Installing the Right Quality Speakers in an Arcade Cabinet (replacement driver help)

[tomorrow]

I've got a universal JAMMA arcade cabinet. The stock speakers are terrible. I'm looking to replace the driver in the stock speaker cases with a new quality one.

Here are the specs of the stocks speakers:

DRIVER SPECS:
PASSIVE
4 OHM
10W NOM
25W MAX

DRIVER DIMENSIONS:
3" HEIGHT
3" WIDTH
2" DEPTH

SPEAKER BOX DIMENSIONS:
5.25" HEIGHT
3.75" DEPTH
3.75" WIDTH

I'm a quick learner and very handy with electronics, but I don't know too much about speakers. So my question is this:

If my goal is to upgrade these drivers with a new much better and exceptional driver, should I simply find another 3" 10-25W 4 OHM Passive Driver and thats that? Or should I be looking into different ohms, installing an amp in them etc.

What is the best type of driver to get? Full Range? I was looking at these: http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com...l-range-4-ohm/

These will be used primarily for MONO but can be switched to STEREO too if that makes any difference.

Any help is much appreciated!

[kevinkr]

Tomorrow you're still under moderation so your posts may take a little while to show up, we try to be quick approving moderated posts when we're about..

And welcome to the forum!

[tomorrow]

Originally Posted by kevinkr

Tomorrow you're still under moderation so your posts may take a little while to show up, we try to be quick approving moderated posts when we're about..

And welcome to the forum!

Ah, was wondering why my post didn't show up.

Thanks!

[Minion]

You should get speakers of the same ohms , a more sensitive speaker will increase the output volume , every 3db increase of speaker sensitivity doubles the output volume so if these speakers are old crappy ones they probably have a lower sensitity so newer better quality ones will probably increase the volume quite a lot .....

Cheers

[tomorrow]

For sure. Thanks for the tip. I'll definitly stick with the same ohms.

You think these or these would be an exceptional choice?

[tomorrow]

I'm hoping I can find a pair that will hold up exceptionally on their own since they will be the only speaker in use (no tweeter or woofer, just a single driver, on each for Left and Right).

Any advice or tips are welcome!

[Marcel_D]

The Fountek has a flatter response and wider bandwidth than the Dayton but also costs twice as much. I'd say either choice would be a huge improvement.

What game(s) does the machine have?

[boris81]

You have a big selection, most 3" and some 4" fullranges will do well. Since you are not going to be constructing filters a flat frequency response is essential. If the old speakers had a filter you should remove it and connect the new driver straight to the amp. 8ohm drivers will probably work but may not be as loud.

The best mod you may do is the enclosure. I recommend you download the FREE software WinISD. It calculates the bass output for a given driver and enclosure size. If you don't plan on changing the enclose it can simulate the kind of bass you may get from different drivers. You can increase the bass output by adding an air port (which is essentially a pipe).

The fountek is a great driver but on the expensive side. If I were you I would try to find a design and copy it. That might require building a filter which is not that hard actually.

[tomorrow]

Originally Posted by Mahawk

The Fountek has a flatter response and wider bandwidth than the Dayton but also costs twice as much. I'd say either choice would be a huge improvement.

What game(s) does the machine have?

For sure. Sounds like the Fountek is where its at. I am willing to spend up to $200 on this setup so I don't mind that they are 2x as much.

Its a universal cab so I can play any JAMMA games period. I mainly play shmups and fighters. But I've got all sorts of stuff.

Originally Posted by boris81

You have a big selection, most 3" and some 4" fullranges will do well. Since you are not going to be constructing filters a flat frequency response is essential. If the old speakers had a filter you should remove it and connect the new driver straight to the amp. 8ohm drivers will probably work but may not be as loud.

The best mod you may do is the enclosure. I recommend you download the FREE software WinISD. It calculates the bass output for a given driver and enclosure size. If you don't plan on changing the enclose it can simulate the kind of bass you may get from different drivers. You can increase the bass output by adding an air port (which is essentially a pipe).

The fountek is a great driver but on the expensive side. If I were you I would try to find a design and copy it. That might require building a filter which is not that hard actually.

Thanks for the tips man, I appreciate it. I'll look into that software.

I added some pictures of the driver and speaker enclosure so you can see what I've got to work with.

Let me know what you think about it.

As of now, my plans are to pick up two of those Founteks and install them and thats it. Anything else important I should do? Stuffing? Anything else in there? What I've got is literally the enclosure, drivers and wires. There is nothing else in there.

I appreciate all the tips guys. This is making me want to learn a lot more about building speakers.

[boris81]

OK, this is what you need to do.
- Get WinISD.
- Pick a bunch of drivers based on flatness of the FR and dimensions.
- Measure the enclosure volume and the port size and length.
- Input the parameters of drivers into WinISD and simulate for your enclosure size and port.

The port pipe is there to create an acoustic filter that passes through bass. The idea is that small drivers need bass reinforcement. The port bass adds to the bass already emanating from the driver. The size and length of the port pipe control the frequency. You usually want to tune the port to take over right after the dip in the low frequency. That dip is determined by the driver's characteristics and the box size. WinISD will help you find out where that is in your case and the dimensions of the appropriate port.

With your budget however, it might be more practical to just buy the whole speaker.