# NW-2: Dallee vs Phoenix



## Fred (Jan 2, 2008)

Will be converting my USA NW-2 over to RCS battery and would like to include some sort of sound system. Since cost & ease of installation are my primary concerns, I am  looking for feedback regarding these 2 systems.


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## W3NZL (Jan 2, 2008)

Its the old story here too, U get what U pay for... Installation will be about the same, if just some noise is 
all U want, then go with the Dallee and save a bunch of money.. If U want good sound, then U'll have to 
bite the bullet and pony up for the Phoenix...
Paul R...


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## Fred (Jan 2, 2008)

Paul,
            I'm not familiar with the sound of either, if installation is about the same, what's the difference in sound for the $$$$?.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

The Dallee is pretty much monophonic, honk the horn and the engine sounds disappear. The horn is puny sounding in my opinion. The Phoenix is one of the best sound systems out there.

You get what you pay for. You can contact Dallee or look around for videos that others have shot to hear it. The phoenix, I believe, has sounds on the site, if not, there are plenty of  You Tube videos.

I am an audiophile. To me the difference in sound is worth the money.

Regards, Greg


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

If you just want noise for a cheap buck then you can get by with a Dallee.  I think that you would be most unhappy with this sytem tho.  There are a lot of options that come with the Phoenix system and you can costomize the board for various other funtions.  Theis system is more closley to prototype operations and sound.  Later RJD


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## W3NZL (Jan 2, 2008)

Fred, 
I'm sure by now U've gotten the idea about the sound quality, the price diff is probably around $150,
Phoenix over the Dallee... There R acouple of others U might want to look at that R sort of in between 
the Phoenix and Dallee, U may want to check out Sierra, an also the QSI system... These R both good,
I haven't heard the new QSI yet, but if its anything like the older ones it should be pretty good, perhaps 
not quite up to a Phoenix, but still good at somewhat lesser cost... They'll all be about the same 
installation wise, the difference being mainly in the sound quality and features offered... 
U'll get what Ya pay for!!!!
Paul R...


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

I posted a review of the Phoenix board recently. It's great in many ways although there are things I don't like about it. I'm sort of a novice user; I have a smallish layout that's casual and not to scale in any particulars. I'm running track power and trian engineer onboard. My reviews are mixed 

The Phoenix has more features than I can make use of--it seems to me it really needs DCC or a more sophisticated remote throttle to get the best out of it. If you have that great. Someday I might and then I'll be happy to have the Phoenix. But all I want is that the kids and neighbors who walk by smile when they hear the horn and the chuff--I can get that effect for less, and rather than Dallee I'd try the Small Scale Railways soundcard,  which has excellent sound with a much more limited, less controlable feature set. It's really easy to install.

As to the actual sound of the Phoenix---I'm a semi pro musician and I do a lot of recording/mixing/sound engineering. I picked the sound I wanted from the Phoenix website, which has great samples. What I don't like about it--and really, it's a fairly minor quibble--is the processing they did to it.  They added revereb to all the sounds. Reverb is something that occurs in the real world, but what I hear is not real world reverb, it's reverb added in processing. It's the kind of thing you might add to vocals to "sweeten" them. It bugs me slightly--I'd rather have dry sounds and let the reverb come from the rela world setting the loco operates in. But it's a minor quibble--the sounds are excellent, and I only notice the reverb because I've spent many hours tweaking instrumental mixes.

IMHO it depends on your needs--Phoenix is overkill for what I do, but there are many far more sophisticated users on this forum for whom Phoenix is far and away the best choice. Take a look at the small scale railways site--they have excellent sound samples. I should note that with the small scale card, like the Dallee, the chuff stops when the whistle blows

www.smallscalerailway.com/


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## Fred (Jan 2, 2008)

OK,
           Thanks for all the input, that's what I was looking for,
Fred


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## lathroum (Jan 2, 2008)

Dallee is not monophonic on the diesel boards....

here is the gp40 board in my gp38

not too bad, but not the best...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYHJLdIR6gc

Philip


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

You get bell function above Notch 2?


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## lathroum (Jan 2, 2008)

when you fire off the bell the prime mover always moves down to notch 1 or 2... but what train cruises above that and rings the bell???

Philip


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

That's an earmark of non-polyphonic.


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## lathroum (Jan 2, 2008)

well the horn works at all notch levels...

It may be monophonic... with the horn or bell recorded over different prime mover notches...

But I think it sounds ok for the money...

I guess what I was trying to say is... when you fire off the bell or horn, the prime mover sound does not go away...

With the steam units the chuff does go away when you use the bell or whistle...


Philip


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

It works the same as it always has. 
It is okay for the money.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Not bad when the chuff goes away during a whistle, but annoying that it stops when the bell is ringing. I tried the steam. Sound isn't bad. I might go with the phoenix anyhow


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