In keeping with my current theme of DCC equipped models... I noticed many Bachmann N scale locos are now offered with DCC/Sound using the Econami DCC/sound decoder. I have not read any reviews yet... but prefer actual peer experience rather than written (maybe biased) magazine reviews. If you have these models please give me your honest... unabashed... opinions about these Bachmann models. Sent from my SM-J737T using Tapatalk
The only one I have is a K4 steamer. if you want basic steam engine sounds when you start up power to your track, its fine. My biggest complaint about it is that the sound starts as soon as power is on to the track whether you are planning on moving it or not. It has a mute option, but no cv to make it the startup default. I also have a BLI M1-b that is much more flexible in the sound configuration.
I have three sound-equipped steamers: a Kato FEF-3 with LokSound, Athearn Challenger with Sound traxx Tsunami sound, and a Bachmann 2-8-0 with the Soundtraxx "sound value" Economi decoder. The Economi is OK... it has some features I like better than the Lok sound, some I like less. It has many, but not all, of the Tsunami functions, but has a couple that the (older) Tsunami lacks. Sound quality is similar to the Tsunami... I think the whistle and bell are better than the Lok sound, but the chuffs are a little harsher (of course, it's hard to get any bass out of those tiny speakers). The Soundtraxx decoders are both SUBSTANTIALLY louder than what I get out of Loksound. I like the Economi's "drift" mode... chuff volume decrease (I wish you could program the volume decrease). But, I would also like a converse function for when a loco is laboring upgrade (I hear that has been included in the Tsunami steam 2 decoders). If you don't have a Lokprogrammer, the Soundtraxx are much easier to program/customize than the Loksound. Both of my Soundtraxx decoders have a "quiet mode"... when no funcions are active, the sound will mute after a predetermined time interval. More to the point of John's post... when in quiet mode, the sound will NOT come on at startup, but will come on when the first command is sent to the loco. I have quiet mode set on both my Soundtraxx locos... when my system boots, the locos are quiet... I start the sound with a "toot" of the short whistle before I start to move them.
I replaced the Economi in my K4 with a LokSound. But, there wasn’t anything basically wrong with it, I really wanted the better motor control, and better overall control of the decoder.
