Today I had cause to make contact with Phoenix Sound, asking a lot of basic questions about the best way to changing out the aged digital sound system in my LGB/Aster White Pass Mikado for a better one from them.
I got nothing but good advice, and all the help I needed from Jim Calahan, the bossman there.
Thanks, Jim - now we know why Phoenix is still top of the tree in the field of sound.
tac
Ottawa Valley GRS
AMEN to that
they have the best sound out there and are very helpful if you need assistance
Bill
Phoenix does have great American sound files, but it would be even better if they could read the back emf of a motor and control acceleration and de-acceleration sounds. Of course this is better left to the all in one DCC decoders but who knows what the future can bring in electronics.
Dan, Phoenix does that to some extent, though not specifically using the motor’s BEMF. It will alter the chuff with changes in speed so it gets quieter when decelerating and louder when accelerating. It does this (at least partially) by reading the time between chuff triggers, so it doesn’t even “need” the motor voltage going to it. It does seem to behave a little more responsively when combined with variations in the motor voltage. You do have to program this in via the programming interface. (Johnson Bar effect under the “chuff” setting.) The default sound files as you load them onto the boards do not have any variation programmed in.
Having said that, I think the latest generation of DCC decoders have well-surpassed Phoenix in terms of realism. As much as I like Phoenix, I think they’ve gotten a bit stale. I asked them if they were working on any new sound files at a recent convention, they said “Why? There aren’t any new engines coming out.” I was a little bit floored by that, but at the same time, they had just introduced their new thunderstorm set-up, their uncoupler, and just released their On30-sized sound board so I chalked it up to them being busy with other projects at the time. Those have been out for a while, now, but I’m still not seeing any signs of new sound files or a desire to “keep up with the Jonses” in terms of functions or realism. I hope they’re working on something, but I think they’re in danger of losing the DCC-compatible market.
The Airwire/Phoenix combination has always been a strong pairing for large scale sound and control. With Airwire soon to be releasing their large-scale “Convertr” that will work with any generic large scale DCC decoder, I wonder how much that’s going to cut into their market. I haven’t bought a new Phoenix board in a few years. All my recent projects have used these newer DCC decoders with the Convertr or Tam Valley Depot receiver. Each board has a whole library of sounds already loaded in (no programming interface needed to change sounds), they respond to the loco very realistically, and they’re cheaper than the Phoenix boards.
There’s always going to be the non-DCC market for sound, so I hope they can continue to support that. It’ll be interesting to see as the bluetooth control market expands what Phoenix might do to tap into that.
Later,
K
I personally do not feel bluetooth is good for outdoor use due to its present limited range.
My DCC system goes over 200 feet.
My older 27mhz TE will go over 50 feet and will do 100 feet if held against a metal pole.
Blue tooth is either 30 or 100 feet (depends on model) but noise/interference can reduce that to 10 and 30 feet respectively.
Good for indoors, not so good for conventions and outdoors.