DCC Sound Decoder Comparison: Testing the 4 biggest brands
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
- Digitrax Sound Depot
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“The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.
But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.
Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall;
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I think the absence of discussion around speakers here might cause some people issues when they buy a high quality sound decoder and it still sounds like crap because they have a lousy speaker. Sound is also very personal. While objectively speaking, Digitrax sounds are definitely a rung down from the others, the other three could be called the best depending on who is listening to it. And again, speakers make a HUGE difference with all of them.
Phone speakers my man.
I'm an ESU Loksound user and provider. I record my own sound files and install them on Loksound Decoders for my Client's brass model that they've sent in for painting and DCC. I don’t use any other brand because of the lack of customizability especially for a lot of the northern railroads. I completely built the sound profile of an actual Northern Pacific Class A 4-8-4 2601 even with her original whistle as well. Just because of my ability to use my sound editing skills I've now made several new whistle sound packs for my library.
I love soundtrax decoders. I have tried all 4 brands. I’ve had the least problems with them.
I think this was one of your best videos. At least recently. Great content! Very on key for what modelers need to know.
Thanks
Thank you for this video. Planning to get a Blunami hopefully within the year. I have DC and just want to go with Bluetooth since this seems like the easiest way for me to enjoy DCC and sound without getting a bunch of DCC equipment. Thanks Jimmy!
The Lok Programmer did hurt at first but now that I have one it has opened up programing of all my engines to have them run the same. The Lok programmer software lets you eq the sounds also.
The ESU programmer runs on a virtual windows machine on my MAC with an M1 processor. The only issue was recognizing the programmer via the USB port, but this is overcome by installing a utility. Once installed it runs great.
Hmm. What’s the utility?
@@DIYDigitalRailroad
I created a Windows 11 ARM VM in Parallels on my MacBook Pro M1 last night by installing 2.12.36.4A**** from the FTDI VCP Drivers pae. I was able to connect to the Lok Programmer with the supplied USB cable and read and write to a Loksound. The Driver is signed and doesn't need anything special to install. There is a footnote on the website for the driver I installed, ****Windows 10 and Windows 11 only for ARM64 based Windows PCs. Also works on Mac M1 running Parallels VM with Windows. Basically it creates a virtual com port.
It wasn’t last night it was months ago I just pasted another post
Saving 20-30$ to have a low quality sound you have to listen to for many years is not worth it, if you ask me.
Hence why I use ESU Loksound V5.
@@modelrailwaybackshop yeah me too. I wished Athearn and BLI would use ESU as well. Than I could buy all my trains with DCC from the factory
@@TobiasL1000 I only buy them to install in brass, I don't buy factory installed DCC locomotives.
Hi Jimmy, nice video. For me I prefer LokSound and Soundtraxx. Soundtraxx I prefer for my steam locomotives. I find that they have better chuff sounds, more whistles (and air horns for the diesels), and it is easy to set the chuff rate as compared to LokSound. What I like about LokSound is that they have more diesel sounds, and even variations of some of them (four versions of the EMD 645 non-turbo - GP38). Also, since you can reprogram the sound files using the LokProgrammer, if ESU comes out with a new sound file, or new features (Full Throttle several years ago) you can load them into your existing decoder (I done that). Also, the cost of the LokProgrammer can be amortized over the years that you own it, and especially if you use it (With all of the customizing I've done over the years it has more than paid for itself).
Very good video Jimmy! I agree with your scoring. There is one more category I wish you could of added but that would of taken you forever to research and that is extra features. Does the decoder have automatic sounds such as bell, braking, horn signals, auto notching without speeding up or down based on train load, or maybe customizable equalizer to improve sounds? I'm a Soundtraxx guy and in the process of upgrading all of my locomotives from Tsunami2 to Blunami so I don't have to buy more DCC throttles. The extra cost of roughly 5 Blunami's offset the cost of a NCE Cab06r plus I'll be selling my used Tsunami2s as my upgrades happen. - Jason
Thanks for the research. My biggest hurdle has been identifying which sound decoder came factory equipped in a loco. JMRI can "identify" it but only resolves it to a small range of choices. Some manufacturers like to keep it a mystery. One of the problems with N scale sound is always going to be the size of the speaker so small switchers will probably never sound as nice as a big modern road loco. Your research is going to be valuable for a DCC-ready loco I have on wait list since I'll be buying my own.
Great informative video
Howdy Jimmy! Nicely done. Right now I have dealt primarily with ESU HO decoders. I am new to the hobby and after doing my due diligence decided I liked their customization and sound quality. Plus the first new locos I bought were ScaleTrains... so they came with ESU decoders in them lol. Yeah it stung a little to buy the ESU encoder... but it was a one time cost and now I've got it. I also have a couple Blunami decoders I am going to put in some older locos for use on DC layouts, as a few of the clubs in my area only have DC. But, they are still in the box as I don't have my workbench set up yet... so... lol. Great overview - thanks for sharing 🤠
Hi Jimmy - this is a great topic. Thanks. I would suggest that your analysis did not include two key criteria.
1. Availability of factory installed sound decoders. That is, how many loco manufacturers provide the given decoder brand as factory installed. Why is this important? (a) a factory installed decoder is typically ~30% cheaper than installing a decoder post purchase. (b) Unless you are a fan of doing decoder installs, you save a ton of time. For HO Diesels (where I have all of my experience), ESU is a hands down winner in this criteria - Scaletrains, Bowser, Intermountain, Rapido, Atlas, the only major exception being Athearn.
2. The integration of sound with the movement of the loco - Here we are in the domain of prime mover sounds vs the actual movement of the loco. Notching, coasting, dynamic braking, Run8, heavy loads etc. For me this is one of the most important aspects of sound "quality". Both ESU and SoundTraxx have done a lot of work in this area with their decoders. Perhaps other decoder suppliers have done so too. I don't have the experience to know.
The final comment is that once you incorporate braking into your locomotive operations it gets very difficult to consist locos with different brands of decoders. Not impossible but VERY challenging. So as others have noted, there are good reasons to standardize on one decoder brand for your roster (at least for those locos that will be consisted -- this is obviously much more of an issue for folks like me that model in diesels rather than steam.)
Those of us on the other side of the pond also have Zimo which are customisable. I tend to buy from dealers who load profiles so pay a few £ more but it saves time and money.
I suspect N scale suffers from not being able to use larger speakers to get a more complete range of frequencies properly projected from the speaker. It always sounds tinny to me. I've been able to stuff some pretty big speakers in my HO units to cover the low end sounds.
ESU clears everything for me. Their sound files are usually very clean recordings. Plus they have some oddly specific sets other manufacturers don't cover. Their speed control far more precise than other decoders I've used, and you get that across their lineup. They've also added some nice native lighting features.
Soundtraxx is my second choice. Their decoders are fairly durable and their warranty is great. However, their sound sets outside of steam and 16 cylinder or larger EMD diesels is lacking, and usually comes across as muddy or muffled. Their speed control is also not nearly as good as ESU. They do get credit for being a very good starter decoder and are easy to set up.
I have some friends that swear by TCS for steam. We generally avoid digitrax, though, as several of us have firsthand experience with reliability issues. The local shop doesn't even carry digitrax decoders due to reliability.
Personally, I use Soundtraxx for most of my locomotives (except for ones with factory-installed decoders from other manufacturers) primarily because of the Econami line. I know many people swear by Tsunami II, but I find it difficult to discern a substantial difference between 16-bit and 24-bit sound (especially with other factors like speakers and enclosures also greatly affect sound quality), so the extra $40 per decoder is not worth it to me.
Thank you for reviewing these sound decoders. However, it is disappointing that you didn't review other sound decoders such as from BlueNami, or railpro.
For g scale, the railpro sound kit is pretty good. The speaker has great sound
Good review of the major players. I think a more accurate scoring would include a weight (1-5) for each category to better reflect the importance of each category relative to another. I realize the category weights would probably be different for each person but at least the scoring technique would be helpful. Wonder what the outcomes would be if you re-scored using your personal category weights.
I run ESU on my Mac with a partitioned drive and it’s been fine. Half the computer is Mac other half is windows.
I wanted to use soundtrack. I am an N scaler with a number of KATO units. They don’t have a drop in, so I wasn’t sure how to connect the pickups. Which conduct through the split frame to the decoder. ESU has a drop in.
Soundtraxx does make drop in decoders for some Kato units. Mostly E and F units and similar body styles.
@@DIYDigitalRailroad yes unfortunately I model
Modern era. I really want to use them. I just need to ask them how they recommend connecting the pickups because well you know KATO has the copper strip which makes contact with the split frame
Must choose your speaker carefully also. And your speaker instalation, to bad we don’t have a two speaker tweeter woofer setup.
Note to soundtraxx: make the bell and whistle available with f8 pressed. Also, if you listen closely on soundtraxx steam whistles you can hear I hint of midi sound artifact-fix that. Make more whistles and horns quillable, dare I say like the older paragon sound where 2 long presses gives you a quilled whistle/ horn. As mentioned in other comments, speaker choice means everything. Hard to beat a properly enclosed sugar cube in n scale. And lastly, I know it's difficult recording sound decoders on a youtube video. Folks new to sound in n scale should know they sound dramatically better in person.
Not a bad rating score for each, but I agree with others that sound quality matters way more depending on speaker than it does decoder. My ST gevo w esu sounds oodles better than my Athearn P42 with tsu-2, but the gevo has scale sound systems speakers.
Id also say TCS should get another customization point for their audio assist programming function. Its funky hearing your loco talk to you, but you can completely program on the main without even needing to know what a CV is.... thanks Jimmy.
I run mostly n scale and a little bit of HO. I haven’t done a LOT, but I’ve got a Kato GEvo that I was looking to add sound to. I got the Digitrax decoder, similar to what was mentioned, that had the capacitor wired on and it’s very inconvenient. I also milled out part of the chassis but it really wasn’t sounding great with its own speaker. I brought this to the n scale group I’m in on Facebook and they suggested I straight replace the stock speaker with one of the ones from ESU, like a sugar cube I think? I used the smallest enclosure, glued it together, and it’s a lot better. Our tech guy was having a hard time programming it on our jmri programming track for some reason though, but just using my Digitrax to program it was easy enough, I just couldn’t set the curves like in jmri.
Then I got an athearn blue box switcher where I installed my own soundraxx econami board and speakers and it just sounds amazing. I mean, it’s bigger, plus it has two larger speakers/enclosures. I haven’t got to run it much, but with N scale I’m not as picky as with HO scale. I wouldn’t want to buy a programmer for the ESU stuff though, that’s ridiculous unless you’ve heavily invested and have a ton of extra $$ for that.
Primarily use ESU LokSound decoders, but have been quite amazed by the Piko SmartDecoder. Got a model of a Danish MY locomotive (distant cousin to your F7s), which has a rather nice feature. Engine revs up based on the actual load. No need to do any manual rev-up or rev-down, the sound decoder takes care of that.
Jimmy, I recently returned to the hobby after a long absence. I was amazed at the changes in the interim. I model in N-scale and I now have a mix of old and new locomotives, but I have opted for DCC, and updated a variety of my older stock. I have tried most of the sound decoders on the market. I have everything from steam to E units to GEVOs You downplayed the ESU because of the cost of the LokProgrammer. I feel the cost of the LokPrgrammer should be considered as distributed across your locomotive fleet. I also find the LokP. is a valuable diagnostic tool. I have yet to install a Soundtraxx and you did not mention Broadway Limited and their Paragon series. Again, well done video
If you buy the Digitrax PR4 or the ESU Lok Programmer might be costly at first, but once you get one it will save time in programming. Especially when you use JMRI and a computer. Not sure what the features of the ESU and Mac computers because I use Digitrax PR4 and a windows laptop for programming my regular decoders. Have a few sound decoders in HO, but my N scale will have none.
Great comparison, that was great!
Will you at some point add the Zimo decoders to your list?
I have several Mini-Trix, K-4 Pacific's and these are not listed on any DCC decoder website. Still at a loss finding comparability.
I used soundtraxx and are very easy to programm any sounds
I want to state first, that I have not done any testing of non ESU decoders for several years, so my comments may not be accurate as of today. Right off the bat, I take exception to your dinging ESU on cost. Any hobby shop I know of will happily program whatever sound file you want for free when you purchase a decoder. You have a GP 35? They'll put that sound file into the decoder. You want to change or customize it? Download the free software, make what ever changes you want, and the software will give you a list of the CVs to change. Use your throttle!
I have, probably, 20 decoders and with two exceptions they are all ESU. So I can justify the cost of the programmer.
Many have stated the benefits of being able to change nearly anything in any sound file, so I won't repeat that, but, The biggest thing I ran into when I did my initial testing was using the same sound file in three or four identical locomotives. I'll explain. I built a A-B-B-A set of F9 diesels, painted in NP colors. I installed a Soundtraxx into each one. When I started them (turned on the prime mover sounds) the result was completely unacceptable. Horrible! I changed the decoders to ESU and the result was the same. The harmonics of 4 devices playing the same recording causes this. Then, in the programming software, I found that I could slightly change the speed at which the recording played and the harmonics went away. As far as I know, ESU stands alone in providing this feature. ESU also provides several different sound files for the prime mover in a F9. I tried installing a different file in each unit and was very impressed.
Back a few years ago, I had another four unit set of diesels with ESU V4 decoders. ESU came out with, what I thought was a must have improvement called Drive Hold. I was a little upset as I thought I'd have to throw away four decoders. Not so! All I had to do was download and install the latest sound files and I have the new features. For Free!
Here a few months ago, ESU added a tone control to the V5 decoders. Again, I had only to download a sound file and install it and 18 of my decoders were upgraded for free!
Bottom line, I have upgraded my decoders twice, saving the price and frustration of purchasing and installing new decoders which has more then paid for the cost of the programmer.
Yes, I'm an ESU fan boy. But, let me qualify that. For steam locomotives I prefer the TCS decoders. Although the "feature" of having it talk me through programming drives me nuts!
Soundtraxx !
Do you have an N scale challenger
On another topic, are you changing the days you release your videos?
Is it possible to adjust CV’s on Paragon Decoders or even replace sounds with custom ones?
I don't think you can replace sounds but you can definitely adjust CVs
I disagree with you on the ESU Point of entry cost you absolutely do not need a lokprogrammer to get you started. Any online dealer that is worth their salt will program the decoder with any of the ESU sound projects you choose at no extra charge. ESU goes to the top not only for that but for ease of install. You can get drop in N scale decoders for most Kato and and atlas locos. Heck I would bump digitrax up to second place for having a wide selection of drop in decoders.
You need the lok programmer to really do much with loksound decoders. With that being said you can export the sound file in a format that can be imported into JMRI. The sound levels are there, but you have to figure out which cv's are which as they are not displayed in JMRI. Loksound decoders have thousands of cv's and JMRI can only read 255 cv's. And if you read a loksound decoders on JMRI it will take about an hour. And you didn't mention that wow sound has audio assists. And I'm really disappointed with digitrax entry into sound they really need to up their game I have many digitrak decoders and I like them but they're lame on their sound I hope they will improve on that
I bought a digitrax for my FEF Kato and the sound is garbage cranked it up all the way and can barely hear it
Not trying to be unkind, but there seem to be a few inconsistencies in your evaluations / comparisons. For example, you scored TCS as a 3 in customization, based solely on the fact that they have different lines for steam, diesel and electric, while NOT giving them credit for the very wide range of sounds pre-loaded on each decoder. You also gave them no credit for the ability to fully program the decoder using their voice assist system, which allows nearly full programming without DecoderPro OR having to mess with CVs. Serious omission. If TCS rates a 5 in ease of use, the best anyone else should get is a 4 (unless anyone else has an analog to TCS' voice assist. If they do, I'm unaware of it).
You mentioned Soundtraxx's high quality sound, then score them high on cost of entry for their economy sound decoders in HO, while not mentioning (or, apparently, taking it into account in your scoring) that the sound quality of those economy units is significantly lower than the more expensive line. Why is TCS dinged on availability because they don't have N scale decoders, while Soundtraxx isn't dinged for apparently not having the economy line in N?
Just some thoughts form someone who spent 40 years doing trade studies and product comparisons like this as part of his engineering work.
Lots of good info in the video though - please don't think I'm slamming it. Just those few things I noticed (or maybe didn't understand fully).
I disagree with your ease of use for the ESU on jmri
Sorry, you lost me at the cost!