Speaker recommendations for cab...

[willybeamish]

I was looking at these but im not sure if anything better is out there...the control looks nice and I could mount it discreetly on the cab.
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-LS21-Stereo-Speaker-System/dp/B0015C30J0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1360947603&sr=8-3&keywords=speaker+pc






 

[PL1]

Did you forget something?   


Scott

[willybeamish]

Did you forget something?   


Scott

Yeap lol fixed

[postmortem]

I use those same speakers.. Love em

[willybeamish]

I use those same speakers.. Love em

Im gonna order em this week and figure out how to mount them behind the marquee firing down threw the stock speaker grill.

[Nephasth]

Same exact speakers are in the Beast. No complaints here.

[Louis Tully]

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[DEIVIONCRX]

Just bought these as well, ill be installing them this weekend hopefully.

[rCadeGaming]

I have some very similar Logitech speakers, they're way too weak in the midrange.  Only so much you can do with such small cones.  Between that and the subwoofer, you get a lot of highs and lows, and not much quality in between.  The sub, amplifier, and volume control unit are worth the price of purchase though, and if you swap the little speakers with some quality car speakers (which can be nicer to mount in a cab) you can have some very nice sound.

[drventure]

I used an Altec Lansing set, similar to the logitech, a 2.1 setup, etc.

Really sound good.

Interesting comment about swapping out the small speakers for car speakers. Could you really do that with those small speakers? That'd be an interesting experiment anyway.

[Dekieon]

I would like to see a tutorial or video on the swap. I was thinking of trying such a thing, but wasn't sure where to start. Car speakers definitely would look nicer then computer speakers.

[rCadeGaming]

See here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,116996.msg1252350.html#msg1252350

This guy has the exact same speakers as me, and he beat me to it.  He did it for fitment reasons, but he undoubted got much better sound in the process.  Those tiny little cones on the original speakers are crap.

I don't know if there are any differences in connections in your speaker set, but there's not much to it.  Whatever wire is running to a speaker, just cut it in half and splice your speakers in.  Also, when connecting speakers, it doesn't matter if you get the wiring "backwards."  It doesn't matter what you pick to be positive and negative, as long as your choice is consistent among the different speakers connected, so they're not out of phase.

[Xiaou2]

 One thing to note, is that car speakers pretty much operate at 4ohms.  They will be louder, but make sure your amp can deal with that level of ohm resistance.  It can permanently damage the amp over time, if not suited for it.  (many amps have a toggle switch to change ohm setting)

 You can also wire speakers up in serial or parallel, to change the Ohm resistance.  Search for it, and you will easily find the details to do so.

 The worst thing is... if you use a standard on-board sound...  You just wont get the quality of sound found on a simple ancient soundblaster audigy.. nor even cards before that model.  Onboard is horrible.  Even the best speakers, wont change it.

 Probably 99% of PC speakers are a rip total off.  You can find better quality, at cheaper prices, in other forms. Many cheaper model woofers smaller than 6" dont have very good bass.  Trying to use a tiny cheap woofer + powered subwoofer, isnt the same as a good quality woofer alone. Subwoofers dont handle things like the punchy upper bass range, and so your missing a lot of detail as a result.   

 Also, ported speakers, are well inferior to 'sealed-air' speakers. Tuned 'port holes' create an ugly artificial bass sound.  The middle ground is use of a passive radiator... but even that can be inaccurate.

 A good tweeter, with a good sound signal.. can produce sounds so real, you can be fooled thinking someone is behind you, its raining outside..etc.   They have a 3d soundstage, so you actually hear as if you are in the middle of a real concert / event. You can actually get a feel for how far things are away from you... and even behind you.  Its really amazing.  One such tweeter came from EPI's time and energy series... called an 'inverted tweeter'. (not a typical dome)   Ive also heard similar things from ribbon tweeters too.


 A good EQ can help bring a not so perfect speaker, to life.  Most good soundcards have at least a treble and bass tweak.  Additional tweaks cab be done with plugins if needed...  or by the amp itself, or with an actual physical EQ.

 If you want to Feel the bass, but not wake the dead... nor blow out the windows...  Get a set of
tactile transducers. (like the Aura Bass Shakers at Parts Express or ebay) They create very strong vibrations at very low wattage, with very little audible sound. On max setting, with 2 of them under my pc chair, there was so much vibration, that my eyes couldnt make out what was on my static pc screen.

 Some speakers are much louder than others (lower watts, could blow them easily if not careful)... but the expense is in accurate quality.  A lot of loss and distortions of the original signal.  When you hear crystal audiophile grade sound, you never can go back.  You dont miss the higher volume levels, as the sound is so much more satisfying, even at mild levels.

 Vintage speakers can turn out to be some of the best, if your lucky to score them.  But know that you probably will have to get them re-foamed at minimal, and capacitors may need replacement, as they get out of whack with age.


 Many ported speakers wont sound right if they are de-cased.  They are set up for a certain air volume, and also need the tuned port hole, for their low-end.

[rCadeGaming]

You can also wire speakers up in serial or parallel, to change the Ohm resistance.

How about a simple resistor in series with a speaker?

The worst thing is... if you use a standard on-board sound...  You just wont get the quality of sound found on a simple ancient soundblaster audigy.. nor even cards before that model.  Onboard is horrible.  Even the best speakers, wont change it.

This is entirely dependent on the motherboard, and it's usually not crap.  My HTPC can do 192kHz sample rate over digital optical or HDMI using just what's on the motherboard.  FLAC files are extremely clear my on 5.1 system.

In any case, most onboard sound can see very large benefits from better speakers, even simple 3.5mm stuff.

Probably 99% of PC speakers are a rip total off.  You can find better quality, at cheaper prices, in other forms. Many cheaper model woofers smaller than 6" dont have very good bass.  Trying to use a tiny cheap woofer + powered subwoofer, isnt the same as a good quality woofer alone. Subwoofers dont handle things like the punchy upper bass range, and so your missing a lot of detail as a result.

Agreed, the tiny woofers are crap.  I think I already pointed out the problems with these.

Also, ported speakers, are well inferior to 'sealed-air' speakers. Tuned 'port holes' create an ugly artificial bass sound.  The middle ground is use of a passive radiator... but even that can be inaccurate.

Agreed.

A good EQ can help bring a not so perfect speaker, to life.  Most good soundcards have at least a treble and bass tweak.  Additional tweaks cab be done with plugins if needed...  or by the amp itself, or with an actual physical EQ.

Agreed, I use an analog EQ with all my classic consoles and their will be one in my cabs.

I plan on building my own speakers from parts on my cab, using tuned sealed enclosures.  I don't think this is the kind of detail the OP is looking for though.  Some people are looking for plug-and-play solutions.  Adding car speakers is a simple upgrade to at least get it sounding a lot better than it was.

[brad808]

The worst thing is... if you use a standard on-board sound...  You just wont get the quality of sound found on a simple ancient soundblaster audigy.. nor even cards before that model.  Onboard is horrible.  Even the best speakers, wont change it.

This is entirely dependent on the motherboard, and it's usually not crap.  My HTPC can do 192kHz sample rate over digital optical or HDMI using just what's on the motherboard.  FLAC files are extremely clear my on 5.1 system.

In any case, most onboard sound can see very large benefits from better speakers, even simple 3.5mm stuff.

I think its safe to assume that when he said onboard he was referring to the analog outputs on a motherboard (probably 3.5mm jacks). If your using  a digital output then you aren't really using the onboard, your simply moving the digital data to a different d/a converter of your choice instead of using your motherboards d/a conversion. Unless something is broken the digital data should be bit to bit accurate at the receiving end as it is at the start of the chain. The quality of sound you hear will be completely dependent on the converter you have and won't have anything to do with the motherboard at that point.

In other words if you have built in s/pdif output on your motherboard or a $400 sound card with s/pdif output the signals will be identical. The same can't be said about analog though.