Improving sound

[Harley-Davidson]

Anybody knows how to improve the sound in a loco, this is, what treatment needs the speaker/s to obtain the better sound? Thanks

[Hamltnblue]

What brand, scale, and model of loco are you talking about.  Sometimes it's a simple as changing the speaker. The make and model will tell if you have room to do so.

[wjstix]

I guess in general I'd say it would be:

First to use the largest speaker you can fit in. A 1/2" by 1" oval speaker will sound better than a 1/2" round speaker; a 1" round speaker will sound even better.

Second, be sure to put the speaker in an enclosure. Most speaker manufacturers make enclosures designed to fit their speakers. That ensures that the sound is just coming out the front of the speaker, not leaking out the back and reducing the quality and volume of the sound.

Third, generally NOT having the volume up full blast makes the sound better IMHO.

[Texas Zepher]

Harley-Davidson

Anybody knows how to improve the sound in a loco, this is, what treatment needs the speaker/s to obtain the better sound?

Well with no more information than that:

1. turn the volume down.
2. replace the speakers with better quality ones
3. replace square or oval ones with round ones).
4. add a speaker enclosure.
5. enlarge an existing speaker enclosure.
6. if the speaker enclosure is large enough (at least 1.5x the area of the speaker cone) then seal it to make it air tight.
7. add a second speaker
8. add fiber to the inside of the speaker enclosure
9. add a baffle or port to the speaker.
10. buy a better decoder.

???  Working with speakers is an art.  Without knowing specifics we can only guess.
 

[Harley-Davidson]

Texas, that was the right answer! Beside, "enclosure" and "baffle", are the same? Thanks you.

[Texas Zepher]

Harley-Davidson

"enclosure" and "baffle", are the same?

No.  An enclosure is a box that houses the speaker. It generally totally surrounds one side of the speaker.  It can be sealed or not, it can have ports (planned openings) in it. 

A baffle is more general.  A baffle is generally anything that prevents air/sound from moving from the front side of the speaker to the back.  So a 4x8 sheet of plywood with a 1" hole in the center for a 1" speaker is a great baffle and produces great sound even though it is not even partially enclosed.  Of course it is pretty impractical too.      In another context a baffle is any barrier put inside an speakers air chamber to force air/sound to move around it.  Bose is famous for their baffles inside the air chambers of speakers.  In some Bose instances the air has to travel something like 10 feet to get to the rear port which is only 8" away from the speaker cone.

I've shown this picture many times, it is my best sounding single 1 1/4" speaker enclosure so far.  This speaker enclosure is about 4" long, but it is ported and has internal baffles so that the air has to move about 12" to get from the speaker cone to the port exit.  My goal is 15" with a little more volume (air volume) than this one is able to move.  

 

[rrinker]

 Ineed - those little thimble size enclosures, while better than the speaker in free air, do nothign much for the level of sound, particularly on the low end. I jury-rigged a speaker to a flat sheet and pressed it over a 16oz drinking glass and WOW the sound was SO much better than the cut-down pill bottle. Of course, that's not going to fit anywhere in an HO loco - but go for as large as possible.

                               --Randy

 

[Harley-Davidson]

Texas, thanks you