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Get a SHIELD, they were just on Prime Day for $130. Plenty of muscle for MAME.
If you're asking for an Android box rather than an AndroidTV box, you're in the wrong sub. And most of said Android boxes aren't up to the task of running MAME.
If you are using an android box and the chipset is from amlogic, then take a look at batocera linux, batocera is the awesome project recalbox, but compiled and tweaked for many other platforms besides the raspberry pi
The Mi Box running Oreo works perfect with MAME / FBA emulation with RetroArch. Also have all the other typical console cores installed NES, SNES, Genesis, PS1, etc. About 1,000 roms on mine right now.
No slowdowns or issues that I've seen even up to the holy grail SFIII-3. You can plug in a USB hub and do two arcade sticks if you want to be authentic. I'm guessing the Shield TV would be a bit better, but certainly no problems from a $70 Mi Box from an emulation standpoint.
Note that there is a tiny bit if input latency in emulation (3-4 frames), and RetroArch is adding this new read-ahead tech to improve that. The faster the processor the more threads will read-ahead. On a PC (Core i5) there is actually less latency than the original console now if you turn on a few threads. Make sure to put your tv in "gaming mode" as it typically knocks 15-20ms off input lag. There is a big post about it on RetroArch's website.
I would just get a Pi. You're already buying the screen for one.
I don't recommend Android boxes for anything. They're all garbage in my eyes.