What speakers should I buy?

[pbGames]

Hi,
 I am putting my mame machine(in cabinet) together and wondering what speakers I should buy???  I was thinking to buy 2.1 pc speakers.  Is that a good idea.  If so, what wattage should be adequate enough for a good arcade experience.  I was looking at 15 watts???

Cheers.

[drventure]

Just don't get some 5$ ultra cheap speakers and you'll be fine.

I used an Altec Lansing 2.1 system in my cab it it sounds great. Logitec also makes a decent 2.1 system. You'll likely want a 2.1 if you intend on also playing in music (aka jukebox) on the cabinet.

Here's the exact system I used (although I did decase the speakers)

[TopJimmyCooks]

Sadly, altec lansing isn't making pc speakers right now, just personal bluetooth speakers.  I have two sets of theirs and both are great.  If you care about music, make sure you get one rated 40 watts and a 5.25" woofer or better for your 2.1 system.  the 2.1 systems with a 4" woofer are just too weak for music.  I just shopped and bought a $55 set from best buy - Insignia, their house brand, after trying the $30 logitech system and then sending it back.

If you only want to play games with no music listening whatsoever, I would get a pair of $20 class pc speakers.

[Vigo]

Sadly, altec lansing isn't making pc speakers right now, just personal bluetooth speakers.

 

[eds1275]

Depending on the style of your cab, it could be a big deal or no deal. For my spinal tap cab, I just use the built in speakers from the television I used for a screen. For the small Lime Aid cabinet I used a set of USB powered speakers that came with my computer, they are tiny and the sound is actually not terrible considering the size of the cabinet. I think what really matters more is placement.

[Caparo8bit]

i used 4 cube bose speakers and audio is great.

[ppv]

bose [...]audio[...]great.

Does. Not. Compute.

[drventure]

bose [...]audio[...]great.

Does. Not. Compute.

Aw now, don't be too harsh on Bose. If you get a nice set for cheap off Craigslist or some such, they can work perfectly well in a cab. Hell, I've seriously considered getting an old Wave radio and using that as the speakers for an old radio/jukebox conversion. For the space, those things sound pretty damn good. Yeah, they're no audiophile solution, but hell, a typical jukebox build isn't going to be anyway.

[ppv]

bose [...]audio[...]great.

Does. Not. Compute.

Aw now, don't be too harsh on Bose. If you get a nice set for cheap off Craigslist or some such, they can work perfectly well in a cab. Hell, I've seriously considered getting an old Wave radio and using that as the speakers for an old radio/jukebox conversion. For the space, those things sound pretty damn good. Yeah, they're no audiophile solution, but hell, a typical jukebox build isn't going to be anyway.

I know, just teasing!    My father bought one (against my warnings), and frankly it isn't that bad. But it's still not holding a candle to the system he replaced and gave me! (HK with paradigm speakers...) [/derail]

[drventure]

I know, just teasing!    My father bought one (against my warnings), and frankly it isn't that bad. But it's still not holding a candle to the system he replaced and gave me! (HK with paradigm speakers...) [/derail]

 
Yeah, HK and Paradigm? Absolutely. But I doubt I'm going to find a set of those cheap enough to decase and throw in a cab 

On the other hand, if I do..... Yeah baby!

[ppv]

I know, just teasing!    My father bought one (against my warnings), and frankly it isn't that bad. But it's still not holding a candle to the system he replaced and gave me! (HK with paradigm speakers...) [/derail]

 
Yeah, HK and Paradigm? Absolutely. But I doubt I'm going to find a set of those cheap enough to decase and throw in a cab 

On the other hand, if I do..... Yeah baby!

This for the home theater! I'm going for the lowest price point possible with my cab so the speakers will consist of an old gutted monitor speaker base that sounded half decent for music!

[jdbailey1206]

Its amazing what you can find at your local Salvation Army.  These are going to be for 8 bit sounds.  Nothing too fancy.  Unless you are going to add jukebox capabilities.

[paigeoliver]

The majority of arcade games you ever played had a single 4" or 5" mono speaker, even the 90s stuff.

In fact the tiny minority that had impressive sound systems were mostly very early games like Asteroids and Turbo.