I liked it so much, my next cabs got better quality 2.1 speakers.

[bkenobi]

If you want the cab to sound like an original classic cab, you won't get that with a nice set of stereo speakers.  What you want is some commercial el-cheapo 3" rounds with crappy paper cones!

The original speakers in the old cabs that I've seen were not that nice.  I can only say that the cheap 2.1 setup I installed was much nicer and sounds fuller (especially with bass, obviously).  I would say that my cabs sound good, but they do not sound authentic.  Perhaps that's because the speakers are better.  Perhaps that's because the games that had really crappy sound didn't have a speaker box even (the box behind the marquee acts like a speaker box).

You'll have to decide if you intentionally want to install underpowered weak speakers for the authentic sound or even cheap PC speakers for a nice, moderately full sound.

[Xiaou2]

To add to the discussion,

 Some of the older classics used an Ovular car type speaker.  While the newer models were usually the 4 to 5" diameter round speakers.   

 Some classics such as Turbo, have 3 speakers. 2 up top, and I believe a 12" woofer in the base of the cabinet, which generally was for engine noises.   And while many games may be mono... theres nothing like hearing the games that were in stereo, as stereo.

 One could rig up a switch to toggle between different speaker outputs... Such as switching between a modern speaker set on the sides, and a cheap oval car speaker mounted in the center.  Giving the best of both worlds, with a high quality jukebox sound, and old skool classic sound.

 Another thing... I dont have a surround hooked up yet, but certain games that have 3 to 4 speakers are supposedly piped to the various channels in mame.  This means games like TX-1 should have both front & rear speaker support. (can someone verify ?)

[Malenko]

uhhhhhh you arent gonna save much room with 1 speaker less. You could always get one of the USB powered single speakers for laptops. You wont notice much difference with older games.

[Jack Burton]

Is this going to be  MAME cab?

At some point I think you'll move from the classics only to playing around in the 90s.  A lot of 90s arcade games really took advantage of stereo sound.  Look up Capcom's Q-sound.  

On a separate note I think it's fascinating how different original cabs had different kinds of speakers.  It's really a territory that has went mostly unexplored.  Most cab builders are happy to just buy a couple of automotive speakers or strip down a set of PC speakers.  As long as it sounds ok and clear most of us are happy.   

However, audio is just important as video when it comes to accuracy in my opinion.  Some of us, like myself, spend so many hours playing around with monitors and video modes searching for "accuracy"and completely neglect the sounds of the arcade.

[boardjunkie]

Even if you have 2 speakers, games programmed with one channel sound will still be in mono. Even tho its comming from 2 speakers, still mono.

[Gray_Area]

Even if you have 2 speakers, games programmed with one channel sound will still be in mono. Even tho its comming from 2 speakers, still mono.

Ditto. And as early as, maybe earlier than, '82 some games had stereo.

[EightBySix]

Even if you have 2 speakers, games programmed with one channel sound will still be in mono. Even tho its comming from 2 speakers, still mono.

Yep, thats what I'm thinking. Pointless having an extra speaker unless I want to move beyond the classics.

[boardjunkie]

Wizard of Wor had a "2.1" type setup. A stereo pair plus a dedicated speaker/amp channel for the voice only. That was 1980. Pole position had a true stereo setup that created stereo imaging. Early on, Sega used multichannel audio more for dedicated sound sets per spkr.

[BobA]

You never know when you might want to run a jukebox program on your cab.  In this case stereo 2.0 or 2.1 is needed.

[Turnarcades]

Depending on what hardware you're using in your cabinet (ie. if it's ex-Jamma, if you're using a PC, etc.) then your choice of speakers will vary. For simplicity, any set of stripped-down PC speakers will do, and if anything reducing down to 1 would be pointless. Just stick with the 2 and cover most bases, plus keep your sound stage even at the same time. In my opinion, a 2.1 system is the way to go for power, balance and control.