# Louder N Scale Sound



## gerard488 (Mar 10, 2013)

Hi all. I just got a Bachmann N scale Roaring Rails set with factory sound but even when volume is up all the way up, I still can't hear it because my hearing is not great anymore. Can anyone tell me if there is a Loco with louder factory sound in N scale? I am just starting a new N scale layout and really want to be able to hear it. 
Thanks in advance, G


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## Steve Rothstein (Jan 1, 2021)

I just got started recently and I only have sound in one of my locomotives, a Broadway Limited (BLI) Light Mikado. I have trouble hearing some of the sounds (like the radio chatter) also, but the engine noises, bell and whistle are loud enough for me. Looking at the documentation, the volume is a little adjustable through the DCC programming. You might find that with yours also. 

In addition, BLI has an addition to their sound system that is unique. They sell a separate sub-woofer that is linked by radio to the engine sounds. I do not have this so I don't know if it really helps or not.

The one locomotive with sound has convinced me that this is the way to go. I currently have the hobby shop where I have been buying my trains installing Tsunami brand DCC sound decoders in my two diesels (an F-7 and an E8). I can't wait to hear them next.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I bought an Atlas Gold a couple years ago and it is not loud enough. I have messed with the CVs.
Still not loud enough. I have to lean in to it. I think it is an N scale problem.


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## rrjim1 (Mar 12, 2015)

mopac said:


> I bought an Atlas Gold a couple years ago and it is not loud enough. I have messed with the CVs.
> Still not loud enough. I have to lean in to it. I think it is an N scale problem.


I own several Atlas Gold locos and the sound is IMO plenty loud enough. I can still hear them 35' away.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

gerard488 said:


> Hi all. I just got a Bachmann N scale Roaring Rails set with factory sound but even when volume is up all the way up, I still can't hear it because my hearing is not great anymore. Can anyone tell me if there is a Loco with louder factory sound in N scale? I am just starting a new N scale layout and really want to be able to hear it.
> Thanks in advance, G


gerard488;

I had the same problem. The decoder is not at fault, it's the speaker.
In order to fit a speaker into an N-scale locomotive at all, the speaker needs to be tiny. Also, in some cases, the tiny speaker is firing the sound into the plastic shell of the loco. The shell, being close to the front of the speaker, acts as a "gag" reducing the volume even more. I fixed this problem by mounting a bigger speaker in a dummy 'B'-unit diesel. The same idea could work with a boxcar, baggage car or large tender for steam locos. The speaker I used was from a surplus store. I think it was originally intended to mount in a laptop computer. It's an eight ohm speaker. It's oval shaped, and a perfect fit for an N-scale boxcar.
My sound decoder is a "drop in" one designed for a Kato 'F-7 'A' unit Diesel, so I converted an old F-7 'B' unit to follow the 'A' unit around with the speaker. I gutted the floor of the dummy B unit to make a large hole for the sound to fire directly down to the track, and bounce off. I cut the foil runs to the original speaker, and soldered two tiny wires to them. Then I routed these wires back to the speaker in the trailing B unit. The improvement in sound volume is amazing! 
I'm hard of hearing too, and I had had to lean over the locomotive to hear sound from the original speaker. Now I can hear it from across the room.

Traction Fan 🙂


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## TVRR (Nov 15, 2019)

I'm pushing 70 and my hearing is no longer what it was. My hobby of shooting Civil War artillery may be partly to blame. The point is get your hearing checked and corrected, it's amazing what we're missing. Most of the ESU and Digitrax decoders produce good sound at useful levels. Some decoders are over amped and sound 'better' but it's mostly just louder.


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## LJClark (Jun 26, 2017)

I think there will always be a challenge getting high volume of acceptable quality out of an N-scale train unless, as others have pointed out, you can put a larger speaker in a tender, dummy unit, baggage car, or boxcar.

I'm also pushing 70 and my last hearing test showed some loss. But my first experience with N sound was the BLI SW7 I bought before I installed DCC. On DC it was loud and awful -- just too much noise. I was considering disconnecting the speaker, but the DCC controller showed earlier than expected. I set the master volume from the default 128 to 40. A recently purchased Atlas Gold GP38 is a little bit louder than I prefer, so I'll probably bring that down a little, and then adjust the SW7 upwards to be in a similar range.

I do disable all the station announcements, mooing cows, and other distractions. They just don't add to my ejnoyment.


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## ted535is (Dec 3, 2019)

The newer Broadway Limited diesels, specifically the SD70ace seem louder than most N gauge with sound. I think the size of the carbody allows them to put in a larger speaker. In steam the BLI Mikado is not quite as loud but much better than most other brands of steamers. You can definitely hear both across the room. In fact, the diesel got a little annoying after awhile.


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## Steamer_11 (Jan 23, 2021)

A trick I learned for better quality sound in N Scale is to drill a few small holes in the underside of my tender. The sound will reverberate down and bounce between the rails. My Digitrax decoders are pretty quiet but adjusting the CV's helped with that. Those speakers are small and there are also some aftermarket replacement speakers you can buy but haven't ventured that far yet. Happy Railroading!!


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