Sound Decoders - Do you have them? How (often) are they used?

[peteski]

Given the (excellent!) commentary about decoders being a matter of taste, I have edited the poll to reflect that option. You are encouraged to change your vote accordingly! Thanks, guys!

The problem with that added choice is that it excludes selecting one of the other options.
My choice would have been "I run sound, but I'd rather choose my own decoder"  *AND* "I have sound-equipped models, and run sound primarily on special occasions", but I could only slect one, so I chose "I run sound, but I'd rather choose my own decoder". 

[John]

The problem with that added choice is that it excludes selecting one of the other options.
My choice would have been "I run sound, but I'd rather choose my own decoder"  *AND* "I have sound-equipped models, and run sound primarily on special occasions", but I could only slect one, so I chose "I run sound, but I'd rather choose my own decoder". 

But those weren't the choices the poll author gave you.  Thats like asking --- did you vote for hillary or trump, or neither, and getting a lecture about bernie

[peteski]

But those weren't the choices the poll author gave you.  Thats like asking --- did you vote for hillary or trump, or neither, and getting a lecture about bernie

But that is not my situation. 
I do own and run sound equipped models, and I prefer installing my own.  And I do have some models with factory installed sound and some with self-installed decoders.  I also run them with sound enabled primarily on special occasions.

[John]

Fine .. but that's not what he asked .. if the poll doesn't match your unique interpretation, don't answer it ... simple as that

[Jbub]

Dumb question. How do you change your vote

[peteski]

Fine .. but that's not what he asked .. if the poll doesn't match your unique interpretation, don't answer it ... simple as that

He didn't seem to have thought out the questions well enough. IMO of course.  That is why badly written polls are not good representation of reality. I voted - I'm done! 

[tehachapifan]

I'm actually a little confused now by the additional answer/option. My original vote still applies AND I like to be able to choose my own decoder, so not sure how to vote now. Can you vote more than once? If so, how?

[peteski]

I'm actually a little confused now by the additional answer/option. My original vote still applies AND I like to be able to choose my own decoder, so not sure how to vote now. Can you vote more than once? If so, how?

Nope - single choice and single vote only. 

[DKS]

Fine .. but that's not what he asked .. if the poll doesn't match your unique interpretation, don't answer it ... simple as that

This.

[mrp]

I have 2 ESU and 4 / BLI Soundtraxx units. Still not sold on sound in N (of HO), as it sounds tinny to my ear. Lacking in bass.
Not likely to convert many of my existing fleet (about 90 in service on the layout)
I may add a couple more sound equipped engines, as the guys like to ring the bell and blow the horn.

Michael Pennie

[Cajonpassfan]

I'm a sound guy.  All 15 of my active steam locos and 25 out of 40 active diesels have ESU LokSound decoders in them.  I started down this road in 2013 and now can't imagine what operations with a silent layout would be like.  The sound in steamers slows everything down - when you hear the chuffs, you're not likely to perform switching moves at 40 mph.  Ditto for diesels when you hear the notching and the throttle-up sound.  Operators have learned to blow the whistle/horn and turn on the bell at appropriate times.  The yard is "alive."  I expect to see N-scale people walking around the roundhouse (hasn't happened yet . . . ).
...
John C.

I couldn't have said it better. Sound adds the illusion of life to my little world. Running without it feels like watching an old Buster Keaton flick. (Not that I don't enjoy an occasional Buster Keaton diversion).

But that's me and I respect the fact that others may not see (hear?) things the same way and find it frustrating when (often imperfect) sound is foisted upon them by manufacturers. Having to pay for something I don't want just adds insult to injury.

I suspect that in our new economy that business model is here to stay. We are forced to buy a lot of things (cars, computers, houses, refrigerators, cable TV subscriptions etc.etc.) with myriad unwanted options. Part of it has to do with marketing and margins, but a good part of it is the inefficiency associated with designing, manufacturing, distributing, marketing and disposing of different versions of a product. When it's all added up, i'd bet the additional costs of making multiple versions of a locomotive are comparable to the cost of DCC/sound components. The only way to make it cheaper would be to produce a basic version with no sound at all and let the modeler add whatever he wants. IMHO, that's just not happening; for every guy willing and capable of doing that there are a hundred out there who are not (unfortunately, there are very few John Colombo's among us )

Time will tell (if it hasn't already).
Otto K.

[jagged ben]

It seems that I'm at the stage where, if a new loco that's being produced is available with sound, that's the option I'm going for.  Fortunately for me my collection is pretty mature in terms of having what I want, which means the above is not the hugely expensive proposition that it would have been a few years ago.   However, much of my fleet has yet to be converted to DCC, so the dithering is over whether to continue conversion to non-sound DCC at the previous pace, or start doing sound installs at a much slower pace (both because of the expense and because the installs take more of my precious time.)    A certain modeling ambition - 10 SP EMDs running in a 4x6 over Donner Pass - will probably direct my initial course of action on doing my first conversion.  Meantime I'll continue to be opportunistic when it comes to new purchases. 

My main thing with sound is just to turn down the volume on most of the sounds and turn the horn up to the max.  I feel it's much more realistic that way.  Having an actual background in sound design, it's a bit painful for me how little effort is made by the manufacturers to program appropriate volume defaults at the factory.

[peteski]

My main thing with sound is just to turn down the volume on most of the sounds and turn the horn up to the max.  I feel it's much more realistic that way.  Having an actual background in sound design, it's a bit painful for me how little effort is made by the manufacturers to program appropriate volume defaults at the factory.

Or how poorly designed (or often non-existent) are the speaker enclosures. Well, in  many cases, the speaker choices are usually also not optimal.

[AKNscale]

I will buy a loco with the sound option if it's ESU, but generally, I'd rather just do it myself.... I certainly run my sound equipped locos often with the sound on as I really enjoy it most of the time. Though, I feel that, like most people, the sound only option is a horrible idea, especially in N. But, if they're going to do sound equipped locos, they should at least attempt to make the sound worth the money spent.

[John]

Great discussion .. I also want to look into layout sound at some point, such as crossing bells, and other using some of the cheap arduino components