Main Restorations Software Audio/Jukebox/MP3 Everything Else Buy/Sell/Trade
Project Announcements Monitor/Video GroovyMAME Merit/JVL Touchscreen Meet Up Retail Vendors
Driving & Racing Woodworking Software Support Forums Consoles Project Arcade Reviews
Automated Projects Artwork Frontend Support Forums Pinball Forum Discussion Old Boards
Raspberry Pi & Dev Board controls.dat Linux Miscellaneous Arcade Wiki Discussion Old Archives
Lightguns Arcade1Up Try the site in https mode Site News

Unread posts | New Replies | Recent posts | Rules | Chatroom | Wiki | File Repository | RSS | Submit news

  

Author Topic: Reviews of 32" slim cabinet from GameRoomSolutions.com?  (Read 6445 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

tverona

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 17
  • Last login:April 01, 2018, 11:12:57 pm
  • I want to build my own arcade controls!
Reviews of 32" slim cabinet from GameRoomSolutions.com?
« on: November 27, 2017, 10:04:50 am »
Hi all,

I'm looking for a 32" slim cabinet and it looks like GameRoomSolutions.com just came out with one. The design looks very nice. Anyone got it / recommend it?

The other 32" slim cabinets I'm aware of are xcade's u32s (not sure if released, but wish the design was more like the u24s) and rec room game's 32" cabinet (but don't like the design). Are there other vendors with 32" builds?

Thanks!

TapperP

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 18
  • Last login:September 27, 2019, 12:26:28 pm
  • Love classic arcade games!
Re: Reviews of 32" slim cabinet from GameRoomSolutions.com?
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2018, 09:38:14 pm »
I have the recroommaster 32 sitdown cab for a couple of years. It's pretty good. Quality of materials and build seemed very good. My criticisms are all about design issues. I have the pro control panel, but mine is the older version. I have customized all the sticks and play buttons with Hori and Sanwas. I also switched the cabinet to the pedestal design a few months ago, which IMO is better than the regular design. Reasons are that my TV inside died and I basically had to disassemble the entire cab to get it out to work on it. So I now have the pedestal with a 42 inch TV instead and I like it a lot more, plus the extra storage area is very useful.

Things I didn't like about the original sitdown pro design:

- once a TV is installed (which can be a big hassle depending in its design) you basically can't get to it without taking the cabinet apart. Hard to reach stuff from the back, and the plexi cannot be removed without disassembling cabinet! BAD DESIGN.
- the marquee lamp is completely enclosed, the only way to change the marquee art or service the lamp is to literally disassemble the cabinet -- bad design! Another reason I now prefer the pedestal design.
- the plexi doesn't slot into anything at the bottom, so over time it sags inward, and as I mentioned before you literally can't remove it without taking the cabinet apart!

Things I prefer about the pedestal design:

- easy access to the TV and can have a bigger TV (42 inch vs 32 inch)
- storage compartment is very useful and looks really good too

Other criticisms:

- there's very little leg clearance, so if you have a bum knee like mine it can get uncomfortable sometimes. Wish the panel top extended out a couple more inches.
- I want a control panel with Japanese sticks/buttons AND a trackball, but they don't offer that option. If you want the trackball it only comes with Happ sticks/buttons with an i-Pac encoder (not great for compatability compared to the Brook PCB I think is used on the Pro panels now which work on all consoles and PC).
- these things are NOT that easy to put together as people make it sound, it was hard for me and my wife sometimes. But maybe instructions are a little better now since we bought this way back when they first came out.

But overall, I like it and am sitting at it now as I type this.

BONUS RANT:

I bought the very first Pro panel when they came out, which has 2 PS360's inside. It's very nicely built. BUT OMG you would NOT believe the buttons they shipped with back then. Horrible stiff lighted buttons that you had to press really hard on. It was a disaster, and they made no offer to send decent replacements when I complained. I was very civil about it, and maybe I should've been less civil. In the end I had to buy new buttons and put them in myself, which was made a little harder because the terrible stiff lighted buttons were slightly different in size so the holes were a little wonky but it worked out in the end. That is why they stopped using those crap lighted buttons, because they probably got tons of complaints. Ironically I am still using some of those lighted buttons for Start/Select/Menu, because they are harder to press and look nice. But for play buttons they are HORRIBLE and I don't know how the hell they thought anyone would be OK with them.

As a reference, here is the cabinet design I had at first:



And here is the design I now have and prefer:

« Last Edit: January 18, 2018, 10:13:38 pm by TapperP »

tverona

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 17
  • Last login:April 01, 2018, 11:12:57 pm
  • I want to build my own arcade controls!
Re: Reviews of 32" slim cabinet from GameRoomSolutions.com?
« Reply #2 on: March 04, 2018, 11:43:35 pm »
Thanks TapperP for your recommendations!

FYI, to follow up on my original post - I went ahead and purchased the 32" kit from gameroomsolutions.com and had just put it together. I posted a review @ http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=156729.msg1646653 - check it out!