WHICH DECODER FOR STEAM SOUND HELP

[darticus]

Many decoders are used for motor and sound. One of the decoders with excellent sound  seems to be the mini tsunami but it does motor and sound at a high price. What choices do we have if an engine has DCC but not sound and we want to add sound? Are there sound decoders with great sound and only do sound or do you have to buy a decoder with motor and sound functions to get good steam sound? Thanks Ron

[skipgear]

Currently there aren't any add on, sound only decoders for N. MRC does some for HO and Digitrax has their sound bug which will add on to certain HO Digitrax decoders.

The Digitrax decoder is the cheapest and has the best features, minus one, the chuff timing system stinks without adding a sensor cam. With the digitrax you can upload custom sound files and create your own sounds. It is the smallest also.

The Loksound is the best for keeping chuff timing and has uploadable sound files but is the most expensive and you must use the Locksound interface (another $150) and use their files to change the sounds. Creating your own is not an option that I know of. The one drawback for the Loksound is that there is a distinct change in the sound from yard speed to main speed. It is not smooth like the others. It is a little larger than the others.

The Tsunami has great sound and chuff timing. I think the motor drive circuit is a little weak and the big issue is they do not have programable sound files. You have to choose the decoder with the correct sounds pre-programmed into it. They have a decent selection of available sounds but not everything is covered. It is in the middle of the price range.

The MRC decoder has very limited sound offerings and the motor control stinks. They are cheaper than the Tsunami.

[simkon]

Like skip said there are no sound only add-ons for N scale, you just have to replace the current decoder with the sound decoder. What you choose depends on what you are looking for, the most economic choice is not always the best choice. If you want it synchronized go with Loksound  or Tsunami, if not go with Digitrax.

[darticus]

Thanks that covers it. Ron