MRC Sound System

[Anonymous]

Has anyone tried the new MRC plug-in-the-wall sound system? It has 18 sounds and isn't that expensive, about 50 bucks. It sounds good but is it good?
Hope someone can give me a heads up before I order one! Like I said, it sounds great but for that price I hope it isn't junk.

[Anonymous]

I bought one of those, and I'm delighted. For
the money, it's quite a bargain, particularly if
you have kids (I have two train-loving boys).

Having said so... I think it's worth to
intermediate and advanced modelers is limited. It
has no provision for on-board sounds, and its
"running" sounds (e.g. diesel roar, steam chuff)
leave a lot to be desired.

So if you have kids, or if you want a basic, easy-
to-install unit for "atmosphere" sounds, then the
MRC set is quite nice. If you want serious
fidelity to prototype or expect to expand (to
DCC or such), then you'd be better off saving
your pennies for a more elaborate system.

Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

I agree with Juan. I heard the system in my local hobby shop and I thought it sounded pretty good. I'll probably eventually pick one up. It does add some atmosphere and if I do add sound to my locos that's a long long way off, so this system would be a good compromise for the time being.

[cprted]

Though I haven't heard one for myself, the local hobby dealer wasn't to impressed with it and will only bring them in on special order. However like it was said above, if have kids this may be a great way to entertain them. I haven't rulled this new system out yet but I want to hear it first.

[dasclee]

Model Railroader did a product review comparing MRC's sound system to QSI's. Check out the review. After reading it, I opted for QSI's and have not been disappointed - my kids now fight over who gets to conrol the sounds rather than the trains! One of the neat features is the doppler effect as the train passes by the crossing gate. It is a bit more expensive though.

[Anonymous]

I also have the QSI systems and use them on my HO layout and also on my small garden railway. One advantage over the MRC system is that it is connected to the track so that the running sounds are somewhat synchronized to the speed of the loco and position of the throttle. Due to my variety of motive power, I have the "Single chime Diesel", "Multi-chime Diesel" and "Heartland Steam" systems. My only complaint is that it is not possible to get a "Short" blast from the whistle, which I think was mentioned in the magazine review. On a small layout, the fact that the sound is not coming from the train itself is not too noticeable. On a large layout, it would be more apparent. The fact that the units can be unplugged and interchanged according to the locos being run is a plus. Ron H.

[cprted]

What was the date ont that product reveiw.

[dasclee]

May 2001, page 18.

One other limitation, as pointed out in the review, is that the sound-to-speed coordination does not work with DCC (so I did buy another transformer for "speed indication").