dcc/sound

[bcrn]

for those of you that have dcc and sound, how long did it take for the extra noise to be so annoying that you shut it off? just curious.

[jonklein611]

Not yet,

Personally, I miss it when I run my non sound stuff.

[lvrr325]

I have just the one sound engine and I ran it two or three times with the sound on, then I turned it off and don't even think about it.

[mlehman]

Feb 29, 2016 22:10:18 GMT -8 bcrn said:

for those of you that have dcc and sound, how long did it take for the extra noise to be so annoying that you shut it off? just curious.

Just so you know, there is a CV to adjust the volume. If you're running yours at "Extra Noise Annoying" level, then you have that amp turned up to 11 -- turn it down to 1 or 2 and you'll enjoy it more.

[atsfan]

Not that long
Use of the horn doesn't bother me
It is the drone of the prime mover.

[notabob]

I haven't gotten tired yet, but I set sounds on mine to reasonable levels. Adjusting sound levels to less than full blast (as many decoders come from the factory) makes a huge difference. Prototypically speaking, the horn should always be loudest, followed by the bell and prime mover set at a similar volume level. Accessory sounds even lower (spitter valve, dynamics, brake squeal, etc.). Turning everything on full blast is when things start getting particularly annoying. Also, a good quality sound recording coupled with a good speaker greatly improves the enjoyment of sound for me. As an example - I get genuine enjoyment out of listening to the prime mover hum of a Rapido factory sound GMD-1 as it trundles along the layout. At the same time the standard SoundTraxx 16-645E3 (e.g. SD40-2) sound gets a little "drony" at higher revs. Turning the prime mover volume down a bit helps a lot for those.

[emd16645]

With a decent size layout, you shouldn't be able to hear the sound (particularly idling prime movers) from across the room. Turning them down is key. The only time higher volume should even be considered is for shows.

[Paul Cutler III]

Sorry, but I still use sound. At my club, it has to be set at full volume or it will be lost in the 50' x 132' room (with a 12' ceiling). At my old layout, I usually only ran 1 or 2 trains with sound at a time...mostly because I didn't have that many sound engines in the first place.

If I were to build a bedroom sized layout (120 sq. ft. or so), I would turn the volume down quite a ways. I wouldn't want to hear multiple engines running in the room because it would be just a din of noise. OTOH, if I was running just the one train, I like to listen to the engine. So I guess it's like one train = loud, multiple trains = soft.

[canrailfan]

Feb 29, 2016 22:10:18 GMT -8 bcrn said:

for those of you that have dcc and sound, how long did it take for the extra noise to be so annoying that you shut it off? just curious.

I'm not sure what your experience was with a sound-equipped locomotive, it seems it wasn't an enjoyable one.

As already mentioned, many manufacturer-installed sound decoders come with the volume set way too high. This is changing now but in most cases it is necessary to lower the volume quite a bit. There is a master volume CV on the decoder to adjust the level, I set my sound level by the 'six foot' rule. This means you have to walk up to the locomotive to hear it running or only hear it as it passes close by. Individual sounds can be adjusted if desired, as notabob described.

Another feature of many sound decoders is automatic shutdown. If the locomotive has been parked (and lights turned off in some cases) for several minutes, the decoder will initiate the shutdown sound sequence and turn the sound off automatically. The start-up sequence will be initiated when the locomotive is moved again. This means that every locomotive in your engine terminal doesn't have to be heard all the time.

All the locomotives I've purchased in the last couple of years have had sound and I'm currently putting sound decoders into my non-sound locomotives. I find that with the high quality recordings being used for today's sound decoders, 'working' the sound provides an extra level realism when I'm operating a train.

David

[tdspeedracer]

I agree with the above as far as volume levels. Late EMD's will bother me after long periods of time due the to turbo whine, but in general it's not an issue. If your running them loud enough that you don't notice the sound coming and going, then IMHO it's too loud.

Trevor

[hirailer]

I sort of like the sound on my locomotives but not too loud. Poor sound from poor decoders and speakers can be very irritating, especially when several locos are running on the layout at the same time.

I spent some time experimenting with various speakers and their placement in the locos and found that sugar cube speakers or iphone4 speakers work the best for me, the latter being preferred.

For me, engine sound adds to the realism, the prototype is not soundless.

Mel

[kentuckysouthernrwy]

Gotta keep it down. I have had the sound get annoying if trying to do something else in the room. I agree with the 6 foot, or even less, rule suggested.

[autocoach]

About 2 years ago I was very gung ho sound for every new loco and conversion for older ones. Since then I have suffered some inner ear problems that have led to loss of hearing in many frequencies that can not be simply fixed by current hearing aid technology. (This was not caused by the cacophony of 3-4 HO sound diesels idling at once. Just an age thing.)

So the answer in my case is that sound is now not important. My next planned US prototype acquisition is the Rapido RDC SP #10. I have reserved the silent version which has the added benefit of being $100 cheaper.

[jhuteman]

Depends on the loco, the 'jet engine whine' of the DD40 does get annoying after a while but that "chug-chug" from the steamers never gets old!