The comparisons below are meant to be proof-of-concept tests showing how close N-scale models can sound to real trains. I'm not claiming it's really easy to make these trains look and sound just like this. Some of the sound sequences require some reprogramming to achieve, and some of the installations are challenging. Also, some of the videos also include dubbed-in freight car wheel sound, to make the comparison a little more fair.
Finally, keep checking back here. As I find ways to make more accurate comparisons, I'll update this article. Now sit back, relax and check to make sure no delicate objects might vibrate off of nearby shelves. I'm about to rattle your bones with 1:160th scale trains!
Amtrak P42
Getting an accurate sound decoder into an N scale P42 locomotive is harder than you might think. I installed this LokSound Micro 3.5 from ESU in my Kato P42 as a part of an upcoming review looking at using LokSound decoders in N scale locomotives. The installation required extensive soldering and even replacing the default speaker that the LokSound Micro came with.
However, the work was more than worth it. This is an incredibly accurate-sounding locomotive, and this is coming from someone who has seen and ridden behind plenty of P42s. Why? Well, I ride Amtrak a bit, and also drop of my college's newspaper at the station in town. So I hear the locomotive both at work and at rest in a station stop. (If you're still questioning my P42 cred, read this.)
The LokSound decoder accurately reproduces many facets of the P42's sound. The diesel engine is accurate, if a little hard to hear. The air horn sound pretty much right on. The bell is a tad fast, but good, and the locomotive even has the constant pssht-pssht-pssht sound of the locomotive's air system.
The sound is part of a whole package, making up a realistic model. The model's appearance is a good representation of the real thing. Its lighting is representative, if not totally complete. And finally, the sound adds that whole new dimension that made my good friend John Sipple realize that there is a God.
As advanced as sound is, it is useless without the simple, fundamental trait of good running quality. The P42 runs well and reliably, freeing me from the frustrations that poor-running models can cause. If a locomotive won't stop stalling, it doesn't matter how realistic it is; you are constantly popped back out of the illusion of realism by failures characteristic of a model, not a real train. I'm sure some model railroaders would be thrilled if someone could make a model locomotive simulate breaking down realistically (I know Lionel has tried). But failures that remind you this is only a model, and a mediocre one at that, would not contribute to the realism, the play value, or the relaxation at all.
So, what you see above is a choreographed sequence played by a realistic model train. This is exactly what sound should be, and I am proud to own this particular engine. ESU can look forward to some good press form the diesel side of my upcoming review, regardless of how the steam engine installation goes this summer.
Norfolk Southern Dash 8 and SD70M
Kato USA is known for producing some of the quietest and most reliable locomotives around, and has been making them ready to accept digital control and sound for years. I feel it's only right to get one of their fine products in this comparison: the brand-new re-release of their Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific SD70M locomotives, with mine tricked out with MRC's 1806-2 sound decoder. And yes, the -2 means this decoder is upgraded from its initial release. (MRC's website does not yet reflect this update.)
Because my only video featuring an SD70M is of a train at speed, I had to find a way to represent the Dopplar Effect. In short, the Dopplar Effect raises the pitch of sounds made by objects traveling towards you, and lowers the pitch of objects going away. In fact, this was first observed commonly in trains. Some sound decoders have this implemented as an accessory sound function, however, it is incredibly hard to use and hard to time. Just in my experience as a reviewer and hobby shop staffer, few people use this difficult effect.
To more simply mimic this feature on an MRC decoder, you actually use a function button to reprogram the locomotive on the fly. First, I selected a higher-pitched version of the appropriate air horn sound, creating the effect of an approaching train. I then pressed the F19 command, which cycles through the available horn sounds. Most air horn recordings have 3 different pitches, in order of normal to high to low. So, if you press F19 with the horn set to high pitch, it will change to and play the low pitched horn. If you do that after the train passes, it gives a decent representation of that classic high-to-low pitch transition.
Conclusion
I believe the video comparisons speak for themselves. I have done the best I can to show off the capabilities on N scale sound. More is possible, and technology is always advancing. I hope these videos help you decide if you want sound to be a part of your model railroad experience.
If you've read straight through from the welcome page to here, let me first say congratulations and sorry for going on so long! I plead the excuse of word counts on the college news writing project that this article series fulfilled. But I hope the ideas, commentary and topics were useful use to you. We all have our own direction to choose in hobbies and in life.
My goal in Series on Sound was to tell my story, and to share others' stories and ideas. All of this was done so that this series can stand as the definitive work on N scale sound, and so that you can best choose how to write the next chapter in your hobby story.
Happy railroading to all!
Great Stuff!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI would hope that many potential DCC operators gave this a read. It is a very well-thought-out primer on the topic. Keep it up!
ReplyDelete