Newbie Speaker Question

[Piss Ant]

I've found many topics regarding most other topics, but not so much on what is actually used. So right now I have no idea on what I could use.  What do you recommend re: a speaker setup for an upright cabinet.  Do you mount PC speakers?  Or setup up like something you'd find in a car.  Is sound that important or is it all fairly similar.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.  

[anthony691]

I've found many topics regarding most other topics, but not so much on what is actually used. So right now I have no idea on what I could use.  What do you recommend re: a speaker setup for an upright cabinet.  Do you mount PC speakers?  Or setup up like something you'd find in a car.  Is sound that important or is it all fairly similar.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.  

Unless you are a toal Audio freak (as many of us [includeing me] are), you should be fine with PC speakers. I popped an amp in there though. Some people put subwoofers with like 12" woofers in (I think I saw a horn tweeter in one once???) ... I find that a little on the overkill side!

[slug54]

I originally dis-assembled a set of 40W pc speakers
and mounted the volume control and put grill covers over the speakers.
The speakers sounded great on my desk but distorted real bad when installed in the cab. Like a lot of people I use my cab as an mp3 jukebox, After finding out that the cab was used probablly as much for a jukebox as for playing games the sound had to be upgraded.

My current setup is a $50 pair of pioneer car speakers from best buy,an old radioshack audio amp my dad had laying around and a  powered sub woofer and an
 L-pad volume control on the front of the cab.
The sound from the cab is amazing! It's not that it really matters that much for games,but If you want to crank up the jukebox this thing rocks.


                                 Slug54
 

[kalkin]

I bought a set of Cambridge Soundworks PC speakers with four speakers and a subwoofer, although I'm only using left+right+woofer in my cab. I used the removable plastic "feet" of the smaller left/right speakers and screwed them into the sides of the cabinet, just inside of the speaker panel. Because of these "feet" I can remove/replace these speakers easilly if I want to. The subwoofer was mounted on the back panel at the height of the speaker panel using shelf brackets.

At first I was worried that these speakers inside my massive 3/4" MDF cabinet would create a lot of resonance but I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed that the cab actually enhanced, not distorted, the bass of the subwoofer. Although I suppose you could get even better sound with real HiFi-speakers I'm very pleased with the way my cab sounds and I often find myself using my cab as a MP3/CD player instead of my mini stereo.

An added plus of the speakers I have is of course the remote volume control which can easilly be mounted outside the cab.

[AlanS17]

Car audio may not be a good idea for several reasons:
1.) It's expensive.
2.) It's pointles unless it's also a jukebox.
3.) Strong vibrations can jiggle the monitor. (my problem)
4.) The amps could cause a heat issue.
5.) The unshielded speakers might mess with your hardware

Do we need to continue?

I personally used a set of Creative stereo speakers with a sub and wired remote. The remote comes in handy for the volume control. It means a LOT less wiring... Plus I used speakers that were easy to mount onto wood (ie holes in the metal speaker stand thing-a-ma-jig).

Dolby speakers aren't necessary since you can't get proper placement anyways and arcade games don't go beyond stereo (and most don't even have stereo).

My best recommendation is stereo speakers with a half-decent sub and a wired remote. I think I paid about $45 for mine...

[shmokes]

If I pull the plastic casing off a set of PC speakers and put them in my cab do I need to worry about getting a magnet for cancelling out the magnetic field from the speakers, essentially shielding them, or will they remain shielded even out of their casing?

[hyiu]

if you've high standards on the sound, and uses it to play mp3...

then go for higher end products or car stereos and so on...

but for normal uses... (like Mame...) computer speak is fine...

(if anyone cares...) I myself uses a 3 piece computer speaker... 1 subwoofer (sort of..) and 2 small speakers...

whether you need to break the case and just install the speaker is up to you....

search the web... you should able to find some nice 3 piece computer speakers around 30-40....

[IIOIOOIOO]

Best Buy has right now the Creative Labs 2.1 2500 system on sale for 29.99 (after $20 MIR).... these are pretty sweet deals. 2 nice woofers, great sub, and a wired remote. They really should just call it the Creative Labs Mame 2500.

Go get it now, because you'll have a hard time getting these speakers for cheaper than $50 anywhere but some scam artist on ebay.

[Piss Ant]

Thanks for all the respnses.  It sounds like pc speakers are the way to go for me.  I don't plan on doing much with mp3's.

Best Buy has right now the Creative Labs 2.1 2500 system on sale for 29.99 (after $20 MIR).... these are pretty sweet deals. 2 nice woofers, great sub, and a wired remote. They really should just call it the Creative Labs Mame 2500.

Go get it now, because you'll have a hard time getting these speakers for cheaper than $50 anywhere but some scam artist on ebay.

This sounds like a decent deal - does anyone else have opinions on these or are there any other good deals out there?  - I may go get these this weekend.  BB is like 50 miles away ( I'm in the middle of nowhere).

[shmokes]

It might be overkill, but here's a pretty good deal on a set of Creative Inspire 5.1's.  They're $80 with a $20 rebate so it ends up being a nice price.

http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=11180052&m=1581&cat=1588&scat=1584

[neuromancer]

If I pull the plastic casing off a set of PC speakers and put them in my cab do I need to worry about getting a magnet for cancelling out the magnetic field from the speakers, essentially shielding them, or will they remain shielded even out of their casing?

The plastic doesn't have anything to do with the "shielding". If you can wave the speakers near your monitor without messing up the picture, then it should be ok when you remove the plastic and mount them.

Many pc speakers are designed to work inside their plastic boxes, though, so you will probably loose whatever bass they have.

Unless you're putting a sub in too, a lack of bass would mess up the Gauntlet experience...

Bob

[IIOIOOIOO]

You don't need 5.1s... get the 2.1 I pointed you to. They're nice.... and wired remote which is key.