I prefer to hear my engines at about 6 feet away. I love loud things but I must consider my own situation and that of the wife when creating a very loud enviornment at home.
Also it is my opinion that the reading T1 whistle was WEAK in volume.. toning down the other sounds brought it closer to the top and easier hearing.
The only beef I have with sound engines is the silly Radio talk in the cab... I cannot stand that. Especially with 1930-1950's engines.
As to the question of many engines in one area I would mute them with a simple F8 key.
Another reason to haul down on the power and hold her steady as she goes is Amps... the more you blast, the more youre gonna consume from the power supply.
Are you standing in one place and watching the train go round and round or walking beside it ?
My rule is few feet away you hear it. More than that you drive everyone nuts around you.
Club rule I've seen: 8 feet away, you can hardly hear it, is ok.
Their is a feature in the decoder that will kill the sound after a given time interval. Sound will come back on when you select, move or turn on a feature, of this helps. CV 113 set to other than 0
Yes....but.
I routinely shut down my master volume by 50% right off the bat, and that is done during the address change on an isolated track when the engine is first powered up. Later, as it is running around the layout and its sounds are competing for my attention through all the other sounds from active speakers in the various engines within earshot, I may find I need to reduce it further, or that it was reduced too much. Often all I need to do is fiddle with the two most important volumes for my tastes, and those are the sounds for the bell and whistle. Sometimes that first 50% reduction makes the whistle too soft when the engine is under steam and working hard.
As the previous gentleman said, you have to consider other operators at a club environment or others in the home or environment who might find the whole thing a bit much after just a few minutes. Good will from others around is a huge asset in contributing to the enjoyment that one gets out of the hobby.
Knock the master volume down to about 50%, knock the air compressors to 30% knock the CHUFF to 40% and anything else, knock it all (Except the whistle) down to 20%
At that point you should have a much quieter calmer model that sounds pretty good from 6 feet away.
You can fine tune various sounds around those levels more or less to suit your ear.