I'm investigating the possibility of adding sound to my Athearn BB GP38-2. The locos have been rewired to a 9 pin digitrax harness and motor isolated. There's a number of decoders that would work for motor control only such as the digitrax DH126d and DH166d. I haven't been able to find any recommendations for sound decoders for the BB Athearn on manufacturers' sites. I have seen a youtube installations using the SDH164 and SDXH166d. The 166 version claims to be 16 bit sound and comes as a kit that includes a speaker for 55 to $60 online. Is this a good choice? I was thinking of purchasing a couple iphone 4s speakers to try as well. Suggestions would be appreciated!
I'm going to be using the SDXH166D, but I haven't installed it yet. I'm going to download a new 16 bit sound file for it, from the Digitrax site. I'm using it in an F7, and the file that's in the SDXH is a generac EMD that will probably be fine for your GP38.
There's lots of sound options. TCS has some installations on their web site.
https://tcsdcc.com/
According the general consensus of those in here, ESU is suppose to be the best.
I'm using the SDXH because it's my first sound install, and it's about 1/2 the price of the ESU.
You do get what you pay for, as in everything else in this world, it's the modeler's choice.
Mike.
My You Tube
Thanks, Mike! I look forward to hearing the results of your first sound install! Good luck!