Neo Geo advice

jtdollard

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Ok so i have been on the hunt for a Neo Geo Ideally one of the gold one I just don't have room for a "Big Red". Being that they are hard to come by i knew it would not be cheep so I decided to call a large well known coin op seller that is not to far away from me. They offered to build me a one slot in a Williams cab with a fresh 19" monitor and a 161 in 1 card. Now I'm not going to to share the cost but lets just say it was not cheep But knowing the background of this company I'm sure it would be a nice conversion. So my question is to you guys what is the most you would spend on a Neo Geo?
 
Well considering that literally last night I just picked up my first dedicated "big red" Neo Geo with a 2-slot board in it and one game along with a Dedicated Samurai Showdown 2 Neo Geo for the total of $200...Id' say not much lol.

The only issue with my Big Red is the monitor. The power supply in the Samurai Showdown 2 (which I sold to Tbbk) has issues.
 
$400 is what i was wanting to stay under but this cab is from a retailer and well over twice that. The local used market is not that great ether the only one i have seen listed on Craigslist in the last month or so is a one slot in a Dynamo cab that they are wanting $350 I have not seen this one but i have seen very few Dynamo conversions that have come out good.
 
there are a couple different cabs. I'd be surprised if the standard 2 slot is that much bigger than the cab you are thinking of getting converted. Conversions usually look like crap, especially with neo geos. if you have the patience I'd just look out for one over the next few months and see what pops up. I don't understand why you don't want to say what you are planning on paying. Go ahead and throw it out there, hell, someone not too far from you might offer to sell you a decent dedicated neo for less money or give you a lead.

One thing I've learned the hard way with arcades is it is worth some extra money to get what you really want. it's a pain selling/fetching/moving them around. also be patient, there have been multiple times I paid more for something that if I had waited a little while I would have got something better or the same thing for cheaper.

Since you don't want to say the price I'm guessing you could probably get 2 decent real neo geos for what you are paying for a conversion.

also you might want to make a little room for the extra width if a neo cab is bigger than the williams you want to convert. neo geo games are almost all 2 player and I would think that would be cramped on a willaims 19 cab. also neo geos with a 25 just look awesome compared to a 19.
 
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Neo MVS units are not rare like the home systems. I bought an MVS-2 in very nice shape with KOF '96 and SS2 for $400. Even though that may have been a little steep, the guy later gave me 10 games (including a complete kit of Bust-A-Move Again) and 2 mobos with issues (a 4 and a 6, both of which I later sold) for free. So in reality, I may have even made some money on the deal...

I would say wait for the real deal, so you don't kick yourself later. Also the 1-slot is the least desireable. A 2-slot will also run a multi-cart no problem, and because it can cycle through games in attract mode, screen-burn becomes less of an issue.
 
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Prices are all over the place. My First Big Red 4 Slot only cost me $225 at auction and had a fantastic monitor in there. mish mash games...

I've gotten a Tall Boy for free and one for $150 where they needed just some monitor work. I've gotten big red empty cabs for free with single slot boards in them.

Typically a retail price for one around my parts is about $500 with decent games in them for a 4 slot big red. Everything else goes down from there, unless it's a 2 slot mini or a big ole 6 slot. Golds are worth about $250-$300 and are more rare. Many are converted... I think they are ugly although the size is cool.

Conversions aren't worth much more than $200 as they never look any good.

One thing to consider is that the big reds are among the most narrow of 25" cabs so it really pays off to get one at that size. The control panel is most comfortable if you are medium height 5'6" or so... No so much if you are closer to 6'
 
Wait for a dedicated cab. At least get a 4-slot. I doubt a conversion cab has headphone output jacks, which are a nice option to have. And I don't think a converted Williams cab would have 2 speakers, which is required for stereo sound.
 
Williams is wider than the neo geo by 5/8". Heights are about the same. Neo geo is a bit deeper but williams cabinets are really shallow.
 
Yeah I think I'm going to hold out for a dedicated cab. I would like to find a MVS-2-19 but my second choice is a first gen 4 slot (second gen would work as well) I know of a third gen cab that i can get for $80 but it needs a board. Plus those are the worst looking of the bunch. I did find a guy in Kentucky with a U4 for sale but he wanted $1200 and even for a candy cab in the south I think thats a little crazy. I guess its back to watching craigslist.
 
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