I’ve been installing both Tsunami Medium and Heavy Steam Engine Sound decoders and am wondering if I’m missing something. Some of the Whistles are deafening while others are very faint. I’ve checked CV 128 and they are all set at the loudest setting.
Is this volume inconsistancy typical or am I messing up the programming? Every other sound, such as chuff and bell is loud and clear.
Fergie
Whistle volume is listed as CV129
I have what I think might be a medium in an IHC Mikado, and it is a robust sound in all aspects. I am very pleased with how it turned out. On the other hand, my installer would surely have placed a light steam in my P2K 0-6-0, and that whistle is quite faint. I have tried to improve the volume with no luck. The chuff is better, but still a bit tinny. It might be the size of the tender…dunno.
The Heavy tsunami has this issue with the different whistles. It is just a case of the recorded whistles are at different levels. This can be helped with changing the CV for the whistle, but there is no real way to sharpen the soft whistles so they can be played at an ear popping level.
David
[#ditto] Some people record sounds with the mu meters pegging out while others keep it right around the 0dB level. What surprises me is that Soundtraxx didn’t take them into a studio and normalize them a bit.
My mistake [:I] 129 is the CV I experimented with.
I’ts unfortunate they didn’t get all the values the same.
I bought a Digitraxx SFX064D today and have to say the whistle is nice and loud but not of the same quality as the Tsunami, saying that, it will be installed in a 2-10-0 and I think I’ll be happy with that
Fergie
I find that I end up setting my CV’s so that the volume is only 1/3 to 1/2 of the full-on default. In a small room, it’s just too much to have them up that loud.
The Tsunami is a 16 bit sound decoder and all others are 8 bit…there will NEVER be a comparison in sound quality.
David
Most of quieter whistles have more natural low frequency content. Throttle Up!/Soundtraxx has expressed their philosophy in the past on this issue - amplifier preservation, speaker protection and prevention of distortion. For example, many people use the 0.1W round speakers with Tsunami decoders; they are not well suited for low frequencies (below 350Hz); using these speakers with a Tsunami, which was designed with greater frequency bandwidth response, could damage the speakers, which in turn could DAMAGE the amplifier. Also you must consider the effect of actual impedance on the amplifier; the 8 ohm rating of a speaker is typically based on the output at 1KHz; impedance drops as the frequency drops on an inductive device (speakers are inductive) low whistles could drop the impedance as low as 1 ohm!
Using the largest speaker or speakers (two 8 ohm speakers in series works well with a Tsunami) and adjusting the built-in equalizer will improve the sound of the low frequency whistles. BTW, adjusting the EQ will help to improve the output of various speaker sizes and types.
For larger tenders, try the Intervox S11X16VNS 28mm x 40mm oval speaker or the Kobitone equivalent:
http://www.alliedelec.com/Images/Products/Datasheets/BM/ICC/ICC_Audio-Video-and-Telecom_6232085.pdf
Phoenix Sound systems have been 16 bit for years and years.