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Best sub-$100 4-inch car speakers for arcade cabinet (amp recommendation also requested)

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Hifihedgehog

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I realize the enclosure has a significant impact on the acoustics but in terms of driver quality alone, what is the best pair of 4-inch car speakers I can buy for an arcade cabinet? They will be installed in this small-sized arcade cabinet I just purchased on Etsy.

1598375916498.jpeg
 

pozz

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@hardisj Do you have any suggestions?
 

Killingbeans

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I have a pair of JBL 4" 2-ways (don't remember the model number, EDIT: Probably GX402) in my crappy Suzuki. I have no complaints about the sound. They are certainly light-years better than anything you'd find in an original 80's cabinet.

On a side note: I'm a big fan of both arcade gaming and Sonic the Hedgehog. Have a Taito Egret II in my living room and more Sega Mega Drives in storage than any sane person should.
 
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OP
H

Hifihedgehog

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W E L C O M E T O T H E N E X T L E V E L ! ;)

Thanks so much for sharing that piece of advice. Judging by the size of it, I think the JBLs look like are right up my alley. Now, just to figure out the amp to load up to power them.
 

Trouble Maker

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What about mounting some traditional speakers in their own cabinets to the sides?

It wouldn't look as nice as a package, but sound quality would be a lot better. But maybe that's not as big of a deal in this application, so-so sound is probably OK. I can definitely see the appeal of a smallish all in 1 package, you could probably pick it up and move it wherever you wanted to use it. If you start hanging speakers off of the sides, that starts to go away.

The Neumi BS5s that just hardisj tested well seem like they would pair nicely. I can't say if the would do well for that (very near field) application though.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/neumi-bs5-bookshelf-speaker-review.14404/

I wonder if the IcePower 125 is overkill? The 50 might save a bit of cost and size, but from some quick googling maybe not enough to be worth it.

Are you planning to mount it in the case or just the raw board inside of the arcade cabinet? Personally I would find a way to do it that way, a case seems silly just to put it inside of another case.

If you do something like the IcePower amps in their own case, and separate traditional speakers, you can always use those on their own for a different application later.

A few other ideas for amps, though they would all need separate power supplies.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...m-d1004-4-channel-car-amplifier-review.11528/
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/allo-volt-d-amplifier-review.15539/
Or even the regular Allo Volt might be enough and is super duper cheap. https://allo.com/sparky/volt-plus-amp.html

Are you doing a RasberryPi? I guess yes, but if you are doing a traditional PC with traditional PC power supply I wonder if you could grab some of the DC rails to power any of these?

I'm honestly not sure if any of these are better ideas, but just some alternatives that popped into my head.
 
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tomtoo

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I would make a hole in the back. Get a cheap 6 or 8 inch as woofer. The mid/highs are than not so importend. Than use a cheap double tpa3116 2.1 amp. Hey its for fun?
 
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H

Hifihedgehog

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Just as an update, I went ahead and purchased the Allo Volt+ (non-double) and the JBL Club 422F, the modern successor to the GX402. A big thank you to everyone for all your help! Photos promised once I get the build all sorted out.
 
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H

Hifihedgehog

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Thanks! Just as an update, I made a speaker change. I got the JBLs and—frankly—they sounded like a honky, trebly, confused disaster so I returned them not thinking twice about it. Over that week, I dug deep into DIYAudio.com and read everything I could from blind tests to build logs and I found a lot of love for (and charts in support of) Markaudio and the CHR-70 which stood out among the crowd. Fast forward to this week, I ordered the Markaudio’s from Madisound Speaker Components and unboxing and listening...W-O-W! I Just mean, WOW. These speakers are so crystal clear, evenly toned, and dynamic. Breathtaking. I was not expecting this at all from a mere $36 driver. At. All. If you are wanting speakers for a project, these are a sure fire bet. I can only begin to imagine what the Alpair 7.3eN’s sound like because these totally rocked my world and transformed my expectations of what a sub-$100 pair of drivers can and should sound like. This is a benchmark for amazing. I am so strongly tempted to get another pair just to build actual speaker cabinets for them. Yes, they are that good.
 
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Killingbeans

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I got the JBLs and—frankly—they sounded like a honky, trebly, confused disaster so I returned them not thinking twice about it.

I should be surprised, but I'm not really. The horrible acoustics and the non existent dampening material in my car probably mask the honkyness of my own JBLs :D

I'll keep Markaudio in mind if I ever get the chance to build a luxury arcade cabinet myself.
 

tomtoo

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This old machines had realy strong bass. But its the way you like.

Edit says: They had to mask the 8bit sound, so .... it's all about that bass no trouble... ;)

Edit from edit says:50€ for one speaker in a fun gaming console? You must be rich or crazy. ;)
 
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Killingbeans

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True. From what I understand, a lot of the really old games use raw square waves for sound effects.

But there's also a ton games (especially from the 90's) that have really gorgeous music. Red Book format is not uncommon.
 
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H

Hifihedgehog

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You hit the nail on the head. It is not just for basic synthesized music but red book titles too, though I do prefer listening to the SEGA Genesis’s excellent Yamaha sound chip through resolving speakers too. I am using this bartop arcade as a game console station for all games, modern and classic, as well. Launchbox with Bigbox is amazing software for a do-it-all, user friendly arcade solution. I should also mention that this is kind of an investment for the future for when spouse and children come along for quality family time. It has a 4K and 100% Adobe RGB touchscreen, dynamic LCD marquee, 19 individually controlled dynamic RGB pushbuttons, aluminum brushed and rubber topped balltop Sanwa JLF joysticks, and custom designed vinyl panels and plexiglass covering for the control and admin panels. Make no mistake: this is an endgame bartop arcade system. Then again, we have members here who will routinely drop several grand on their Hi-Fi setups without batting an eye. I have spent a lot but nowhere near as much as that on this.
 
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tomtoo

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You hit the nail on the head. It is not just for basic synthesized music but red book titles too, though I do prefer listening to the SEGA Genesis’s excellent Yamaha sound chip through resolving speakers too. I am using this bartop arcade as a game console station for all games, modern and classic, as well. Launchbox with Bigbox is amazing software for a do-it-all, user friendly arcade solution. I should also mention that this is kind of an investment for the future for when spouse and children come along for quality family time. It has a 4K and 100% Adobe RGB touchscreen, dynamic LCD marquee, 19 individually controlled dynamic RGB pushbuttons, aluminum brushed and rubber topped balltop Sanwa JLF joysticks, and custom designed vinyl panels and plexiglass covering for the control and admin panels. Make no mistake: this is an endgame bartop arcade system. Then again, we have members here who will routinely drop several grand on their Hi-Fi setups without batting an eye.

All easy we have members here that understand fun. ;)
 
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H

Hifihedgehog

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I have basically all my parts now, but I am just held up on the vinyl panel artwork, which was sourced from a graphics designer in Portugal, that is in limbo land between export and customs. If I could have done it over again, I would have opted for DHL over the CTT but it is water under the bridge. I could wait anywhere from another week to almost a month from now before it hits the mainland. While I wait, here is the panel artwork I had designed and printed for your viewing pleasure:

Speaker panel:
EC016D43-1A44-48FA-8DCE-86D28E374CB2.jpeg


Control panel:
E715E57E-170B-4E7A-B681-BB774B33B713.jpeg


Admin panel:
9B8F4491-CDEB-4AC3-8B60-8293522B8574.jpeg


Marquee (not used):
7C5EF439-26E2-4A68-B212-51636B8EF23B.jpeg


Top panel:
C9D62903-F309-43D0-8C99-94D8FDE1BFD4.jpeg


Left panel:
BFF4BC14-C414-4CC8-A06D-13250ECA6473.jpeg


Right panel:
949DD15A-6982-4513-B06A-7A04A9D5A2EA.jpeg


Rear door panel:
DAD65DEE-AB2D-415C-A0E5-AC5003EA4E1A.jpeg
 
OP
H

Hifihedgehog

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As promised... *drumroll*


Some technical highlights:

1. Its no-holds-barred audio system—featuring the Allo Volt+, Khadas Tone Board and Markaudio CHR-70–produces distortion-free, crystal clear sound! Yes, to the discerning objectivist audio enthusiast, I admit the speakers are in a downward-facing off-axis position (as is tradition for arcade cabinets) and the cabinet is also untreated which contributes to some internal reverberations. But taking off my audio enthusiast hat for a brief moment and recognizing the realities of the arcade market, this audio system is a colossal improvement over any normal arcade cabinet’s sound system ($2000+ custom luxury models included) that you would encounter that are muffled sounding and lacking in detail.

2. a. The cabinet’s panel controls are fully XInput compliant meaning they are detected or seen by games and emulators as Xbox controllers by way of x360ce, a free and open source middleware solution. The cabinet controls—two fully analog joysticks and 21 pushbuttons—are automagically merged together from DirectInput sources and are translated into the modern standard XInput protocol via x360ce. x360ce also allows me to power on my previously paired wireless Bluetooth controllers (8BitDo Sn30 Pro+) for either the player 1 or 2, and are then merged instantly with the cabinet controls so both the arcade controls and the gamepads can be used together all at the same time. Also important, to prevent the physical controllers from being detected twice as both an Xbox controller and a standard DirectInput controller, the source DirectInput devices are hidden from the system and all other programs except x360ce with a tool called HidGuardian, which will soon be superseded by HidHide.
b. Each of the 21 Industrias Lorenzo Translucent Concave Long Stem Pushbuttons has a fully and independently addressable RGB LED lighting unit that was custom manufactured by Paradise Arcade Shop who specializes in arcade RGB lighting solutions. All 21 of these pushbuttons’ RGB LED arrays are in turn connected to and powered by an Ultimarc PacLED64 LED controller, which is in turn managed and programmed by LEDBlinky, an LED control program released in 2007 that is still actively supported to this day.
c. Two Ultimarc Ultrastik 360 analog joysticks feature a revolutionary magnetic-based system totally free of any mechanical contacts or switches for significantly longer endurance and resilience.

3. The main display is the Magedok T156G, a 15.6” LCD monitor that is lavishly high-end by most every standard imaginable. The T156G is impeccable 4K/UHD resolution with rich 1400:1 contrast ratio and full coverage of the Adobe RGB color gamut, as well as 10-point touch-sensitive input for touchscreen-capable games and applications.

4. The marquee display is the Toshiba Matsushita LTA149B780F, a one-of-a-kind 14.9” dynamic LCD monitor for displaying live interactive content. It was installed with a lightly modified PixelcadeLCD DIY kit. The LTA149B780F can show the relevant marquee banner artwork for an arcade or video game or a virtual pinball table’s backglass display panel.
 
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Nathan Raymond

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Thanks! Just as an update, I made a speaker change. I got the JBLs and—frankly—they sounded like a honky, trebly, confused disaster so I returned them not thinking twice about it. Over that week, I dug deep into DIYAudio.com and read everything I could from blind tests to build logs and I found a lot of love for (and charts in support of) Markaudio and the CHR-70 which stood out among the crowd. Fast forward to this week, I ordered the Markaudio’s from Madisound Speaker Components and unboxing and listening...W-O-W! I Just mean, WOW. These speakers are so crystal clear, evenly toned, and dynamic. Breathtaking. I was not expecting this at all from a mere $36 driver. At. All. If you are wanting speakers for a project, these are a sure fire bet. I can only begin to imagine what the Alpair 7.3eN’s sound like because these totally rocked my world and transformed my expectations of what a sub-$100 pair of drivers can and should sound like. This is a benchmark for amazing. I am so strongly tempted to get another pair just to build actual speaker cabinets for them. Yes, they are that good.
Thanks for posting this! For a long time I've wanted to have my arcade cabinet with an emulator in it, and now that I own a home, I can make that a reality. One of my priorities will be audio quality, one of the most neglected aspects of pretty much every custom cabinet and build I've seen, and I'm always looking for more info and good ideas so this thread is very useful! My planned build would be based on a Raspberry Pi 4B. I'm currently looking at some of the mid-size cabinet offerings from this vendor because they seem to be a good mix of affordable and well designed and you can do some customization when you order:

https://gameroomsolutions.com/

They also have 4" cut-outs for speakers, which is handy. But I also want to have good bass, so I am thinking about adding a compact subwoofer like this:

https://www.parts-express.com/Dayto...k-Gaming-Subwoofer-with-2.1-Amplifier-300-481

Also, what about some bass shakers? I was thinking that something like this could work well mounted inside the cabinet:

https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-BST-1-High-Power-Pro-Tactile-Bass-Shaker-50-Watts-295-244

The vibrations would travel through the cabinet and you'd feel it in the control panel while you play. Has anyone tried anything like that? Are bass shakers too much, and should I just stick with some good speakers and a small sub?
 
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