# Cheap ambient sound



## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

I found these tiny MP3 players and speakers on eBay. About $6 for the set. I had micro SD cards on hand, but if you had to buy those you'd need to add that to the cost.



They are pretty tiny--the MP3 players are about 1 x 1/2 x 1/2" and the speakers are just big enough to hold 2 AAA batteries. Sound quality is OK--and plenty good enough for my purposes. I plan to have one of these in my sawmill playing sawmill sounds, one in the town near the fountain, and possibly one at the station.


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## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

Those would work in a cattle car, a caboose, or even a sleeper car (I'll let you think about that one ...

Robert


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## scubaroo (Mar 19, 2009)

Can you give us a link to the ebay page please.
They look interesting.

Thanks
Craig


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

Here's the MP3 player
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Clip-Digital-Mini-MP3-Player-LCD-Screen-Support-32GB-Micro-SD-TF-Card-G1gift-/191805036927?hash=item2ca878997f:goYAAOSwKtlWnRob

Here are the speakers
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-Portable-Stereo-Speaker-for-iPod-iPhone-MP3-MP4-/221917581502?hash=item33ab5190be:g:NDYAAOSwT5tWJI0W

As I recall, I bought the players for a bit more than that, as a set of 5 on a buy-it-now. The speakers were maybe a dollar less than that, but I don't see a similar auction at the moment. But the ones in the link are the same style I bought.

I think there are similar MP3 players without the display that might sell for less (and for just pennies a unit with free shipping, it's hard to go wrong). The downside to the MP3 players is that they have non-removable rechargeable batteries, which means that you have to plug them in before using them. The speakers take a pair of AAA batteries.


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## scubaroo (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks for the links.

Craig


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## dieseldude (Apr 21, 2009)

This is another type. It has player and speaker together and is very small. It has a rechargeable Lion battery, but you must supply SD card.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/27211047784...48&var=570919470103&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT



-Kevin.


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

I use one of these to play music for the Low Rider Train (over half a dozen different versions of "The Lowrider" song plus music by War and Cheech & Chong Routines. It takes a single AAA and keeps going and going.

I have mine set up with a 555 chip on a timer and a solonoid to push the button to advance it.

But, if it shuts off (after a duration to conserve the battery), when it restarts, the volume starts out at a very low level and must be raised by pushing the membrane switch. If you don't let it shut off, it is not a problem.










http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/mp3-3/mp3-player/1.html

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/mp3-1/mp3-player-w/micro-sd-card-and-reader/1.html

It "powers" though these.










http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/amp-8/amplified-stereo-mini-speakers/1.html


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## PSLIMO (Jan 4, 2011)

Hey Guy's,

Not sure if you're interested in using bluetooth for an option but I used the one in the link below for loco sound. It would allow you to remotely change the sounds and volume if that's a concern. It's the circumference of a quarter and they go on sale for $8.99 + free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZJ7BWLK?psc=1

There's an app for just about any sound out there, I used the one below for my loco.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.greyolltwit.modelrailwaysfx

It's about as cost effective as it gets for bluetooth. It won't compete with any of the amazing DDC systems out there but works for my small Christmas layout.


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## bmwr71 (Jan 30, 2010)

I find this interesting and a possibility to fool with. I think that adding sound is usually good. I am on a layout sound group and I know that some of the main group players would say that one needs CD quality sound as they say that scale sound needs to be of higher quality and that MP3 is "compressed" meaning reduced sound quality. Many use a player by Pricom and they aren't exactly cheap but can have different capabilities.

Doug


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

bmwr71 said:


> I find this interesting and a possibility to fool with. I think that adding sound is usually good. I am on a layout sound group and I know that some of the main group players would say that one needs CD quality sound as they say that scale sound needs to be of higher quality and that MP3 is "compressed" meaning reduced sound quality. Many use a player by Pricom and they aren't exactly cheap but can have different capabilities.
> 
> Doug


I'll admit that a tiny Chinese MP3 player and two inch speaker doesn't produce high-quality sound. But for sound effects outdoors, CD quality isn't as big an issue as if you're in your living room listening to Beethoven, Nat King Cole, or the Grateful Dead. I can see that for an indoor layout you might want something in between. But there's already a lot of ambient noise outside (wind, birds, traffic) so I don't notice the lower sound quality myself. I have about 50% hearing loss in my right ear (from my time in the 82nd Airborne) so even indoors I'm less able to hear the difference 

You can record/encode MP3s at higher bitrate, which helps. Of course, if you're just using something off the Internet, chances are it was recorded at a lower bitrate with a fair amount of loss. And for folks with a very discriminating ear, I can see that being an issue.


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## bmwr71 (Jan 30, 2010)

Yhe layout sound group guys are pretty much all smaller scale indoor guys. They seem to have the idea that this sound should be played at a low level and viewers should need to lean in to focus on each scene. So the idea is that the low volume sound must be of high quality for the listener to hear the details. Many of the inner circle guys are like audio engineers and the like. Sometimes it seems similar to us questioning if we are fooling with a railroad in a garden or a garden with a railroad. They seem to focus on the sound played to make a layout more realistic. So, one must consider the source and context. But saying that, quality sound is best, any sound is probably better than none unless it is just plain annoying.

Doug


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## Michael W (Oct 10, 2012)

Depending on the level of tinkering you want to do, you might want to look into a pizero, if you attach audio speaker and some sensors you could have a fully computer controlled sound mashine playing sounds for abot $10, the best is you can write your own software for it...


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Thanks for the tips Dan. Here's a link for something similar to what you bought, though via buy-it-now (vs. auction), still free shipping.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Mini-Cl...hash=item5683133085:m:mGHWxusEZCZQrvooQyJwZpA

Quality can't be that great, but sheesh, $2?


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