I saw the ad on the back of Model Railroader and since I'm one of the many that have several locos to convert to DCC, I figured if they're able to give me DCC w/sound that kills two birds with one stone. My questions would start with if they sound real or toy like and if I can get the ditch lights to alternate with a horn? Do the decoders work with other DCC systems than the MRC? And I guess the biggest question is how they stack up with the other decoders out there in N scale? All the "bells and whistles" of sound don't mean anything if they don't perform as good as the other offerings from other companies. Chime in if you've used them or know someone that has. Thanks!
My Understanding is that they supply "generic" diesel sounds, as opposed to say Alco 251 vs GE vs EMD 567 non-turbo vs EMD 645 turbo etc. Please correct me if I'm wrong about this. Mark
All that I have read suggests MRC sound decoders are on the very low end of the performance spectrum. A quick search here on TB will reveal a few threads about poor motor control. My only direct experience with an MRC sound decoder is in the Athearn Challenger which is on its way back to Athearn for the fourth, yes 4th, time because of decoder failure. After my Challenger was sent back from the 3rd repair, Athearn decided to drop MRC decoders and now uses Soundtraxx Tsunami sound decoders. That might be a clue right there.
I've hear them. Not bad, not great. Awfully low volume if you ask me. I might still try one -- last resort, Bob!
It all depends on what you believe it is worth. I personally would spend the extra 30-50 bucks for a Soundtraxx or a Loksound decoder (I hear Loksound is just as good as Stx). The reasons being I love seeing that smooth start/stop and the sound quality from the Tsunami is just beautiful. Thats not to say that MRC sound quality is terrible, its definitely acceptable. In fact I thought it was great!...until I herd that Tsunami in person. Its also not to say the motor control on MRC is terrible either, it works. But Im able to see distinctive lunging, even after tuning CVs to what would normally be a silky smooth start. Then again, there's that drop in feature which cant yet be beat by either Soundtraxx or Loksound. For more reference, jdcolombo has some great videos of the Tsunami on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/user/jdcolombo1956#p/u. Mike Fifer also has some videos up of the MRC decoders for reference there. - http://www.youtube.com/user/mrfifer#p/u
I am using the MRC 1644 in Kato SD70 MAC. Sound is so so. Horn is weak, bell is ok and other sounds are ok.
I've got two. Put them in Atlas locos after having the frames milled in the fuel tank area. The sound was good for the room my layout is in. At my club you had to stand no more than 2 or 3 feet away to hear them. One is no longer working and the other loco stops intermittantly, sound goes off, then comes back on, diesel sound revs up then it starts to move again. These decoders were drop in type that replaces the light board in Atlas locos similar to digitrax DN-163AO. No more MRC for me . I'll wait until another manufacturer comes out with a drop in sound decoder.
TopHobbyTrains also has some great video reference of sound decoders including some Loksound installs. http://www.youtube.com/user/TopHobbyTrains#p/u/1/W8A9o1FbtyM
I have several, and yes the soundtraxx decoders are FAR superior. However you're not gonna get a soundtraxx drop in decoder decoder. And your also going to have a tough time fitting a soundtraxx decoder inside any deisel loco's. I use MRC on my Diesel stuff and Soundtraxx on my Steam stuff. I've had multiple failures with the MRC decoders and if they warranty them the turn around is very slow. Good side of that is they have warrantied all of the returnes I've had so far. When they work they work fairly well. Speaker placement and installation is critical for sound output. If you leave the speaker stuck to the board as they come from the factory your sound will be poor. Relocation of the speaker can help alot.
Funny thing about the MRC DCC/sound decoders..In HO they seem to work quite well while in the DC mode.Then when you apply DCC as other as said it leaves a lot to be desired.
Any reason why Digitax or TCS hasn't entered the drop in Sound Decoder market yet in N scale? With the so-so reputation MRC has with these you'd think there would be money to be made.
Digitrax has sound decoders in the works right now. They were waiting for the lawsuits over sound technology to get worked out before proceeding so they didn't have to give away all their work to MTH shortly after the boards would be released. The MRC boards don't have the greatest motor control but the sound features are not half bad. The biggest issue with the MRC's is volume and that can be cured. The boards ship with 30 ohm speakers yet can handle as low as an 8 ohm speaker. An 8 ohm speaker increases volume substancially. The other issue with the drop in boards is there is no enclosure for the speaker. For a speaker to work at it's most efficent, the front and rear of the speaker need to be baffled so they don't see the same airspace. A sealed enclosure is the best fix but you have to build it. If my video camera hadn't taken a dump on me, I would post a video. As a comparision that most can reference, I can run it side by side with an Athearn Challenger and it can be heard over the Challenger now. When I went down to take this pictures, I did notice one thing. I need to put a heat shield of some sort on the IC just above the motor. It must be running warm as there is a small discolored spot inside the shell and the slightest hint on the outside of the shell that it has gotten hot enough to soften.
Underwhelmed with my MRC decoder - I had a GP-38 sitting around that I rarely ran and came across one of the MRC drop-in decoders that fits Atlas GP38/40 frame at a reasonably good sale price, so thought why not? I send the frame to Aztec for a $10 mill job (wire channel and speaker spot in fuel tank area, then did the installation. Even though it is a drop-in a hardwired the motor contact pads just to be sure. Sound quality isn't stellar and motor control is not stellar either, but I still would have been satisfied with a decent-running engine with a working horn an bell. However, my experience is similar to what retsignalmtr describes - loco occasionally stops and then has to go through complete sound restart sequence before moving again. Wheels are clean, track is clean, contacts are clean and secure but problem persists. MRC sound experiment was a failure for me. The sound part itself was OK but the running issues are not an acceptible compromise to have OK sound. Jeff
In MRC's defense, each new board seems to get better and the Atlas GP board was their very first. I have never had any issues with stalling or pickup with my SD70. The only thing at all I have had to deal with was a crack in the board from the umpteen times I took the board in and out of the loco when making the enclosure. That is why there are some extra wires on top of the board. Just a little extra security to make sure all 4 frame pads get pickup.
