i’m Just getting started in N scale and i’m wondering if its worth getting locomotives that have sound or should i just go with dcc without sound? Thanks
I will repeat here what i said in your other thread with a bit more added:
[#welcome] to the forums!
The problem as I see it is that the smaller the speaker, the greater the sound distortion.
Also, not all decoders with sound actually match to the “real sound” of the loco, though many match the loco well.
The sound to me {even in HO scale} sounds to “tinny” and is annoying to me after a short while. WHile one can “turn it off”, it kinda defeats the purpose of having it to begin with…
Also, if you have a few locos going at the same time, it gets a bit chaotic and noisy as they compete for your ear drums.
Based on that, I would get the DCC only equipment, NOT the SOUND DCC equipment. If you have never heard a sound loco, go ahead and buy one to test out to see if you like it. You may or may not. It would be your choice.
Just my opinion, others are sure to vary…
[8-|]
As far as sound in N Scale.I’m not convince-yet.
Maybe this will help you decide.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSn2mrFWW7Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVNkU4woFM0&feature=related
Now…Here’s another idea that has possibilities.Sound in a boxcar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccmeaHBJHs0&feature=fvsr
IMHO you wouldn’t have to drag the boxcar around with the engine-just have it sitting close by.
Sound is fun for the first hour. After that it’s like having tinnitus. If you’re planning a layout that grows, you don’t need sound in every engine, either. About the only time I like it is when I’m switching cars, getting that rising and falling of the old EMD 567 as the loco goes back and forth shunting cars. Otherwise, it’s a distraction.
Also, recall that sound decoder draw a heluva lot more current, so again, if you’re going for a big layout with lots of engines, be prepared to shell out for lots of boosters, or suffer the consequences of lots of shut downs.
Maybe I’m just old school, but if you lash up a couple of diesels and string out a nice size train (especially with metal wheels) you get a pleasant sound from that without a bunch of embellishments.
Lee
I have to admit that I like sound, whereas my wife doesn´t. The sounding horn and bell can quickly become a nuisance, but if applied sensibly, it adds a touch of realism. It is not advisable to run more than one sound loco at a time, though.
In N scale, there is an issue with those tiny speakers. The rumble of a heavy Diesel is more of a bumble. The sound will always be thin and tinny.
I am in the planning stage of a small Z scale layout, which will have sound. There is no way you can squeeze a speaker into a Z scale loco, but this is what I intend to do. I will wire a sound decoder to the power feeds of the rails, which uses the same address as the loco. I will wire a sizable speaker to this decoder to get a much better sound. For small layouts, it does not matter at all, that the sound is not coming directly from the loco, as the hearing distance hardly varies.
My advise? Go to your LHS and have a look (and hear) at an N scale sound loco - if you like it, go down that route, if not - stay with silent DCC, you still have an option later on.
Some time this July or August I plan on doing some sound for my N scale layout. Not in the engines though.
I will do as Ulrich and buy some HO sound decoders to mount under the main yard and other industrial switching sections of track.
These will also be set for the engine numbers that the switchers use.
I wouldn’t add sound. After installing some decoders in an Atlas C420 and a Model Power 2-6-0, there wasn’t any room for a second decoder.
I agree when it comes to running that way. Horn and bell would be nice though.
I also agree…The horn and bell would be nice…