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Author Topic: What speakers should I buy?  (Read 3450 times)

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pbGames

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What speakers should I buy?
« on: September 23, 2013, 07:00:17 am »
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

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Re: What speakers should I buy?
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2013, 08:22:10 am »
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

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Re: What speakers should I buy?
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2013, 08:45:06 am »
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

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Re: What speakers should I buy?
« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2013, 09:48:30 am »
Sadly, altec lansing isn't making pc speakers right now, just personal bluetooth speakers.

 :'(

eds1275

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Re: What speakers should I buy?
« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2013, 01:43:24 pm »
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.

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Re: What speakers should I buy?
« Reply #5 on: September 26, 2013, 01:19:34 pm »
i used 4 cube bose speakers and audio is great.

ppv

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Re: What speakers should I buy?
« Reply #6 on: September 27, 2013, 12:35:55 pm »
bose [...]audio[...]great.
Does. Not. Compute. :P
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drventure

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Re: What speakers should I buy?
« Reply #7 on: September 27, 2013, 12:40:04 pm »
bose [...]audio[...]great.
Does. Not. Compute. :P

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

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Re: What speakers should I buy?
« Reply #8 on: September 27, 2013, 12:44:01 pm »
bose [...]audio[...]great.
Does. Not. Compute. :P

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!   ;D 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]
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drventure

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Re: What speakers should I buy?
« Reply #9 on: September 27, 2013, 12:48:54 pm »
I know, just teasing!   ;D 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]

 :cheers:
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  :D

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

ppv

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Re: What speakers should I buy?
« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2013, 12:52:01 pm »
I know, just teasing!   ;D 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]

 :cheers:
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  :D

On the other hand, if I do..... Yeah baby!
This for the home theater! ;D 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! :P
Doing arcades, the cheap@ss way!
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Next one : The Token Muncher [urlhttp://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,135417.0.html[/url]

jdbailey1206

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Re: What speakers should I buy?
« Reply #11 on: September 27, 2013, 01:34:27 pm »
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

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Re: What speakers should I buy?
« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2013, 01:38:04 pm »
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.
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