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Thanks for comments on sound, cost, systems.The three Kato GS-4s in my inventory all have the DCC decoder recommended by Kato; one installed by Kato USA in the first release.I have two later release GS-4s that are in the black paint scheme. All of mine are relettered for B&O.From what I have seen/heard on YouTube videos, I am most drawn to the systems that synchronize with speed and load.I am not enough of a purist to demand whistles and bells that are true to the B&O prototype.Do I understand that DCC sound decoders require purchase of separate speakers?
I have a GS-4 with a Tsunami TSU-750 and a 14 x 25mm oval speaker installed in the tender; I also put a Lenz silver mini for motor control in the boiler. I agree with the opinion of others that the Tsunami motor control is less than ideal, and in fact use a dual-decoder installation in all my steam locos for this reason.As for cost, the TSU will run about $120; if you add a separate motor decoder, figure another $30-40, depending on what you use (the Lenz silver mini costs about $40-45 depending on source, but TCS makes a very nice tiny decoder as well, and it's about $30-35). Speaker and associate small parts might be another $10-15. I figure that I have at least $160 invested in each sound install. I agree that the Walthers Y3 is very nice - I particularly like the open cocks hiss when first starting the loco, which the Tsunami doesn't have. It also does a much better job simulating the dual-engine articulated sound at speed than the TSU in articulated mode. But the QSI doesn't have an equalizer, which I use in every TSU install to get the most out of the sound, and the bass is very weak even for an N scale installation - they would have done much better using a single larger oval speaker in a separate enclosure, instead of dual 15mm rounds using the tender shell as a baffle. A lot of folks swear by the LokSound, but I've never used one because the range of sound files for US steam locos was limited (getting much better, however), and early LokSounds used a strange 100-ohm speaker, which they have now abandoned in favor of a simple 4-ohm. I'm tempted to try a LokSound for my next sound install, and see how the motor control is and whether it is relatively easy to match chuffs to driver rotation.The chuff-to-driver rotation issue is a major one, IMHO. One of the strengths of the Walthers Y3 is that the chuffs are perfectly matched to driver rotation because of the back-emf and other monitoring systems in the QSI decoder. The TSU is harder to match on its own, much easier to match to a Lenz, which you can separately program with CV's 2, 5 and 6 (or a custom speed table if needed). A lot of sound installs I've seen on video didn't have very good driver-to-chuff matching, which I think destroys the illusion. But it's hard to get there - I'm pretty careful about matching at low speed, where it is most obvious, and then kind of fudge things at 40 smph and up, where the drivers are generally moving so fast it's hard to tell. But I agree with Tony that if QSI came out with an N-scale size (something about the size of the LokSound micro or TSU-750), I'd use it in a hearbeat.John C.
Roger,Just so you know. My TSU is installed inside the speaker enclosure of a MRC speaker, it works really well and saves space.
Jason, you mentioned this before, and if it works without diminishing sound quality, its one of those "why didn't I think of that" ideas. The space saving simplicity alone would be worth it. I assume you install the speaker cone-in, butt-out? What size MRC speaker/enclosure are you using? And since the TSU's tend to run HOT anyway, do you not have overheating issues because the decoder is inside an unventilated space? I'll try this approach on the next steam install I do, but am a little nervous about the heat issue...Regards, Otto
I've never heard of them before, but am always looking for more options. Do you have an video of your Mallet?
If I could buy a QSI decoder that would fit, I would have done it a long time ago. I love my Y-3. The problem is they don't make one yet. The revolutions are discontinued and there is talk on the website of an N scale size decoder but nothing concrete yet.I hear a lot of talk about Zimo's but have never seen one in action. They require a $175 programmer to install sound files which makes them rough to test out if you like them or not.
John, We need to contact QSI and see if they have any plans for a smaller decoder. I would be happy with the decocder out of the Y-3. There is a little blurb on their site though that says they do not produce OEM decoders, they only license their technology to manufactures to use in the production of OEM so who knows where the Y-3 decoder actually came from.
I agree that the Walthers Y3 is very nice - I particularly like the open cocks hiss when first starting the loco, which the Tsunami doesn't have. It also does a much better job simulating the dual-engine articulated sound at speed than the TSU in articulated mode. But the QSI doesn't have an equalizer, which I use in every TSU install to get the most out of the sound, and the bass is very weak even for an N scale installation - they would have done much better using a single larger oval speaker in a separate enclosure, instead of dual 15mm rounds using the tender shell as a baffle. The chuff-to-driver rotation issue is a major one, IMHO. One of the strengths of the Walthers Y3 is that the chuffs are perfectly matched to driver rotation because of the back-emf and other monitoring systems in the QSI decoder.
Why nobody mentions QSI sound decoders? My Walthers Mallet with a QSI Revolution decoder sounds awesome and the throttle control is also very good.How about the ZIMO decoders? I just got a Fleischmann steamer with a factory-installed ZIMO decoder and the sound is also excellent. I haven't run it long enough yet to get a good feel for the throttle control but it seems ok so far.
MRC-1513 MRC 1513 16mm x 35mm Rectangle 8-Ohm Speaker w/ Enclosure 16mm x 35mm (0.63" x 1.37") Rectangle 8-Ohm Speaker with Enclosure. Compare At: $15.98
Here's a short "demo" of my latest project. />