# Which sound decoder



## sknight751 (Feb 18, 2013)

Hi 

I am looking at a Kato e8 that is DCC ready. I want to add a decoder with sound.
Questions-which is the better decoder, the MRC 1645 or the Digitrax SDN144koa? Will either require any milling of the chassis since the unit is "DCC ready"? 

And, I noticed that the Digitrax appears to have two versions-one with fixed light on the front an the back. And another version with a light on one end and a capacitor (?) on the other end?

Thanks for any help I can get!

Steve


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

Quick answer...N scale,yes some milling is required,no room for speaker yet.Second question,wich decoder is best...NONE,both junks.


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## sknight751 (Feb 18, 2013)

*Mrc*

Brakeman Jake,

The MRC 1645 has the speaker mounted on the front of the decoder board. Is the issue the space above the speaker in the plastic shell? I saw a video where the aluminum chassis was drilled out to house an un-attached (wires only) speaker but what about the fixed speaker?

thanks
Steve


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

I have three Kato E8 in N scale and there's definitely no room for a speaker.MRC may have engineered something else space wise,but they still have to engineer good decoders for me to even consider them.Poor sound quality,limited programming options and worse they have a stunning failure rate.Digitrax aren't much better with sound,though they make good silent decoders.


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

I have a Digitaxx sound decoder in my Kato SD40-2 and the sound quality nor volume are not great. The speakers are just small so you can't expect much.


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## Bone1977 (Jan 17, 2014)

I've found the only N Scale sound I like are steamers with a speaker in the tender.


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## jfynyson (Nov 10, 2014)

Sounds like the DCC industry could learn a few things from the cell phone industry...maybe pay some royalties on patents if needed in order to incorporate small speakers into small trains and still sound great & loud.


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## rrjim1 (Mar 12, 2015)

The problem isn't the speaker it's the available space and not being able to use a speaker baffle. If you mill the frame and use a sugar cube speaker with a baffle you will get decent sound volume.


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

Using a baffle s not going to increase volume significantly, it will only improve quality of sound. In model railroading we have to work within small bodies of locos and have to rely on the body itself as a baffle. The more space there is the better the sound.


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## rrjim1 (Mar 12, 2015)

Well they sure helped my sound installs, going from hardly being able to hear anything, to just the right volume for my model railroad locos.


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