Blast City speakers clicking/popping/generally just sound bad

[mmmmaerk]

I'm trying to iron out the last of my issues with this Blast City now that I have a working monitor and my Naomi has been repaired.

I keep the volume very low because if it's turned up things sound too harsh, like the bass is blown out. The speakers seem to randomly pop, usually soon after turning the machine on. I think after it pops the volume sometimes gets lower. Do I just need new speakers or could it be a wiring problem?

 

[tDRG]

The original speakers tend to rot out on these, no bass is usually the most noticable effect of that. I usually hear a pop when booting up, I think that's normal. Probably justs needs new speakers. Big thread about that here:

https://www.arcade-projects.com/threads/blast-city-speaker-replacement.8629/

They're a pain to access, you need to take the monitor out and either bend the brackets or completely disassemble the front, back, and bottom. I went with KC's replacements, they fit without modifying or stretching the housing and are shielded.

 

[ShootTheCore]

I'm trying to iron out the last of my issues with this Blast City now that I have a working monitor and my Naomi has been repaired.

I keep the volume very low because if it's turned up things sound too harsh, like the bass is blown out. The speakers seem to randomly pop, usually soon after turning the machine on. I think after it pops the volume sometimes gets lower. Do I just need new speakers or could it be a wiring problem?

I was thinking that your cab's PSU/amplifier needs to be recapped if the behavior changes over time. If you haven't recapped it already, you should do so that your arcade boards get steady, safe power delivery.

https://wiki.arcadeotaku.com/w/Sega_Blast_City_PSU

 

[mmmmaerk]

They're a pain to access, you need to take the monitor out and either bend the brackets or completely disassemble the front, back, and bottom. I went with KC's replacements, they fit without modifying or stretching the housing and are shielded.

Damn I might just leave them alone for now. They don't bother me too much.

I was thinking that your cab's PSU/amplifier needs to be recapped if the behavior changes over time. If you haven't recapped it already, you should do so that your arcade boards get steady, safe power delivery.

I haven't recapped any of my stuff yet. I've used a soldering iron for some simple things before so I think I could handle it.

I have a Sun PSU I'm planning on using with the Naomi once it returns, but is that needed? I see on that wiki page that the Blast PSU has 5v and 3.3v adjustment pots. I'll probably just use the Sun anyway since it's already hooked up and I tweaked the voltages exactly.

 

[notsonic]

The Sun really isn't necessary if your Blast PSU is working fine. I would recap everything just to keep it simpler and less cluttered.

The speaker replacement really isn't impossible with the monitor in place if you bend the brackets. The replacement speakers from KC are probably your best bet for the least hassle. https://www.ebay.com/itm/195406903522?hash=item2d7f28b8e2:g:ZpcAAOSw2jti4xJF

Another cause for audio crackles could be a crusty volume knob. It'd probably be worth it to clean it with deoxit.

 

[mike hancho]

I found the speaker replacements a pain without taking the cab apart. But it was well worth it!!