LokSound V3.5 decoder

By Phil Dunlop
Originally published January 15, 2007.

Just a report I thought I'd share on my experience with the current version Loksound decoders (Version 3.5, not the XL). I dipped into the Loksound bucket because of my frustration in waiting on the Tsunami diesel decoders, sigh.

I've had one Loksound decoder running now for a couple weeks in an American Models E8, S-gauge, converted to DCC from the original AM sound unit. Here are some things I thought may be of general interest for DCC sound people.

The decoder is somewhat smaller than Tsunami, in length. The decoder comes with a 100 ohm speaker and NMRA 8 pin plug attached, the plug is convenient, but I find I need either a different speaker or need it farther away than the wire length allows, and I end up cutting the leads on the included speaker. It’s probably fine for N or HO as is. It is nice the speaker is included though, another expense saver if you use it. Installation is installation, do one, you can do them all.

The 100 ohm speaker has some good points, no need for a capacitor like Tsunami has attached, includes an enclosure with it. I played with various combinations; it seems to be fine with 2 Loksound speakers in parallel, even though that takes it down to 50 ohms. It also seems fine with 2 in parallel and a third in series, giving about 65 ohms or such. You could have 4, parallel/series, and stay at 100 ohms, although I tested that way and I didn’t hear a benefit. I’m not sure about long term effects of multiple speakers in terms of heat stress on the decoder though, so I think it’s a toss up. The decoder provides .6 watt output, vs. Tsunami’s 1 watt.

Set up is confusing, make sure you download the manual from Loksound, and you'll still be somewhat confused. I use DecoderPro and its better than it would be with only a throttle and a program track. The big question, do you need the Loksound programmer? Well, I ended up with one, for 2 reasons. I'll cover that in a second.

Biggest problem out of the box, the sound starts out at max, and I can imagine if you didn't have the Loksound speaker it would be screechy and way overdriven. I'm pretty sure that's why some report the sound is distorted. Forget about trying an 8 ohm speaker, don't even go there. First thing, to address is the sound issue. I hated the horn volume, couldn't hear it over the engine, and could not figure out how to reduce the engine sound, only the overall volume.

Here's a tip for initial sound volume set up:

The decoder has 3 sound controls, overall, horn/whistle, and auxiliary. The engine sounds are tied to auxiliary volume control. You can get it pretty good by setting the aux volume someplace

between 50% (Dec 32) and 75% (Dec 48), values allowed go from 0 - 64. Then set the horn/whistle to max, and the same for overall volume. I was able to get it so I could hear the horn over the engine from across the room, major accomplishment. The sound loading feature needs some volume headroom, if you are at max, you cannot hear the sound load up with resistance to movement. The mute function (F8, start up / shut down) also toggles overall volume in 4 steps, I’m still playing with it, but I find at step 3, 75% volume, you can hear the sound loading. (Tap F8 twice to toggle sound stepping, once initiates startup/shutdown)

Now, do you need the programmer? Depends I guess. I personally like the EMD phase one transition sound you get from the Soundtraxx generic diesel, and I guess the DSX also. No transition in the Loksound EMD decoders. I'm sort of like Jessica Simpson on that one, don't fully understand it, but I want it. (That’s about the only comparison point folks, trust me) I was able to create what I think is a passable transition sound; it’s posted in the Yahoo Loksound group file section (72438_LSV35_diesel_emd567-12_w_trans34.esu.zip) if you want to try it. To make it I got the programmer, that's reason number 1 for the purchase. Reason #2 is that I'm pretty sure I'll wind up with another 4 to 6 Loksound decoders, I'm just not sure Soundtraxx is ever going to cough up a Tsunami diesel, I'm tired of waiting.

With the Loksound programmer, the .wav extractor (free), and a .wav file editor (also free), I was able to create a transition sound and place it the Loksound project in a comparable position to where the transition occurs in the Soundtraxx generic EMD phase one decoder. I like it.

So, bottom line, Loksound is a good decoder, with very specific to prototype sounds, as far as my ear can tell. You MUST use the Loksound speakers IMHO, you can play with them a bit, but I see that as a starting point. They are good speakers, and reasonably priced. If you want as much flexibility with sound as you can have, you probably should consider the programmer. Personally I think it's sad that all the high capability sound decoders are morphing into a need to have proprietary programmers, we've got Loksound, Digitrax FX, and I think there's another one also. Who knows what Soundtraxx will do in the next 2 years, certainly not me? Anyway, that's my opinion on it. You can, with the Loksound programmer personalize any locomotive exactly as you want it. I bet you could even come up with a miss-firing cylinder, and match that loco shown in "Plains, Trains, and Automobiles".

Things I like about it is the specific sound, the flexibility (with programmer), it seems completely resistant to drop outs, and I'm running it in a converted S-gauge, so I'm pushing power limits right on the edge, seems bullet proof. It has extremely good motor control, I can set the loco so you can hardly tell it's moving, put your finger in its way and it will load up with a more throaty sound as it digs in. You can get great coasting with reduced sound intensity and RPM by playing with the brake settings along with acceleration.

Things I don't like are the lack of built in transition for EMD, and I really wish the horn would be louder. It does not have a brake function with Digitrax, but you can work around that and set up a brake function key. I have been able to increase the horn volume by taking the horn .wav files into an editor and amplifying them, and putting the result back in the decoder. It's more expensive than Tsunami, but it's available, and with Soundtraxx price increase, it's not that much more expensive, and who knows what they'll peg the diesels at. You need programming ability to make any major changes in out of the box condition, another $120. Of course, once you've got the programmer, you can do any of the Loksound decoders.

And programming it is not rocket science, how long did it take me to create my EMD transition? Total time, from getting the programmer installed, studying up on what people say on the Loksound group, listening to how the Soundtraxx generic does its transition, getting the .wav editor off the internet, about 4 hours from start to finish. Actually doing the work? No kidding, about 20 minutes! Now there's a quick learning curve.

So that's my little review of Loksound. I'm going to purchase at least 2 more, and maybe as many as 6, as I progress on my path of converting fully to DCC.

Loksound V3.5 Decoder, 0.91'' speaker with matching sound chamber, user manual with installation guide ESU LLC Sales PO Box 77 Upsala, MN 56384 http://www.loksound.com/ (320) 573 4300