N Scale sound in locos sound terrible to me

[CRL]

Am I the only N scale modeler who thinks N scale loco sound is terrible, a waste of money and just plain annoying? I can see the validity in S and O scale steam locos, but that’s about it to my ears.

[tehachapifan]

This is a hotly-debated subject but I LOVE my (custom) sound installs and would never go back. It's all about the quality of the sound recording and the speaker enclosure.

[CBQ Fan]

It doesn’t do much for me, but then I also run DC!

[peteski]

There is a wide range of sound quality in N scale. It depends on which brand decoder, what sound file and what speaker/enclosure is used.

If you set your expectations to consider the physical limitations of small speakers which fit in N scale models, then some of them sound pretty darn good.  But just like with any audio equipment (including home and car sound systems), this is a very subjective subject.

Generally I'm not too impressed with diesel engine sound in N scale but the horn and bell sounds are often quite good.  Then there is the Atlas S2 with factory sound. It has a burbling diesel sound which sounds great. It sounds like the engine is about to fall apart (just like the real locos sounded).  Really well done sound project.

Sound in steam locos makes them come alive (much more so than diesels).  The synchronized chuffing, the steam blow-off, the air pump and dynamo, bell and whistle, brake squeal, and other effects all greatly enhance the operation on N scale steam loco.  Again, the quality varies greatly, but there are ones which sound really good to me.

The Rapido Turbo Train is another model where the sound greatly enhances the operation. 

[BCR751]

Am I the only N scale modeler who thinks N scale loco sound is terrible, a waste of money and just plain annoying? I can see the validity in S and O scale steam locos, but that’s about it to my ears.

Agree 100%  Although I must admit that the install done by John Columbo in his RS-3 has an engine sound that is perfect.  Just don't blow the horn  

Doug

[CRL]

Since most steam loco sound is high frequency, I agree those sound marginally acceptable, but all the low frequency sounds of a diesel are impossible to reproduce by any on board speaker. You can’t defy the laws of physics, so all you get are high frequency sounds. That’s why bell sounds are ok.

[wm3798]

Ive never been a fan on several fronts.
First, all the extra bits and pieces reduce the overall weight of the engine, thereby limiting it's pulling power.  In steam the sound is usually installed in the tender, so this is less of an issue, and in road diesels, you only need one sound unit in a lashup to get the point across.  But in diesel switchers and small steam, what's the point of having it sound like it's working it's head off if it can only pull 4 cars?

Second, in an ops session with multiple sound units, I get a headache.  It's not as bad as the one I get when the O gauge guys are running so many smoke units that you feel like you're in a hookah bar, but to me it detracts from the restful aspects of the hobby.

Lee

[Steveruger45]

This is a hotly-debated subject but I LOVE my (custom) sound installs and would never go back. It's all about the quality of the sound recording and the speaker enclosure.

My thoughts exactly. I’m very happy with my loksound’s.  I sold all my MRC and other sound decoders even after improving the sound on those with a custom speaker/enclosure to replace the the crappy onboard speaker they had.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I LOVE sound in my engines, but only ESU boards with proper speakers and baffles. BLI is also pretty good.

Volume is a big problem - with many people running the speakers at 100%. But with proper volume control, it can really add to the experience. If installs are done properly, there is no loss of weight. I use the light shields in my engines as sound baffles, making major frame modification minimal. Atlas C40-8, SD50/60/60M, B40-8 and B23-7 are some of the engines that do not require major modifications.

Maybe sound preference has a lot to do with the environment you're in. It sounds great in my basement when I'm alone and the sound can reverberate. But I wouldn't want to use it in a social setting like a club or show. Or even a room with a TV on. It kind of ruins the mood.

DCC is probably mandatory for sound too. Bells, horns, DB whine and so much else that's inaccessible for DC users.

[Jim Starbuck]

As a newcomer to sound equipped locomotives I find the addition pleasant. An RS3 burbling on a siding waiting for the next assignment works fine for me.
Some people insist on running their equipment and annoyingly high volume which detracts from the experience. Kind of like playing even the best music at distortion levels making it irritating.
Careful setup of individual sounds is very important to the overall effect.

Adding sound to small locomotives thus diminishing tractive effort is not a given however. Refer to my post in the weekend update thread. My Arnold SW1 has had no modifications to the mechanism and pulls as well as it ever did.

No, sound equipped or even DCC equipped locomotives for that matter are not for everyone but I suspect that’s been discussed at great length elsewhere.

Baskin Robbins has 31 flavors for a reason.

[jagged ben]

The low sounds are (mostly) there, they just don't carry.  I still think that better results could be achieved with better sound design (i.e. editing the sounds to taylor them to speakers).  Of course better speaker enclosures also help, and matter more in N than in larger scales.

I've been surprised how easily I got converted.

[OldEastRR]

Go to an operating rail line. Stand as far away from it so any passing train looks to be the same size as an N scale one you're looking at from 3 feet. Let me know how loud the real train sounds then.
Sound I guess is like making the choice between building a layout that imitates part of a prototypical one, or just winging it freestyle. People like what they like.
For me, having sound in a loco means I can find out if I've set the control to the right one by blowing the horn to see if that's the loco I want. Also whenever the sounds cut out from all of them, I've got a short. And hard to go off and leave the layout on unintentionally when the locos are grumbling away.
Custom DCC/sound installs are the best way to go this route. With quality equipment and professional work both sound performance and pulling power are maximized.

[jdcolombo]

Well, obviously I'm all in on sound.  Factory sound installs are often lousy, but they have gotten better - the Atlas SD35 I bought "just to see" is pretty good.  But if you want the best sound N scale has to offer, you still need to roll your own, and use an ESU LokSound (or for steam, a Soundtraxx Tsunami) with the largest speaker you can fit in a properly-sized enclosure.

You can decide for yourself, but I think these are examples of good sound in N scale:

Diesel (Alco 12-cyl. 244 in an Atlas RS3):

Diesel (Alco 12-cyl. 244 in a Kato PA-1):

Steam (LL Berkshire with ESU LokSound and 13x18mm speaker):

Steam (Kato FEF with Tsunami and 13x18mm speaker):

John C.

[Cajonpassfan]

I LOVE sound in my engines, but only ESU boards with proper speakers and baffles. BLI is also pretty good.
.....
Maybe sound preference has a lot to do with the environment you're in. It sounds great in my basement when I'm alone and the sound can reverberate. But I wouldn't want to use it in a social setting like a club or show. Or even a room with a TV on. It kind of ruins the mood.
...

This!
The setting has EVERYTHING to do with the sound experience. I do not enjoy train sounds in noisy clubs or (the horrors!) county fairgrounds train show settings any more than I would enjoy a string quartet. Nor would I enjoy either with a bunch of spectators yakking or players trying to outdo one another. But that doesn't mean the sound source is bad, it's the setting that's inappropriate and doomed to failure.
In an controlled, intimate setting, like a home layout, sound adds a wonderful dimension. Sure, there are some poor installs (and bad violin players😬) but the technology available to us today is getting close to amazing. A good decoder mated to a good speaker/enclosure combo is quite impressive to me and no, I don't want my four ounce engines to sound and shake the ground like their 200 ton prototype counterparts. Sound does scale, if not in the traditional sense, and little subtlety goes a long way, imho. To me, running my non-sound equipped locos is akin to watching silent era Buster Keaton movies: ocassional fun but not really prime time any more. But, to each his own, and I don't deny the substantial challenges of doing it right : cost, effort, weight loss, etc., etc., etc. Still, I tend to run the few sound equipped locos while the many silent film queens gather dust in storage....
Just my two cents,
Otto K

[milw156]

Sound has a scale also, and as long as the volume is proportionate to to the scale, I find it pleasing, and having to sound the horn at crossings etc, makes it feel like I am more of a participant rather than just a spectator. Imagine being deaf and rail fanning, you might feel some of the sound/noise but......IT AIN'T THE SAME!!!!!
Maybe the problem is that too many people set their sound equipped locos up and cross the line between sound and noise (my dad used to refer to the music I listened to as "noise", guess that's what he meant!)
Throw in a Proto throttle and you are as close as you can get to being a "model" RR engineer.