New and need some audio advice on installing an amp.

[Daffypuck]

    Well, here I am. I finally went and got my first arcade cocktail table. I found a guy nearby that makes them and thought it was a decent deal. I just dont have the time to do it, but now that I have it, I can fix all the things I dont like. The platform he used was the 412in1 Game Elf. It does the job for a first timer. But, the thing that iinstantly drove me nuts was the sound card bundled in this board. To say the least, it sucks. I vividly remember the bass of a Pac-Man when you put the quarter in. Or how Gyruss' music track sounds. I got a 2 channel 20watts RMS amp  that will mount nicely inside the table. My problem is  how to get the source to the amp. I thought the Game Elf had RCA outputs, but it didnt. I guess I can jerry rig the output wires to a set of RCA jacks. Also, does anyone know if the GameElf is mono or stereo. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[BobA]

If the Game Elf connects via standard JAMMA then it probably has only mono output unless there is a stereo jack on the board which is unlikely.   Your best bet is to take the mono and try it through a  separate amp.   The mono is available on the jamma connector.

[matsadona]

I don't think adding another amplifier will enhance the sound quality that much, since it is usually the emulation it self that is the problem on those China boards.
However it shouldn't be that hard to tap the low level signal. Just retrace the wires back from the JAMMA pins to the amplifier circuit (which is most certainly the biggest transistor on the board, and perhaps a potentiometer for volume). If you retrace further you might be lucky to find that there actually is a stereo signal somewhere (that is mixed before the amp).

[Daffypuck]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but a really crappy low level audio signal that is turned up loud distorts and generally sou ds like crap. That's what I'm guessing with this Game Elf board. If I have old Mame Rome, can I just add them to the SD card in the correct fder? I've looked onli e for Info on these Jamma boards and really can't find any info on them.

[mgb]

That is true, a low crappy signal turned up will sound crappy.
But adding another amp to it would be exactly that.
I don't believe you'll be able to add roms on that board.

[Daffypuck]

 I got a little 2 channel amp that puts out 20w RMS and hooked it up today. I also added a beefier speaker and the sound is so much better now. Im just disappointed that the Game Elf doesnt have a stereo output. Kind of defeats the purpose of trying to emulate old arcade games if you cant even get the sound somewhat close to what we were used to in the old days.

[mgb]

Glad to hear that it improved the sound.
On some multi boards its just bad sound in the emulation.
as far as stereo sound goes, remember, those classic games didn't have stereo sound either.

[matsadona]

I got a little 2 channel amp that puts out 20w RMS and hooked it up today. I also added a beefier speaker and the sound is so much better now. Im just disappointed that the Game Elf doesnt have a stereo output. Kind of defeats the purpose of trying to emulate old arcade games if you cant even get the sound somewhat close to what we were used to in the old days.

I think that newer boards has a stereoplug output: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51eB-fWCF0L._SX300_.jpg
But that doesn't help you much.

Many of the old classics didn't have stereo output, and the speakers was generally not that "hi-fi" either.

[Daffypuck]

True, a lot werent that HI-FI, but on the other hand, there were many that sounded really good.