What do people think are the most realistic sounds for steam and diesel between Railsounds, Protosound, and Protosound 2? I’m sure anything is better than the generic toy-like whistle that comes with the starter 4-4-2. With Railsounds, can the crew talk be turned off (or is it activated separately?) I’d like the sounds of the loco without the crew talk. I’ve also considered getting a Williams F7, wondering how the TrueBlast horn sounds.
thx, Don
It’s probably not the answer you wanted, but the best sound package depends on your preference. I generally prefer MTH’s Proto 2 over Lionel’s Railsounds when running trains for kids (or adults that act like kids) because of the variety of sound effects and how crisp and clean the sound is. Railsounds is more muffled and seems to have a lot of background noise.
You can also access more Proto 2 sound features in conventional mode, which is nice for temporary holiday layouts and the like. Railsounds requires TM operation to access anything more than your basic horn and motor sounds. On the flipside, Railsounds doesn’t require a battery to operate (though you probably want to install one to maintain sound over track sections with electrical “gaps”).
A strong “plus” for Railsounds is the horn and whislte sounds - they sound much more realistic to me than do Proto 2 whistles and horns. I recently picked up a Pennsy T1 in the Lionmaster line, and the whistle sent shivers up my spine. No Proto 2 whistle has ever done that. The Railsounds diesel horns are superior as well.
If you want good, clean, fun sound with lot’s of “huff and chuff,” go Proto 2. Choose Railsounds if you want some great realism in horn and whistle sounds.
Proto 1 (Protosound) doesn’t compete with either Proto 2 or the newest version of Railsounds. Proto 1 is okay, but the other two are newer and sound better. I can’t speak to TrueBlast, as I do not have any experience with Williams.
Len
All sounds in our hobby are “TOO BIG” sounding for the model you’re looking at. In other words, the sounds aren’t to “scale.” I had a friend point this out to me that doesn’t run trains. When he came into the train room and heard the sounds, he thought there were models at least 10 feet tall in there. So, it’s all in good fun.
I am partial to postwar Lionel and American Flyer air whistles. The Diesel horns do nothing for me, however.
I run the MTH DCS system with TMCC on my layout. The PS 2 engines sounds are easier to adjust. The TMCC engines sounds cannot be individually adjusted. The PS sounds after the individual adjustments have been made (to suit your taste) are great.
The best sound comes from the engine I’m currently operating! Be it an old Lionel air whistle to RS 5.0. They all have their appeal. I like the new Williams horns and whistles. You pess the horn button and the Whistle/hron runs though a grade crossing sequence. It’s not PS or RS’s, but it has a wonderful railroady sound!
Good sound from a toy train engine has so much to do with variable such as room size, sound deadning materials nearby and even the slope of the room’s ceiling.
I own many lionel engines and just a few MTH. I can honestly say that MTH proto 2 sounds better than lionel. Lionels always sound sort of muffled. Lionel sounds like mono while MTH sounds like stereo. Mth is just sounds clearer and crisper. It is all about preference though some people like the rough sound of lionel. They say it sounds more realistic that is more like the real world. Sound is good though because without it all you here is can motors and gears turning.
I don’t like the diesel horn & bell sounds on my 2 Williams F-3s recently purchased… sounds like an 18-wheeler truck mono-tone horn and dinner bell clanking - not trains… my new MTH PS2 sounds great — except the chuff rate is only 2 per wheel revolution…I’m told should be 4 due to drive wheel relationships…
Lionel rs 5.0 is the king! see the video on lionel.com It leaves mth in the dust!
Lionel hands down! (IMHO). Can’t really understand the “muffled” sound folks are describing–I don’t hear it. Nothing sounds more richer or fuller to my ears. Don’t take this as knocking MTH sounds, I own several MTH diesels and steam engines, the sound is certainly good, but compared to the Lionel, it’s just missing something.
cj
You can’t go wrong with Railsounds or PS2. It is really a matter of which controls you use. I use DCS and TMCC so I can run both kinds of engines. Both sound wonderful to me.
Jim H
It must be an age thing, to most people, train engines and horns are noise, just like most 12 year olds music is to the older generation [:D]