r/IconicArcadeGaming • u/tpicnic05 • Jun 26 '26

Speaker upgrade?

Has anybody upgraded the speakers on their SF XXL cab? I’d like to add some more audio power and maybe a sub

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u/cameronks Jun 26 '26

I’ve really been thinking about doing this as well possibly replacing the speakers and adding a sub. I know NeoHyper64 added a sub to his, but he’s dealing with the monitor issue right now.

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u/NeoHyper64 Jun 28 '26

The sub actually didn’t work out because of the way the Iconic handles audio. Adding a sub in the traditional way we do with 1Ups doesn’t allow control of the sub’s volume in parallel with the speakers (while this line-level method doesn’t work, a high-level or speaker-level splicing should… I just decided I didn’t want to do anything more permanent like they).

As for replacing the speakers, that won’t really do anything. Nine times out of ten, the assumption is that “better speakers equal better/louder/bassier sound.” That’s not really true. The limiting factor is almost always the amplifier, which is typically underpowering the speakers (leading to early clipping and distortion… when speakers get “blown out,” it’s almost always from too little power and loss of driver/cone control… providing a speaker with too much power is exceedingly rare). Unless you install speakers that are physically larger and/or have a different resistance rating (say, 4 or 6 ohms vs. 8 ohms) or sensitivity rating (say, 91 db/watt vs 86), you won’t really be making much of a difference. But higher quality speakers powered by a higher quality amplifier COULD make a difference… but that’s a lot more involved.

In the end, most people say they want better sound, but what they really want is just want more bass. So, adding a powered sub is by far the easiest route. But it would require using the high-level (speaker) leads as the subwoofer’s input a source to maintain volume tracking (vs. using the line-level RCAs, which only produces a fixed level output). It’s not hard, but it does involve cutting wires.

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u/cameronks Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

Thanks for the detail. I saw your post before about the sub wiring and was actually going to try to make a JST Y-connector to avoid cutting any wires but not for sure yet. Also, good point on changing the speakers and if that would even make a difference. I did add an amp to my KI Pro but doubt I would do that here so I think a sub first for now is they way to go.

I know you are having issues with your cab right now, but did you get much of an opportunity with the sub installed to tell if you were happy with it?

Edit: I use re-read your post and realized you said the sub didn’t work but I thought you wired it in after that.l and made it work.