Dennis thanks for your information. Kevin and Martin the TCS WOW-501 does have two speaker outputs listed on the board, what their capabilities are like balance and sound to different outputs I have not figured out yet. Hi Dan, yes I know about Zimo but $50 savings for me on my diesels is better for me right now.
Thanks
Steve
Belated reply Martin: the QSI has 32 channels of sound. each sound has an individual volume, and an individual balance between speakers, just like a stereo balance control.
And I can hear the difference in where the sound comes from on a mikado, tender or boiler from 30 feet… to each his own. (every person hears differently, I was/am an audiophile from way back when)
(first noticed this at over 30 feet with an Aristo Mallet, now speakers in the smokebox)
Greg
Thanks Greg. I was hoping it was like that. As big as the Dash9 is, I think I can put a nice tangbang in the prime mover section and something more mid/high up front and get a real nice separation. I’ll try the TCS first if I can get one, if not, it’s the QSI.
If you read my pages on the F3 DCC install, I have a speaker in the “roof” and one in the fuel tank, the difference in sound over just one speaker is noticeable to most people, especially to me.
Greg
In fairness, Greg, being able to tell the difference in speaker placement in a mallet or mikado where there’s 2 - 3’ difference between the smokebox and tender isn’t all that difficult when viewed broadside. That distance is similar to my K-27, for which a shift to a smokebox-mounted speaker was a significant improvement in terms of how I perceived the sounds. (No more “talking tender.”)
However, my two true “stereo” QSI-equipped locomotives are my Climax (about 6" separation between speakers) and center cab (around 12" separation) , so it’s not really the same situation as shifting the speaker from the tender to the smokebox in my K-27. Both speakers work in concert, with the balance adjusting the perceived origin of the sound within the narrow space between the two speakers. Maximum separation is only possible when two sounds are pegged fully to opposite channels. A aural/spatial difference of 6" is much harder to perceive at 30’.
Again, if you’re interpreting my post as saying the stereo output of the QSI isn’t cool or isn’t worth the bother, you’d be quite incorrect. When I get to re-doing my B’mann “Connie” installation, I’ll run the second speaker to the smokebox, then balance the various sounds left to right so they “originate” from the appropriate place along the length of the loco, as I’ve done in my Climax and center cab. It’s a cool feature.
Later,
K
P.S. - For the geeks among us, 30’ in 1:29 is 870’. A prototypical sound would take a little over 3/4 of a second to reach our ears standing that far away. A train traveling 60 mph would travel 66’ in 3/4 of a second. So, if we were to be standing 30’ away from a train in our back yard, watching it broadside as it travels 60 scale mph around the line, if the speaker were in the tender of the loco as opposed to the smokebox, we’d hear the sound with a prototypical delay. Okay, that’s totally geeky, but for some reason I just had to do the math.
UPDATE, I just spoke with TCS. The WOW-501 does not have the option of mapping certain sounds to the two different speakers (bummer) all sounds come out of both speakers. The decoder does have smoke heater and fan control but the information on settings is not yet available. They are working on the online manual which will have more details in the coming weeks. TCS tried to get this decoder out as soon as possible since it has been delayed for almost a year, so the online information has not caught up yet.
Hope this helps.
Steve
Well, darn. I just ordered one last night too. Emailed them and said if you couldn’t assign the sounds, I wanted to cancel my order. Guess it will be QSI. Thanks for the info.