I am mostly in agreement a s some sound effects just don’t sound real enough to bother with. Some locomotives at the club I belong to are way too loud, I don’t have the necessary clout to get them adjusted. On the other hand a Walthers DCC F unit I have is too quiet. 
On my home DC layout I wish I had some sound to just add a little realism.
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I am of your view toward sound in loco’s. I model in N and have mostly Diesel motive power. I stated my concerns in a letter to the editor on MRR last year. I was warry of upgrading to sound equipped locos as the “diesel sound” in any scale, but particularly in N, favored the high pitch whine of the generator rather than the deep burble of the diesel engines that I typically associated with real life loco’s. I wondered if my hearing was off. MRR staff acknowledged this was due to the small size of the speakers unable to produce in the lower frequency, but described some “surround sound” systems like Rolling Thunder from BLI or the Digitrax system. None of my N locos are DCC equipped, but they will be when (if) I continue with my next N layout (depends on space negotiations with wife) but I will not install loco specific sound, but I will explore some of the “surround sound” systems. If I go with a smaller HO layout I will use sound,
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I love DCC and sound. Sound, to me adds the overall effect of realism. I like hearing what I experience at trackside. As I type this, I have a GP9 on the layout just idling after I took the photo below. I really enjoy the sound of the prime mover.
To me, the key is turning it down. Way down. I reduce the volume on my locomotives to approximately 30% of factory settings, except the horn. By reducing the cacophony to something more representative of the scale distance between my ear and the locomotive, it’s so much more enjoyable. I’m sure the family appreciates it, too.
Hope this helps,
DFF
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I bought a DCC ready HO KATO SD80MAC new in the box at a train show for I think just a little over $100. I think this model looks really nice. It was very easy to put a decoder in it. I did go with a digitrax sound decoder at first and I’m not happy with it. I have a lok sound decoder and new speaker sitting waiting to be installed, I just haven’t gotten around to doing that yet. moto control only decoders aren’t super expensive and if I finally get around to updating some old stuff from my childhood I’ll probably keep those moto only.
My only complaint with KATO is a lot of the details are not installed. I know many in this hobby like to build stuff, but my hands just can’t do some of the finer work.
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I haven’t gotten a chance to dive into CVs yet, but is it possible to have locos sound off by default??
If and when I get around to doing a roundhouse or any of my yard track for that matter, I intend to have each track segment have a power toggle.
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MikeS, Soundtraxx and ESU decoders can default to sound off by utilizing F8, though with Soundtraxx F8 silences the sound whereas with ESU F8 turns on sound. Additionally, you can set Soundtraxx decoders to be silent when track power is turned on (even if F8 is off) and they will not sound until they are addressed in the throttle and movement started. I find this to be the best solution.
Regards, Chris
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I agree with Chris. I myself think that running without sound is like pushing acorpse around on the track, but that’s just me.
I have about 30 engines all with different iterations of Soundtraxx decoders. Turning sound on and off with F8 on your cab is a feature on all of them except an ill-founded one called sound value, which has been discontinued apparently. You can set it to turn off the sound after whatever time interval you choose. I myself have it turn off after about 10 seconds, which allows for most switching moves but cuts the sound off after the engine sits still for 10 seconds.
I’m not the richest guy in the world by far but I’ll always get the best highest end whatever I’m buying, including decoders and DCC systems. Penny pinching on sound in particular to me just erodes the fun I could be having. I only have a few short years left on earth and by Jimminy I’m going to have the most fun I can while I can.
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Well said Patrick!
Regards, Chris
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I’d rather have no sound than pay extra for a sound equipped loco that sounds like a 1920’s gramophone. I have taken several railfanning trips and they have left me with an appreciation for the sound of a diesel locomotive, both idling and out on the mainline, and my few sound equipped locomotives don’t come close.
I’m not the richest guy in the world either, so don’t want to pay for something I’ll never use. To maximize my fun, from both financial and time perspectives, I’d rather be able to buy what I am looking for. As I age, it’s getting tougher to do what I did 20 years ago, like install decoders in small locomotives.
Sound in larger scales can be OK, but the quality just isn’t there in N-scale, and due to pure physics, I don’t think it ever will be.
There are a lot of good comments here with “solutions” that don’t really address my original question, how many of you think manufacturers should offer three options, DC, DCC, and DCC-Sound?
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My experience is with O, where sound is just as massive as the trains, so I do like sound. But I agree:
They should most definitely have all three. I have become tired of not being able to find conventional (for me AC, but you get the idea) locomotives that cost less than command ones. I don’t need command control, but if it’s actually cheaper…
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I don’t usually check other manufacturers, but checking Kato’s site, virtually every locomotive sold, N or HO, has three choices – DC, DCC, DCC+Sound.
The prices are manufacturer prices – I can always find hobby shop prices lower.
This is just on page from their site:
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Nobody mentioned Intermountain. They do not offer a DC version in their HO locomotives - only DCC or DCC plus Sound. They may be the only HO loco mfr I’m aware of that offers DCC without sound from the factory.
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I’m a steam modeler so I don’t have a lot of experience with model diesel sound, but I have to agree that the couple of sound equipped diesels I have don’t have a lot of power in the sound. Especially the horns, pretty cheesy sounding and not nearly loud enough. I’m totally satisfied with my steam sounds though. They will never equal the real thing, of course, but after a few minutes of operating I get immersed in the sound and don’t notice shortcomings.
That being said, I might advance the thought that Model Railroad companies are no different than any other companies, they make what sells and don’t make what doesn’t sell. If there’s a shortage of non-sound DCC equipped locomotives on the market. It probably means that not a whole lot of people are buying them. I came to terms of that a long time ago when I realized that I could buy a Pennsylvania Railroad steam locomotive anytime I wanted, but was never going to find a Missouri pacific one anywhere ready made.
This is some of the best undergrowth along the track I’ve ever seen, what are the products you used and how did you do it?
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With a healthy dose of technology train sound could be played through decent sized speakers placed around the layout. the loco would emit a signal that is not audible to a receiver that mixes sound through half a dozen speakers using sound imaging similar to stereo/surround sound techniques around the layout.You would hear the sound like its coming from the train.
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This sounds like Broadway Limited rolling thunder they marketed a few years ago. I don’t know how successful it was or not.
I recognize that curve. Wasn’t there a complete step-by-step discussion how it was done?
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Rolling Thunder is very successful, despite some folks online running it down. I’ve converted BLI locos that didn’t have Paragon 3 or 4, just to get the Rolling Thunder chip in there. I have mine running through a Polk PSW10 subwoofer and it’s fantastic. I’ll be buying another one when Amazon puts the subwoofer back on sale. A lot of people got the Rolling Thunder receiver free when they purchased Broadway’s Conductors Club Challengers (or N-gauge Big Boys).
I saw Bob Grubba on a YouTube once lamenting the demise of the local hobby shop specifically because it removed the opportunity to hear working examples of the Rolling Thunder system. It does seem pretty hard to convince some people who’ve never actually heard it.
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New locomotives that are DCC Ready have a 21 pin board that you simply plug a 21 pin decoder into. It’s set up to run right away. Unless you are squeamish about opening a locomotive’s shell and pushing a decoder onto a board, there is no reason to buy a new locomotive with a decoder already installed
What you’re seeing in the photo is my represent of kudzu. I start with a base layer of ground foam in the event of any voids in the foliage. I model kudzu by stretching Poly Fiber out thin and covering it with a layer of SuperLeaf. It’s just glued down with diluted white glue.
Thanks,
DFF