I have been looking for things for my N&W 6175 project, which still may take some time to get started, and I know MRC makes a DCC sound decoder for Kato SD40-2s, but I know MRC isn't the best really, yet sometimes I've seen that they were pretty good working. So are MRC sound decoders for N scale worth it??
The question should be: "How Bad Is MRC Sound?" I will be replacing ALL of my MRC sound decoders in my Athearn Big Boys and Challengers with Tsunami TSU-4664 N's. They will cost me about $120 a pop to do so, but the MRC decoders are that bad. Not only do they sound bad, they run bad...and they fail...and when they fail, they melt the tender shells! However, the Tsunami's I have installed run and sound exponentially better than the stock MRC decoders. That means, Tsunami make MRC sound and run like crap. However, if you've never experienced a higher quality sound decoder other than MRC's...they sound better than nothing (but not much better), but mine have all had running and programming issues...meaning jack-rabbit starts, CV's not being able to be programmed...or when they finally are...not making any difference in performance, etc., etc. Yup...they cost a lot less than ESU, Soundtraxx, Digitrax Sound...but the integral speakers are soooo tiny that they sound like hell, and I am not so sure their reliability problems have been solved yet. I will not buy them...period...even though they cost a lot less and are easy to install with their tiny integral speakers. I would much rather mill my Kato frames for Digitrax Sound drop-in (sort of) decoders and their bigger, better speakers than pay less for an easier to install, but crappier sounding and running MRC decoder. If you're looking for the BEST sound (in my opinion) decoders, but not the easiest to install (as far as I know, they do not make a "drop-in" decoder for any current production USA prototype N-scale engine) and is the most expensive as well as most excellent running, the ESU decoders are sublime... I guess that shows ya that ya get what ya pays for! Cheers! Bob Gilmore
Hi, I have a Kato SD40-2 loco with the MRC sound. I don't have any other locos with sound. As Bob says, I found the sound could be better, and the loco will not run well on my layout. The other locos run well with non sound decoders. I have swapped locos with the same result. I acknowledge the track could be cleaner (have tried), but it is disheartening to see the loco start and stop on the layout. It actually sounds best when it is stationery and just starting to run (before it stops$#%#$!).
mrc sound decoders ? you better throw your money out of the window. same result but with less frustration. you better keep your hands off from mrc sound decoders. been there done that. i used to have a mrc1644. after less than 1 hour it went to the garbage bin. didn't even try to sell it. use the search function and you will find plenty of comments regarding the quality of these decoders. best sound decoders in my opinion are bli paragon2. unfortunately they're not available for non-bli locos.
I own three MRC 1955 sound decoders installed in Atlas GPs, they are not real loud, but sound just as good as any other sound decoder that I have or have heard. I have put lots of hours on those three geeps pulling coal trains and they still run great. I purchase a TSU 750 for a E8 and it could not power the unit and produce sound at the same time, it would over heat in about 10 minutes and shut down. It is now in a dummy E8 producing sound only but still get really warm.
I'll go the other route, I have 6 MRC sound decoders right now, the only one I don't like is the MRC 1636, the sound is not nearly as good as my 1955, 1812, or my favorites the 1806's. I will add my usual disclamer: If you are going to put the MRC 1806 in your SD40-2, you need to have the BLMA or Trainworx fans in the top. Then the shell acts like a speaker box. I have all my 1806's set to the lowest volume setting as they are that loud. When they are all set up together it gets a little noisy. But I'm glad I have them. They don't function as well as a Digitrax, but the sound easily makes up for that.
I didn't like the older 8 bit MRC Sound Decoders I bought. I chucked one of those out. However I did just recently buy one of their new 16 bit decoders, and that is a MAJOR improvement. Not quite as good as soundtraxx but decent. I would rather have a 4 unit consist all with MRC sound rather than one unit in the lead with soundtraxx. This is in HO scale though mind you. The old 8-bit decoder was far too quiet, as what others have told you, and also had really crummy speed control. I was weary of the new 16 bit decoders, but when on sale for $40, I couldn't pass up the offer. The 16-bits and 8-bits are night and day. Excelent speed control, super loud (I could hear mine outside of the shed!), and had decent sounds. The only downside to the new 16-bit decoders is that the horn selection leaves a little to be desired. With 4 select able horns, 3 of which are single chime "blat" horns. I have talked to a friend in Ohio who models in N and his opinion on the newer 16 bit decoders are an improvement in that scale, however they are still quiet in N (which is to be expected from such small speakers).
This topic comes up frequently on various forums. This is my standard response to the question you asked. I have nine MRC sound decoders in diesel locomotives. Yes the sound is not disco loud requiring earplugs to block out the sound, but you can hear the sound quite well, and I find them OK without any failures to date. I also find the locos run well. That said, I have also installed three HO stationary sound decoders at various points around my HCD layout, and while the sound does not travel around the layout as happens with a moving loco, the sound levels from these speakers is deafening at full bore. Also the stationary decoders are only slightly more expensive than a non sound mobile decoder. In summary, sound is better than no sound, and I am satisfied with the MRC product.
Virginian, you probably won't get a truly useful answer. Not because the people who answer are idiots or don't know what they are talking about but because sound is subjective. Some people like sound to be loud. It doesn't have to sound like anything remotely close to a locomotive but it has to be loud. Some people (like myself) like the sound to be accurate to each locomotive. Others just like ease of installation. Your best bet is to take a look on youtube for videos of locomotives with these sound units installed. If the video is decent quality, you will get a good feel for what they actually sound like. In my experience, and I have had tons with sound decoders in both HO and N-scale, Tsunami is by far the leader in DCC sound. The individual locomotive sounds are dead accurate. An EMD 567 sounds just like the real thing and so forth. My one gripe is that the Alco 251 sound doesn't seem to be taken from a locomotive that was under load. The engines have a much different sound when working hard than when sitting with no load. Anyway, some claim that the Tsunami boards have terrible low speed control. I have not found that to be true when all the CV's are adjusted properly. It takes some doing but you can get these decoders to run nicely. The biggest problem with Tsunami is that the micro-Tsunami fits on only a few N-scale locomotives. Steam locomotives have room in the tender but diesels are mostly too narrow to fit the decoder and speaker. Only locomotives such as the PA's and F-units have the car body width required to fit the decoder. I have tried MRC sound decoders. About the only good thing I can say is that they are inexpensive sound decoders that are made to drop right into engines. That is convenient. The prime movers aren't the greatest sounding and generally don't have the 8 notches that other sound boards have. They tend to sound very tinny and sort of harsh on the ears. I have heard some complain that volume is either inadequate or is plenty loud. The ones I tried had plenty of volume but sounded so bad that I didn't really want to hear it. Generally, locomotive sound should only be heard within a small radius of the engine anyway. The other big issues with the MRC decoders is the failure rate or quirkiness. I had a few decoders that would just not run. I had to reprogram them several times in a row and eventually I would gain motor control. Unexplainable. So, the only positive aspects of MRC sound is that it is drop-in and cheaper than other sound decoders on the market. The negative aspects are that they don't represent prototypical sound as faithfully as other manufacturers, the sound quality is poor and there is a higher failure rate. Loksound, I haven't had too much experience with these decoders. They do sound pretty good although as far as as side by side comparison of turbocharged EMD 645 prime movers, the Tsunami sounded better. Their steam decoders are good but just don't quite sound as good as the Tsunami board. The Tsunami's have that high pitched dynamo whine and no other decoders have that. It may not seem like much but when you hear it, you will instantly recognize it. Bottom line, listen to them for yourself through Youtube. You can decide how good they sound with your own ear. As far as the reliability, the MRC's tend to be trouble while the ESU's and the Tsunami's are pretty great. As far as cost, MRC is the lowest price while ESU and Tsunami are significantly more. East of installation, MRC has it hands down with the drop in style sound decoder. THe ESU's and Tsunami's take some installation know how and wiring prowess. But, with ease of installation of the MRC's you are getting a tiny speaker with no enclosure and are compromising sound quality significantly. The choice is yours! Good luck with sound. It is the ultimate detail part. Scott Lupia
I have seen a lot of MRC sound decoders in my club. I had one in my Athearn Challenger. It was okay, but not great. I was going to replace it until I decided to just go ahead and sell the locomotive. The decoders over time have been getting finer sound quality. My main gripe is that they seem even pickier than other sound decoders about power, and I don't think that all their drop in boards are really all they're cracked up to be for proper power contact from the frame. Seeing clubmates struggle with locomotives that run balky no matter how clean the track is I have mostly just stayed with Tsunami decoders when I can afford them and when I have a place to put them (e.g., a tender). For diesels, I am running mostly non-sound Digitrax and TCS decoders.
The 8 bit decoders are a bit antiquated for today's technology. Their newer 16 bit decoders should be better, though I don't have those yet. The 'drop-in' feature is what really made me a fan of the 8 bit decoders, but as others have mentioned, the sound quality and stalling is an issue with the 8 bit units. In-so-far as the stalling, it is possible the contacts are not well seated onto the decoder. Some have had to hardwire the MRC decoder to the contacts for better reliability. They do have a full range of functions (28 functions). The newer decoders cost about $20-$30 more... nearing $100.00 a pop... which is prohibitively expensive for most N scalers. I have too many engines to justify the expense of equiping the entire fleet... so only 10 units F units have the 8 bit MRC sound decoders boards. I'd much rather have 50 DCC non-sound equiped engines than 10 sound equiped DCC engines. Even at $10.00 per non-sound DCC decoders... I'd have to invest over $4000 to become fully digital.
In comparison to a Digitrax Sound decoders, MRCs are fantastic. And the quality of he decoders gets better with every new generation. The question is can you really get a proper fitting decoder from some one else or do you have to remove most of the chassis to fit the decoder, capacitor and speaker under the body? The Tsunamis are great sounding but you need a degree to do speed matching. A lot of people bash the MRCs from a years ago but have not bought one lately.
