Hey guys, joined the forum to hopefully get some help with an Arcade Cabinet build. I tried on another board but go no where which lead me to finding this one which seems more DIY than just comparing store bought stuff.
I am building a MAME cabinet, playing old games from the arcades, plus Nintendo, Atari, NeoGeo, maybe a few PS1 and PS2 games. But mainly pre-'95 games. So, I'm not looking for audiophile quality (that's another project I have planned after this one).
Plan is to have a pair of speakers at the top, and at the bottom, a small sub and possibly ported. Main focus are the 4" stereo speakers of course. Sub is just for a minor bit of bass, nothing over powering.
I was looking at cheap $12CAD 2.1 amps on eBay, the TPS3116D2 amps.
What I was wondering was,
1) Are they any good? Like great for a cabinet? or just so bad they aren't good for anything at all?
2) The cabinet will have a full sized 450w power supply for the computer, with many free plugs since not adding extra stuff like multi-drives or DVD players etc... can I run the amp off one of the extra wires?
Ideally, I'd get a cheap adapter (ie. $2 SATA to Molex) and snip the one end off and use it, that way I don't ruin the warranty on the PSU cutting the wires off of it.
Other option is to grab PC speakers and gut them, but I'd like to explore both options.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
I am building a MAME cabinet, playing old games from the arcades, plus Nintendo, Atari, NeoGeo, maybe a few PS1 and PS2 games. But mainly pre-'95 games. So, I'm not looking for audiophile quality (that's another project I have planned after this one).
Plan is to have a pair of speakers at the top, and at the bottom, a small sub and possibly ported. Main focus are the 4" stereo speakers of course. Sub is just for a minor bit of bass, nothing over powering.
I was looking at cheap $12CAD 2.1 amps on eBay, the TPS3116D2 amps.
What I was wondering was,
1) Are they any good? Like great for a cabinet? or just so bad they aren't good for anything at all?
2) The cabinet will have a full sized 450w power supply for the computer, with many free plugs since not adding extra stuff like multi-drives or DVD players etc... can I run the amp off one of the extra wires?
Ideally, I'd get a cheap adapter (ie. $2 SATA to Molex) and snip the one end off and use it, that way I don't ruin the warranty on the PSU cutting the wires off of it.
Other option is to grab PC speakers and gut them, but I'd like to explore both options.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Assuming the power supply is 12vdc, it should work okay but output will be limited to maybe 10 watts into 8 ohm speaker. This may be fine for your application but if you find it insufficient, try a decent laptop power supply. I have an older Dell power supply (19.5vdc 4.6amp) that was picked from the recycle bin. It works quite well powering a Sure 25w amp board.
I have not used the 3116 amp but have read about others liking them. If you haven't already, look in the class d forum for recommendation on specific amp boards from ebay. There are many cheap, poor performing electronics on ebay and also good designs too.
I have not used the 3116 amp but have read about others liking them. If you haven't already, look in the class d forum for recommendation on specific amp boards from ebay. There are many cheap, poor performing electronics on ebay and also good designs too.
PSU for the computer, I guess depends which wires you use... some for fans, drives, motherboard... not sure which is which off-hand but specs are
+3.3V@24A, +5V@20A, +12V@40A, +5VSB@3A, -12V@0.3A
So...one 12v, and one -12v?
I hoped to avoid the use of a laptop PSU, though have seen a lot of people mentioning that's what they used. Which is why I though a computer PSU would maybe work... laptop, desktop, both computers. I think we have a couple around here actually... but if I can use power from the PSU I'd rather go that route. Fewer wires, plugs, heat, etc...
I'll check the forum. I read in passing about some being better than others, stuff like Japan made capacitors vs China, etc... knowing little about this stuff I'm not sure what makes one better than the other. I'd say buy a cheap one, and a pair of good capacitors and just swap them out, but I'm certain there are a few dozen other parts that make the difference as well.
+3.3V@24A, +5V@20A, +12V@40A, +5VSB@3A, -12V@0.3A
So...one 12v, and one -12v?
I hoped to avoid the use of a laptop PSU, though have seen a lot of people mentioning that's what they used. Which is why I though a computer PSU would maybe work... laptop, desktop, both computers. I think we have a couple around here actually... but if I can use power from the PSU I'd rather go that route. Fewer wires, plugs, heat, etc...
I'll check the forum. I read in passing about some being better than others, stuff like Japan made capacitors vs China, etc... knowing little about this stuff I'm not sure what makes one better than the other. I'd say buy a cheap one, and a pair of good capacitors and just swap them out, but I'm certain there are a few dozen other parts that make the difference as well.
Thanks. Luckily I don't think I'd need that many watts... being an arcade build, the speakers will be 2 feet from my face. Ideally, just looking for something clear and with a sub option. Not looking for lots of bass, just a small amount extra to balance things out.
Next question I guess... speakers. I grew up being told 4ohm for stereos, 8ohm for cars.
For a project like this... will it really matter which I use?
I was looking for something 30-50w 4" for the left/right and maybe a 6" sub around 100w.
Looked at maybe a pair of tweeters, but those are 6ohm so... ya I have no idea.
Next question I guess... speakers. I grew up being told 4ohm for stereos, 8ohm for cars.
For a project like this... will it really matter which I use?
I was looking for something 30-50w 4" for the left/right and maybe a 6" sub around 100w.
Looked at maybe a pair of tweeters, but those are 6ohm so... ya I have no idea.
You could use car speakers. The chips are rated down to 2 ohms. Make sure your board is rated for 4 ohms.
Here you go cheap high Q woofer https://www.parts-express.com/grs-8pr-8-8-poly-cone-rubber-surround-woofer--292-428 f3 around 50 Hz in a 1 cubic foot sealed enclosure.
Here you go cheap high Q woofer https://www.parts-express.com/grs-8pr-8-8-poly-cone-rubber-surround-woofer--292-428 f3 around 50 Hz in a 1 cubic foot sealed enclosure.
No pics yet.... I'm debating between using the RaspberryPi that I already have, or, spending another $300CAD on a donor PC and using LaunchBox. Before I start, I want to get a monitor and have the software all sorted out.
I have LaunchBox on my PC right now, and so far having more luck making it run, but still a few kinks I need sorted out before I decide which way to go. I know the PC route will offer more modern games, but, a lot of the modern ones (ie. PS2 games) won't work with arcade buttons, need a PS3 (or similar) controller. May just be better to use the RaspPi on the arcade, save $300CAD and play the PS2 games on my PC.
Right now I'm using illustrator to design a cabinet. Downloaded Sketchup, never used a CAD program and may try to design it in that as a learning exercise... but depends how hard it is to use. I don't wanna waste a month learning software, I'd have the thing built by then.
I downloaded a few templates for cabinets to get some basic sizes like height, height of the controller, etc... but designed the cabinet myself to remove a lot of the 'bulk'. I wanted to make something that sat closer to the wall, and maybe a bit narrower.
Still tweeking it... lots of the cabinets I saw were 30" deep plus however far the controllers stuck out. Mine's 23" deep total. 6' tall. Blue box at the bottom in this image is what the sides attach to... so 5.5" on the left is basically 'fins' for extra stability, but it's not the front of the cabinet. It sits in 5.5" to give some foot room.
ug forget it.... haven't used Photobucket in a while, added the image, went to get the url and 5min later and 3 reloads, still can't get the url, just ads. If I enable ad blocker on it, then the image won't load. I'll try to add a link later.
I have LaunchBox on my PC right now, and so far having more luck making it run, but still a few kinks I need sorted out before I decide which way to go. I know the PC route will offer more modern games, but, a lot of the modern ones (ie. PS2 games) won't work with arcade buttons, need a PS3 (or similar) controller. May just be better to use the RaspPi on the arcade, save $300CAD and play the PS2 games on my PC.
Right now I'm using illustrator to design a cabinet. Downloaded Sketchup, never used a CAD program and may try to design it in that as a learning exercise... but depends how hard it is to use. I don't wanna waste a month learning software, I'd have the thing built by then.
I downloaded a few templates for cabinets to get some basic sizes like height, height of the controller, etc... but designed the cabinet myself to remove a lot of the 'bulk'. I wanted to make something that sat closer to the wall, and maybe a bit narrower.
Still tweeking it... lots of the cabinets I saw were 30" deep plus however far the controllers stuck out. Mine's 23" deep total. 6' tall. Blue box at the bottom in this image is what the sides attach to... so 5.5" on the left is basically 'fins' for extra stability, but it's not the front of the cabinet. It sits in 5.5" to give some foot room.
ug forget it.... haven't used Photobucket in a while, added the image, went to get the url and 5min later and 3 reloads, still can't get the url, just ads. If I enable ad blocker on it, then the image won't load. I'll try to add a link later.
Those woofers have a high enough Q that they could be used in an open back cabinet like the "hi-fi" consoles of the 60s. You would get that old fashioned "boomy" bass. If you have a large floorstanding wooden cabinet it would work. If you're looking for a "vintage" or "retro" theme you might consider this. You can dampen the resonances with acoustic liner on the inside of the cabinet.
That was the closest thing to "hi-fi" that most people heard until at least the mid-late 60s. The only person I knew that had a respectable system had built it himself. Other than that there was Klipsch and a couple others.
That was the closest thing to "hi-fi" that most people heard until at least the mid-late 60s. The only person I knew that had a respectable system had built it himself. Other than that there was Klipsch and a couple others.
I was debating what to do bass/sub wise....
- Stick a 6-8" sub at the front with a grill on it and that's all.
- Build a small box inside around it.
- Build a small ported box on the inside.
- Build a box inside, with a small 4" sub inside the box, then port it out.
My Dad use to have a great DIY speaker book, from the '80s but a great book. Designs to use a single speaker at the top of a tower and have it come out the bottom nice and deep sounding, small boxes with maze like channels inside to produce better sound etc... sadly I haven't seen that book in so many years I think it's long lost.
I know there's a science behind subs... downward firing, ported, speaker inside, speaker outside, etc... just don't know what it is.
Lot's of room to play with, but would like to stick with something small, that gives good bass, but won't rattle the box a lot because lots of stuff inside the cabinet that if too much bass/vibration will make a lot of noise.
Likely, I'll maybe build a box around it inside, and that's all. Again... it's not a HiFi playing my fav music... it kinda boils down to being a game machine playing Mario Brothers in 8-bit. Sub probably will only get used for a handful of PS2 games and arcade games newer than 1995.
- Stick a 6-8" sub at the front with a grill on it and that's all.
- Build a small box inside around it.
- Build a small ported box on the inside.
- Build a box inside, with a small 4" sub inside the box, then port it out.
My Dad use to have a great DIY speaker book, from the '80s but a great book. Designs to use a single speaker at the top of a tower and have it come out the bottom nice and deep sounding, small boxes with maze like channels inside to produce better sound etc... sadly I haven't seen that book in so many years I think it's long lost.
I know there's a science behind subs... downward firing, ported, speaker inside, speaker outside, etc... just don't know what it is.
Lot's of room to play with, but would like to stick with something small, that gives good bass, but won't rattle the box a lot because lots of stuff inside the cabinet that if too much bass/vibration will make a lot of noise.
Likely, I'll maybe build a box around it inside, and that's all. Again... it's not a HiFi playing my fav music... it kinda boils down to being a game machine playing Mario Brothers in 8-bit. Sub probably will only get used for a handful of PS2 games and arcade games newer than 1995.
Guess no edit function on this board? Was going to ad this to my other post but, here's a quick sketch of the cabinet side view so far.
Again... trying to make it look 'arcadey' but same time trim off a bunch of the fat to save space, but still stand sturdy. Lucky for LCD screens being so small and light.
Still debating insetting the 'box' at the bottom further and shaving off another 5.5" by losing the fins. Maybe use a sand bag at the back/bottom if needed.
Again... trying to make it look 'arcadey' but same time trim off a bunch of the fat to save space, but still stand sturdy. Lucky for LCD screens being so small and light.
Still debating insetting the 'box' at the bottom further and shaving off another 5.5" by losing the fins. Maybe use a sand bag at the back/bottom if needed.
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