Running my SD90 Mac last night I noticed that the sound coming from it sounded WAY TOO BIG for the engine! Think about this for a moment. We have strived for realistic sound. Now we have it. But the sound makes the engines not fit the scale. The railsounds on this engine makes one think there is something at least 4 times larger coming down the line. [%-)]
Maybe thats why they have a volume control. So you can turn it down to fit the size of your room. [:D][:D]
It’s not the volume, it’s the scale of the sound. Jack’s right. Lionel has prided themselves on getting the sound “just right” by recording actual locomotives, and that’s what we get, the sound of a full-sized diesel belching locomotive. Of course, a “scale” sound might just be too silly. 
It would be more like PEEP PEEP than the GRRRRRRRRR. I have to turn the volume down on my MTH. MTH does a good job of the throtle noise change as it gets faster. It labors in the middle and then smooths out as the train gets to rolling.
Yes, that’s what I mean. I knew I wasn’t explaining it correctly. It isn’t the VOLUME it’s the sheer BIGNESS of the sound. I dunno…Just thought it was interesting…hadn’t noticed it before.
It does sound BIG. But then, when I’m tired of it, I turn down the sound.[:)]
It’s just like every other aspect of the O27 hobby - almost scale, almost correct![:)]
Sounds I don’t care for are the bell. Short bursts are OK but left on too long, it is irritating.
Also, I used to like the chatter but after a while, the repetitiveness of it becomes just as irritating as the bell left on too long and I shut it off. OTOH, if you have several locomotives chattering at once, it sounds kinda cool. But just one loco chatting away is not that cool.
One fellow had the idea of pumping in real train chatter to the train from off the Internet. I thought that was a pretty neat idea.
Dav