Astro City vs NEW Astro City... Pro's and Con's?

[Kusanagi-sama']

I am currently thinking of buying either 2 Astro City's or 2 NEW Astro City cabinets to be used for head to head play. However I am still unsure as to which ones I should go with. On the surface there seems only minor improvements with the NEW Astro City which makes me think it might not warrant the extra $ outlay for it.

Improvements such as:

- Improved sound quality
- Dual res monitor 15/24k

Apart from that it looks basically the same and is practically as old as the original in terms of manafacture date. To those of you out there who have or have had one or both of these cabinets please let me know what you think.

I am going to be using them to run either Atomiswave or CPS2 stuff. So, should I spend the extra $ for the NEW Astro's or should I just keep it simple and stick with the original model?

PS - Please keep in mind these will be used for commerical use and as such I am not to worried about things that collectors would be if I was buying it to use at home.

 

[stuffmonger]

I am currently thinking of buying either 2 Astro City's or 2 NEW Astro City cabinets to be used for head to head play. However I am still unsure as to which ones I should go with. On the surface there seems only minor improvements with the NEW Astro City which makes me think it might not warrant the extra $ outlay for it.

Improvements such as:

- Improved sound quality
- Dual res monitor 15/24k

Apart from that it looks basically the same and is practically as old as the original in terms of manafacture date. To those of you out there who have or have had one or both of these cabinets please let me know what you think.

I am going to be using them to run either Atomiswave or CPS2 stuff. So, should I spend the extra $ for the NEW Astro's or should I just keep it simple and stick with the original model?

PS - Please keep in mind these will be used for commerical use and as such I am not to worried about things that collectors would be if I was buying it to use at home.

I'd go with the old astros. Personally, I like the look better... those square boxes for the "improved speakers" look like ass. I wouldn't run AW in anything but a high res cab though... in low res, AW looks really bad (worse than mvs imo) but cps-2 looks and sounds great in my old style astro.

 

[BIG]

I'd go with the old astros. Personally, I like the look better... those square boxes for the "improved speakers" look like ass. I wouldn't run AW in anything but a high res cab though... in low res, AW looks really bad (worse than mvs imo) but cps-2 looks and sounds great in my old style astro.

What he said.

B-

 

[Squid]

Classic,just what i was wondering about these cabs..I pick up mine this week finally(first astro).Wasn't sure it was worth the extra $ i would have needed for the new astro when i only have cps's.soon mvs to!.

With the astro's ,Have any of you guy's who know these cab's well ever bothered replacing the speaker's for improved sound?

 

[stuffmonger]

I havn't personally replaced mine... they sound fine right now, and I usually have a couple cabs running at the same time, so it wouldn't make much of a differene really. Having said that, it wouldn't be hard to replace the speakers. Just be sure to get shielded speakers, and fixing up the wiring with some heavier gauge wire wouldn't hurt either.

 

[Robert]

I think the answer will come from the hardware you choose. If you take the CPS 2 then go for the old models. If you select the AW, then take the new model for the 24K res monitor.

 

[Greywolf]

If you select the AW, then take the new model for the 24K res monitor.

The AW does NOT support 24khz, only 15khz and 31khz!!!

 

[SuperPang]

I have the Astro City 2, the third revision. The main differences between all 3 are improved speakers plus other little tweaks. The later models have audio amps and degauss circuits etc. I think all 3 support 24khz no? Only really useful if you want a dedicated Model 1/2 (ie Virtua Fighter).
The Astro isn't an ideal AW cab imho. Mine needs a bit of fiddling with picture settings to get it looking good and as mentioned, most (ie non-gaymore) games look miles better at 31khz. There are few cabs better suited to CPS2 though.

 

[stuffmonger]

I have the Astro City 2, the third revision. The main differences between all 3 are improved speakers plus other little tweaks. The later models have audio amps and degauss circuits etc. I think all 3 support 24khz no? Only really useful if you want a dedicated Model 1/2 (ie Virtua Fighter).
The Astro isn't an ideal AW cab imho. Mine needs a bit of fiddling with picture settings to get it looking good and as mentioned, most (ie non-gaymore) games look miles better at 31khz. There are few cabs better suited to CPS2 though.

old style astros are only low res, and do have a degause button/coil.
If you want a cabinet that AW will look decent on, you'll have to get a high res cab (ie Blast city, egret 2/3, net city, cyberlead 1/2, etc..), but you won't be able to find any for cheap unless you get REALLY lucky (expect in the $1200-$1500 range pick-up)

 

[Valgar]

Can you get stereo sound from the old Astro?

 

[stuffmonger]

I think it comes out stereo... I'm not entirelly sure, but I think it does... if it doesn't, it wouldn't be a hard mod at all... just run three or four wires from the kick harness of the cps-2 to the speakers.

 

[Lime2K]

I think it comes out stereo... I'm not entirelly sure, but I think it does... if it doesn't, it wouldn't be a hard mod at all... just run three or four wires from the kick harness of the cps-2 to the speakers.

Stereo ins't outputted through the kick harness on CPS2 -- It's got a pair of RCA jacks next to the kick harness connector. It's also not amplified, so unless the cabinet has an amp built in, you'll need one.

 

[Kusanagi-sama']

Classic,just what i was wondering about these cabs..I pick up mine this week finally(first astro).Wasn't sure it was worth the extra $ i would have needed for the new astro when i only have cps's.soon mvs to!.

With the astro's ,Have any of you guy's who know these cab's well ever bothered replacing the speaker's for improved sound?

Don't tell me, your picking them up from Highway Games in Newcastle today?

 

[taitai]

Can you get stereo sound from the old Astro?

No.

I'm toying with ideas on how to rig mine for stereo.

 

[Heinz]

I have a New Astro City cab, personally I think the speakers look better coming out, it's the Astro City 2 that has ugly speakers.
I went with the New Astro City as it's for the dual res monitor and the supposed "better" quality sound.

 

[SuperPang]

Astro 2 has Bose speakers Not sure if the others do, but I can tell you it does things with mono that make me touch myself

 

[Squid]

Don't tell me, your picking them up from Highway Games in Newcastle today?

Ha,Yeah good guess man Highway indeed!.

Parted with 600 cash for an astro yesterday and it's all mine
Overall it's in good shape,one or two light marks.monitor is fairly worn.need's new chassis or globe soon enough i'd say.
Got a cash deal on a set of brand new sanwa button/sticks for $50 as well.
Now just gotta wait till the weekend to pick her up with a van.Could have brought it back with me but only had a trailer.didn't want to risk it.
Will post a pic or two later..

Noticed they have those sweet atomiswave cab's as well for around 1700 like new condition.15/24/31k.



Good to hear word on sound with these cabinet's.

While inspecting both i noticed new astro's systym sounded much nicer than the earlier astro's .Both are dual speaker setup and i think the tecnician said receive sound strait from the jamma connect(mono) on most pcb's.he also mentioned those RCA plug's on the cps2 board i had with us were for amped stereo or q sound if the cabinet was setup that way...Just wondering does anyone make use of these plug's ever if the astro is set up that way?.easliy done?

 

[Valgar]

You could use computer speakers or a put a small amp inside. I havn't seen anyone with a New Astro City do this... most just use the MONO setting, though the RCA jacks will sound a lot better.

 

[Heinz]

Ha,Yeah good guess man Highway indeed!.

Parted with 600 cash for an astro yesterday and it's all mine
Overall it's in good shape,one or two light marks.monitor is fairly worn.need's new chassis or globe soon enough i'd say.
Got a cash deal on a set of brand new sanwa button/sticks for $50 as well.
Now just gotta wait till the weekend to pick her up with a van.Could have brought it back with me but only had a trailer.didn't want to risk it.
Will post a pic or two later..

Noticed they have those sweet atomiswave cab's as well for around 1700 like new condition.15/24/31k.



Good to hear word on sound with these cabinet's.

While inspecting both i noticed new astro's systym sounded much nicer than the earlier astro's .Both are dual speaker setup and i think the tecnician said receive sound strait from the jamma connect(mono) on most pcb's.he also mentioned those RCA plug's on the cps2 board i had with us were for amped stereo or q sound if the cabinet was setup that way...Just wondering does anyone make use of these plug's ever if the astro is set up that way?.easliy done?

I used a dodgy trailer to take my New Astro City cab for a 1 hour drive home.

 

[Squid]

You could use computer speakers or a put a small amp inside. I havn't seen anyone with a New Astro City do this... most just use the MONO setting, though the RCA jacks will sound a lot better.

Sound's like a good idea for the original astro i just got.
I Should have grilled the tecnician for more setup info yesterday but were in the middle of a few things and he left before i had the chance..

 

[Squid]

I used a dodgy trailer to take my New Astro City cab for a 1 hour drive home.

Yeah i guess it was only a 100km drive mainly freeway.Just they had predicted hail yesterday and there were some nasty storm's brewin and knowing my luck ect ect.

Can't wait till mine is at her new home!.
Got your's up and running yet?

 

[Heinz]

Yeah i guess it was only a 100km drive mainly freeway.Just they had predicted hail yesterday and there were some nasty storm's brewin and knowing my luck ect ect.

Can't wait till mine is at her new home!.
Got your's up and running yet?

Yeah spent a total of 7 hours cleaning it and it runs with my MVS 1 slot,still waiting on games in the mail.
Only things that need replacement is the flouro backlight and the buttons.
Wouldn't mind getting a new CP though...who ever did the 2 player kick buttons didn't do the best job with alighning them properly...

 

[Squid]

Yeah spent a total of 7 hours cleaning it and it runs with my MVS 1 slot,still waiting on games in the mail.
Only things that need replacement is the flouro backlight and the buttons.
Wouldn't mind getting a new CP though...who ever did the 2 player kick buttons didn't do the best job with alighning them properly...

Yar cranking along..
what mvs titles you waiting on?

Iv'e got a few thing's to do if i ever pick mine up..It has 6(2p 3/3) button's only so need to drill 6 more,replace all button's and stiks.
might even replace the tube soon.How's you monitor condition?

there's about 3 set's of spare amps/speaker's laying around so hopefully some true amped stereo in there would be nice for keeping the house awake to the sound's of ssturbo, 19XX ,sam shdown,mslug and so on..

 

[Heinz]

Yar cranking along..
what mvs titles you waiting on?

Iv'e got a few thing's to do if i ever pick mine up..It has 6(2p 3/3) button's only so need to drill 6 more,replace all button's and stiks.
might even replace the tube soon.How's you monitor condition?

there's about 3 set's of spare amps/speaker's laying around so hopefully some true amped stereo in there would be nice for keeping the house awake to the sound's of ssturbo, 19XX ,sam shdown,mslug and so on..

Waiting on KOF'96.
Well seeing as I don't have any games to see if the monitor has anything wrong with it, I just went into test mode on my MVS 1 slot and everything looks fine to me.
My CP is alright but just seeing P2's dodgy placed kick buttons makes me anoyyed, it has to be PERFECT!

Does you're cab have any yellowing?

 

[Squid]

Waiting on KOF'96.
Well seeing as I don't have any games to see if the monitor has anything wrong with it, I just went into test mode on my MVS 1 slot and everything looks fine to me.
My CP is alright but just seeing P2's dodgy placed kick buttons makes me anoyyed, it has to be PERFECT!

Does you're cab have any yellowing?

Kof 96 nice..
What u rekon i should pay for a 1 slot?

Nah no yellowing at all..does have a couple of verysmall scuffs through the fibreglass coat.Control panel locks have been drilled out as they had no key but basically it's all pretty good,monitor could be crisper though.

Yeah funny you say that about the buton's i agree it's got to be perfect.Got a mate who's a patternmaker will driil the new hole's perfect.Then i find out today the existing hole's for the stick's on my panel won't let the new stik's fit or somethin!!..gotta now wait till the boss get's back on monday for a look to make sure it's sorted ,,and turn's out i can't pick up the cab this weekend either anyway as no one's there!!..meah
Look's like i'll be to busy ect and'll have to pay for a courier($165) if i want it asap and the van was a free ride but only on the weekend..doh!Oh well iv'e waited this long ..