What you think about sound equipped locomotives

[Virginian]

I got my first sound equipped engine sort of as a bonus; the BLI Class A was the only non-brass A ever. An N&W modeller needs at least a couple of Class A's (I sure wish someone would make a set of aftermarket roller bearing rods). I found I really like sound... sometimes. Not blasting either. Now I have 3 and another coming. I sometimes like the whistles at opposite ends of the layout in the early evening. I don't know if I will retrofit very many, but I like BLI/QSI systems (if QSI does release their systems seperately) and there is no way I would consider DCC in the foreseeable future.
When I do want sound, I operate only sound equipped units because the silent and sound equipped don't mix well aesthetically in my eye.

[tcf511]

I think like most things, sound is good in moderation. I have three BLIs including the new J and I love all three. A lot of the time if running by myself, I turn the sound off. But all of the grandkids love it. I do not keep the sound up full however. I want everything on my layout including sound to blend together, not have one particular feature stand out. So far I just have steam but my next big purchase will be an early 50s diesel with sound. I'd love to hear recommendations from others.

[BMRR]

Personally......I think I can live with out it.

Stan

[twhite]

I think it's yummy--so do the neighbors down at the end of the block when I've got my garage door open!
Tom [:P][:P][:P][;)]

[SpaceMouse]

We have more senses than sight. Sound adds to the experience. Maybe sound decoders aren't the answer. Maybe we need a quadraphonic sound system and a mini-gps in each train so that a computer keeps track of them and the sound system simulates sound coming from a particular area of the track. I think speaker and digital sound quality will continue to improve--especially if there is a market for it.

[METRO]

I'll probably jump on the bandwagon when it comes down in price a bit more.

Today, I can almost buy two locomotives for the price of one that is sound equipped, so lol, I'd rather just have the two locomotives.

It's an interesting concept and I'm betting that it will become part of most peoples' layouts in the future, like motors with flywheels and superdetailed rolling stock. It just takes a while to come down in price, and until then, I'm happy to hear just the electirc hum.

~METRO

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BMRR

Personally......I think I can live with out it.

Stan

We all did before and I'm DC but.

When the fire sales lite up last year I bot the discounts and got sound as a bonus.

First, the Challenger and the nice thing about the remote is that you can operate another
analog loco at the same time.
You can manage your analog with the power pack and let the remote over-ride the pack
and operate the Challenger independently thereby segregating the speeds.

Then along came the BLI, GG! with the optional sidekider for DC operation.

Should there be a summer fire sale, only then would I consider adding an E sound unit.

I won't chase sound, it has to come to me at the right price

[orsonroy]

I'm a diehard steam fan. I'll travel 400 miles to SE Ohio to chase an OC steam special, but you can't get me to drive the piddly 20 minutes to Rochelle to watch an endless parade of modern equipment. Sound is a LARGE part of the equation in an obsession with steam. They're living, breathing, snorting, smoke-belching black monsters, which have 10,000 times the personality of ANY diseasel. And as any hobby show participant or museum railroad knows, steam draws a crowd; diesels don't.

That said, I always thought that sound was an expensive, cantankerous luxury in this hobby, and would never really become widespread or affordable, except for our tinplate bretheren. I was always troubled by the fact that my HO scale steam engines sounded like a blender (or worse, a geep!) and didn't produce beautiful smoke plumes while they ran around my layout, but I accepted it as a normal part of the hobby.

Well, no more. Running on one of the largest home layouts in the country, with a 100% stable of sound-equipped steam (and a few diesels, which rarely come out to play), and the introduction of AFFORDABLE sound from BLI and MRC has changed my mind. Sound is now a complete necessity for my fleet of operations engines. Sound in steam allows you to partially forget that you're running little toy trains. I can feather the throttle and play with my BLI Mikes until they actually sound like a hardworking freight engine working upgrade. I can pay attention to when and where I need to sound off for grade crossings or switching moves. In short, I can actually run a miniature steam engine! (now if someone will just come out with a DCC conversion for the Hornby live steam stuff!)

Real railroads are LOUD. When was the last time any of you stood next to three SD-45s or inside the cab of a 2-8-2 running at 35 mph? The sound is completely deafening and penetrates into your marrow. One of the best times I ever had running trains was when a friend and I set up a bar-grade sound system in my layout room, and ran video sound of steam fantrips through the house. We ran the models according to the sound coming from the giant speakers, and it was great! I generally run my BLI engines at about 80% power, but only to extend the speaker life.

As for sound-equipped layouts being too loud....nah. On a small layout stuck in a 10x14 room with six engines moving, maybe. But on a layout with a long, meandering mainline, where generally no more that 2-3 engines are in the same place (and not for long) universal sound is great. And listening to faint whistles blowing four "miles" away just adds to the illusion.

So gimmie steam, and give it to me with sound. I'll live without the steam effects (smoke particles don't scale well)

[RMax1]

I just reserved my first sound equiped locos, a Proto 2000 E8 A/B set. The bad news is that they will not arrive until late in the year. I think that you can have too much sound going on. I was demo'd a few months back a BLI steam engine and an E7. Both had sound going and sounded great. It was at low volume and in a big train show area. I'm sure it would be completely different in my den. Who knows what will happen when I get the first set but the volume settings are going to be great. There are times when i just want to read on the couch and let the trains go round and round at the same time.

RMax1