# Best 2" speaker?



## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

I'm installing a Titan in a modified Bachmann center cab, and want to put a speaker under each hood facing out the radiators. It has to fit within a 2" x 2" opening. It's got to sound absolutely kick-butt for the size with _deep bass response._ The ones I'm using in testing right now are okay-ish, with good mid presence but very little low-end response. 

Any recommendations? 

Later,

K


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

Kevin, from a practical point, it sounds like you may not get a ''2.0'' speaker in a 2x2 space... 
I have a Hi-Bass speaker 1.77'' overall - round, which would fit your space.. 

From a sound view tho - I have not heard it yet!! 

But I would add this, do you have room to make a full enclosure around the speaker? this will help the kick ass response you may wish to hear! 

Dirk - I may have this one wired up in the near future....


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

I've got the entire hood for an enclosure, since the battery is going in the fuel tank and the electronics are small enough to where they take up very little room towards the back end of the hood, if I don't just put them in the cab. (Haven't decided yet what to do with the cab...) 

Later, 

K


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

How about a "name brand?" Here's a Boston Acoustics. Hard to beat for $2.



Boston Acoustics 2" Speaker


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

The ones Jonathan from Electric Steam Modelworks are very goos, longer throw than what appears in the picture. 

Having a background in professional audio, he finds ones that really sound good in our applications. 

http://www.rctrains.com 

(besides his what, 27 years in the business?) 

Greg


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 11 Nov 2012 12:50 PM 
The ones Jonathan from Electric Steam Modelworks are very goos, longer throw than what appears in the picture. 

Having a background in professional audio, he finds ones that really sound good in our applications. 

http://www.rctrains.com 

(besides his what, 27 years in the business?) 

Greg 



Don't know about that. To me the BA looks like a better quality piece. 
Johnathan's 2" speaker.



Boston Acoustics 2" speaker.



I don't know what Johnathan charges, but I bet it is more than $2.


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

If you want low end response you can't really judge much by looking at a picture of the speaker. You need to see the speakers specifications, particularly the range where it starts to roll off low frequencies. For what it's worth, the low "E" string on a bass guitar is 41 hz. The low "E" string on a guitar is about 60 hz. You will rarely if ever find a two inch speaker capable of going below 100 hz.

It would help is retailers would post the specs of the speakers they sell. Train LI does--they sell a line of German speakers with the specs listed


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

I just checked Jonathan's site and he has two 2" round speakers. Good prices and one is heavy duty.


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## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

I think the ones that Lownote is referring to are Visaton speakers, which I think are excellent. To get a better bass response you need to create a big resonance chamber, which essentially the body of the locomotive is. Mount the speakers solidly so they transfer as much as the low frequencies to the body shell/frame as possible to emphasize the bottom end. 

Keith


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By lownote on 11 Nov 2012 02:47 PM 
For what it's worth, the low "E" string on a bass guitar is 41 hz. The low "E" string on a guitar is about 60 hz.



Wouldn't it by 1 octave higher, or 82 Hz?


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I think the visaton, sold by Train-Li are good, especially when you need a low profile speaker... 

The picture below is Jonathan's:










As has been said before, the size alone, the magnet size alone does not guarantee good sound.

To get good bass, one thing that is necessary is a long excursion cone assembly, meaning the speaker is designed to allow the cone to move in and out a lot.

There's several things that control this, but the only really visible one is the surround, the roll of paper/fabric/rubber that goes between the moving cone and the speaker structure (not moving)

The one on the BA speaker does not allow as much travel. That does not make it a bad speaker, it just was not designed to get a lot of bass.

Also, the speaker chamber is another whole ball of wax, with these speakers I would make a ported enclosure, but that's way beyond the scope of this thread.

Greg

whoops, found another picture, but I've got silicon goop around the outsides... not a great picture... sorry....


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

I got this from the QSI site on their 2.07'' speaker... 

HB207S 2.07'', resonant freq. 150hz, range - 20k Input - nom. 2watts / 5watts max. 
The same 1.77'' I have is rated at a mere 140hz for the resonant Freq. 
? is,.. how were the speakers tested... 

Toddalin, I'm not a musician by any means ... but a Bass Guitar and regular guitar are apples and oranges... How do you compare them by octaves? 

While it sounds nice to use the plastic as a means to create an enclosure, I have a feeling that the structure is too light to not vibrate and add some distortion to the overall sound we may hear from our trains. As such I'm giving thought to using 1/8'' lit-ply to build enclosures, and wishing there was room for even thicker material.. 

Dirk - DMS Ry.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

I bellieve most sound systems want 8- ohms, Todd's is 4 ohm which takes 2 in series.....


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By SD90WLMT on 11 Nov 2012 03:58 PM 
Toddalin, I'm not a musician by any means ... but a Bass Guitar and regular guitar are apples and oranges... How do you compare them by octaves? 

Dirk - DMS Ry. 


No, it's apples to apples. An "E" is an "E" regardless of the instrument. The "E" on the bass is one octave lower than the "E" on the guitar. Every octave represents a doubling (of halving) of the frequency. So the "Es" fall at 41 Hz, 82 Hz, 164, Hz, 328 Hz, etc.


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## Garratt (Sep 15, 2012)

How could an E string on a guitar be 60 hertz if as you say E on a bass is 41 hertz?
The low E string on a guitar is 82.41 hertz. Twice that of the E on a bass. 
All same notes are either by halving or doubling like when you do an octave at the 12th fret.
I thought all musicians knew that...


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Toddallin is right, I made a typo. Hasty typing on a device with autocorrect!

The "E" on a bass guitar is at 41, the E on an acoustic guitar is 82. A speaker that goes to 150 hz gets you to roughly the "D" string on a guitar, or the third string from the top as you hold it in playing position. Not much bass!

here's a chart of frequency ranges











You can't get more bass out of a speaker that only produces frequencies down to 150 hz. It's not putting out any frequencies below that, or at best it's putting out very little energy below that. You can try to make it sound more "bassy" by adding an enclosure or making the body shell into an enclosure. You can emphasize the low midrange frequencies, and because of the strange and weird miracle of psychoacoustics, you hear it as "bass." This is a standard recording trick from back in the days when most people heard music through a single AM radio speaker. You'd hear a bass on, say a motown tune, but you would not be hearing any actual "bass" frequencies. It's the same reason why you hear a friends low male voice as male even though the small speaker isn't producing the bass frequencies in his voice. It has to do with the way the overtones are emphasized 

Speaker enclosure design is a real art, in which objective measurements collide with subjective judgements about what sounds good. I would experiment with different enclosures--a tight fitting box around the speaker, but also I'd try a "port." Seal up the shell and cut a hole and put a small tub in the hole. Years ago I did some experiments with that using the long boiler shell of an aristo steamer. I cut a 1/2 inch hole in the backhead and inserted a 1.5 inch brass tube. There was a noticeable difference in the sound, but when I tried it with a different speaker in a mikado shell, I didn't get the same effect.


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

Boy, look what you can learn in Music class!! 

The subjective part is the real challenge for Us and our toys! What one hears - oh how good is Your hearing BTW - is not what someone else hears!! WE are left with being selfish and trying to get it right,... to our own sense of hearing. 

And as pointed out, no 2 installs will give the same results. Leaving us with a 'You win some and you loose some' situation .... 

try having fun anyway!! do your best and keep trying... 

Dirk - DMS Ry.


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

Kevin - all above aside, I also think your install using 2 speakers will give you more 'volume' - not louder here - of sound moved... that alone should help your goals!! 

Have fun, Dirk


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## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

Jonathan has some great speakers:  speakers


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Of the three "2-inch" speakers mentoned--the Visaton, BA, and the one Jonathan sells--what are the physical dimensions? I'm certainly not adverse to spending $30 for a pair of quality speakers, but if they don't fit, they don't do me a ton of good. They can be no larger than 2" maximum physical width. 

Later, 

K


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By East Broad Top on 12 Nov 2012 11:38 AM 
Of the three "2-inch" speakers mentoned--the Visaton, BA, and the one Jonathan sells--what are the physical dimensions? I'm certainly not adverse to spending $30 for a pair of quality speakers, but if they don't fit, they don't do me a ton of good. They can be no larger than 2" maximum physical width. 

Later, 

K 

For the BA: 
Boston Acoustics# 304-050001-00. 2" cone with soft rolled edge. 4 Ohm impedance. Shielded magnet. Overall depth, 1.61".

If you look at the pics of the BA, you will note that it is squared off and there are no tabs to get in the way. At just $2, isn't it worth the gamble?

Granted there is a $7 handling charge on the order, but if you go through their on-line catalog, you will find tons of stuff at unbelievable prices and you'll wonder how you were able to live without it all this time.


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

I don't think you will be able to run two 4 ohm speakers from a single Titan as that would equal a 2 ohm load. Don't take that to the bank though--I may be wrong. The manual that ships with the titan decoder insist that you "make sure your speakers are 8 ohm." 

If you are just using 1 speaker, that 4 ohm unit should be fine


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Parts express has some very interesting small speakers, including some that go down to 80 hz

http://www.parts-express.com/cat/mi...peakers/16


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

I'll be using the left and right speaker outputs, so only one speaker per channel. I couldn't find anything in the Titan manual relative to the impedance of the speakers, so I'll have to dig further into that. 

Later, 

K


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

8 ohm ... trust me... 

Greg 

p.s. try reading the manual again, page 2.... 


*http://q...*


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Thanks, Greg. It'd sure be nice if they had a page of min and max specs for this board. "Make sure your test speakers are 8 ohm" doesn't describe a capacity, just an ideal for testing. (And with all the warnings in red type on that page, you'd think they'd want to make what it can't do clear.) Will stick to 8-ohm speakers. 

Later, 

K


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By lownote on 12 Nov 2012 12:32 PM 
I don't think you will be able to run two 4 ohm speakers from a single Titan as that would equal a 2 ohm load. Don't take that to the bank though--I may be wrong. The manual that ships with the titan decoder insist that you "make sure your speakers are 8 ohm." 

If you are just using 1 speaker, that 4 ohm unit should be fine 

Two wired in parallel are 2 ohms. But the two wired in series are 8 ohms.


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

You could wire them in series but you would lose the benefits of the stereo output. The Titan decoders have two sets of speaker terminals and you can sign different sound to different speakers, in steamers, for example, Ive put a speaker up near the smoke box and a second speaker in or near the cab, and then assigned the chuff to the front and the whistle to the back.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

The stereo output really wants some physical separation to get a stereo effect. 

You will do best by finding two 8 ohm speakers, since there are TWO amplifiers... if you put two 4 ohm speakers in series and hook to only ONE amplifier you won't get as much output power. 

You can play with the balance controls to make certain sounds "go" to one or the other speaker if you don't want it from both. 

Greg


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Settled on some 2" Visaton 2231 speakers I found online for $8 each. Frequency response 150 Hz - 20 kHz, 5 watts, 8-ohms. I believe this is the same one Axel sells, but I didn't see a model number on his site to be certain. The specs and appearance are identical. The speaker comes in at 2 1/16" diameter, but I'll be able to grind away 1/32" from either side of the shell to get the speaker to fit in end of the hood. I did an experiment with a 2.5" speaker I had lying around, and with the hood sealed up and in place, that one sounded great. (And that was for an el-cheapo speaker.) I've got high expectations for these now. Should sound great when it's done. 

Yeah, I know--I'm a steam guy putting a lot of energy into a dismal. But if I'm going to have one in my collection, I'm going to have to _want_ to run it. The only way that's going to happen is if it sounds good. I've got QSI's Alco sound set up on the decoder (I love having multiple sound sets already programmed!), so it's got that pleasant Alco gurgle to it. And, no, I don't give a rat's hindquarters that the starting point for this project is a GE 45-tonner. The only good diesel sound is an Alco! Everything else is just noise. 

Later, 

K


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

I have a ~4" in the bottom that faces down of my GP-9 for bass and a 2" that faces up under the fan for better fidelity and highs as it doesn't "bounce" off the ground. They are each 4 ohms, wired in series for a Sierra board.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Kevin, is this a Titan, or the original QSI? 

Oh, you said stereo, must be a Titan. 

There's a new q3 file coming out for the Alco... I suspect you downloaded 1101-200v8-9-1.q2 .... 

If you want something better I might be able to arrange a q3 file... 

Email me privately if interested. 

Greg


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

This speaker looks really good--goes down to 80 hz, nearly a full octave lower. it looks like it could be ground down to close to 2 inches. But it's very pricey. 

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/sho...er=290-210


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Yep, lower resonant frequency, and better surround, and speaks to long excursion. Only thing you notice right off is smaller magnet structure, and high power handling. 

So, an experienced individual would tell you that it's probably a lot less efficient speaker, (you can't get high efficiency and have a weaker magnetic field) and what do you know, it's efficiency is 82 db, where you normally want something in the 98 db or so. 

(you will find that most speakers used in our scale are efficient in the high 90's to 98 db)

So, it's a great speaker, but will most likely not go very loud, and require a lot more power for bass than the QSI (or any decoder really) provides. You would want a 10 to 20 watt amp. (Yeah, I know Zimo says it's amp is 12 watt, I don't believe it). 

If you don't need a lot of volume this might be fine, but volume and bass both need power, and with a relatively inefficient speaker, I don't think this will satisfy w/o an external amp. 

So, I would not recommend it w/o an external amp.

Greg


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

I'd disagree. Yes, it's less efficient, but how loud to you need the thing to get? i rarely have any speaker above about 30 percent of capacity. If your goal is to produce 82 decibels the speakers listed max, you might need more than its maximum listed 20 watts. 80 decibels is approximately as as loud as, say, the UPS truck. You can get that with 20 watts. 










I'm not really interested in running a train that I have to shout over, but I suppose in many situations, on really big layouts, it/ might be attractive


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

what about this speaker along with a full range


http://www.parts-express.com/pe/sho...er=264-875


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By Trains West on 13 Nov 2012 01:04 PM 
what about this speaker along with a full range


http://www.parts-express.com/pe/sho...er=264-875



That one's pretty amazing--90 hz at 2 inches? You would want to pair it with a speaker with a higher range, but that would be really cool as the "woofer." 


Expensive! That's the thing about bass--as you get down lower in the frequency range, costs and size and power consumption tend to start going up quickly


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

It's a LOT less efficient. A LOT. SIXTEEN DB less than most speakers. Did you forget power to produce more volume is an exponential function, not linear? 

(2 db increase in db level takes approximately TWICE the power) 

You want to make up that 16 db? That could take EIGHT "DOUBLINGS" of the output power. Do the math. 1 watt doubled 8 times is 256 watts... (of course you are not starting at one watt) 

You run out of steam REALLY quickly with a 1 or 2 watt amp, if you need the full 2 watts with a 98 db sensitivity speaker. What about the inefficiency of the enclosure? 

I already know the answer. You buy one and hook it to a 2 watt amp in a little loco and try to get some bass. I gave all the explanations, and I don't need to know the db level of a ups truck. Have you ever done a db reading on a loco outside? 

I've given all my advice and supported it with facts, and what is elementary sound engineering information. Do the calcs yourself. 

Kevin starts the thread trying to get deep strong bass from a 2" speaker. Already a tough order to fill. 

I'm not giving you attitude because I want to be right. I think dismissing the much lower efficiency is a mistake, a severe one. 

Greg


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

I just ordered that one and the one that goes to 80 hz, and this one:

https://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=297-210

Very compact form.


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

It would seem we have all chosen different speakers to give a try on in locos! 

I now have one of the Visaton FRS-8 M - 3.0'' speakers, working with a shoe horn to get into SD70 Fuel tank!! 

30-50 watts, nominal / max ranges, 88 db range, 8 ohm...freq response... 100 - 20,000 hz. 

See what the results become... 

Dirk - DMS Ry.


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## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

You're right Dirk-- I used two Visaton FRS-7's in my SD40-2. I'm using a Zimo 695KV which has 10W output and it's plenty loud--I've got it cranked way back. 

Keith


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

Keith, did you use the 4 ohm or 8 ohm version in that SD40-2 ? 

Dirk ! 
.... DMS Ry.


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## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

Two of the 8 ohm versions in parallel.


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Take any frequency range publications with a grain of salt if they don't publish their +- values.

For example, If someone REALISTICALLY rates one speaker at 100 - 5,000 Hz +- 3 dB, it will have better low end response than another speaker REALISTICALLY rated down to 80 Hz +- 10 dB.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

supposedly, the industry standard is to rate at the 3db down points as you have indicated. Many companies do not do this, or the specs are flat untrue. 

also, one thing somewhat neglected here is the distortion at those points... another big factor, and interpreted differently by different people. 

Some people hear harmonic distortion as louder, some people hear it as obnoxious distorted sound. (I won't even start on IM distortion, but once pointed out to people they can usually notice it). 

Greg


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Here are the specs for that Dayton Audio 2.5 inch speaker, the one claimed to go down to 80 hz. It includes performance graphs and all relevant specs.

http://www.daytonaudio.com/index.php/loudspeaker-components/loudspeaker-drivers-by-type/full-range/nd65-8-2-1-2-aluminum-cone-full-range-driver-8-ohm.html 






















The speaker is rated to produce 78 .3 decibels if you put 1 watt of power into it and stand one meter away. Some may find that this is not loud enough. Just shy of "screaming child."


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Yes, I'd say from the impedence peak and the freq response, 90 Hz would be charitable, 100 more realistic. 

Yes, 78.3 db at 1 watt is further proof it is an inefficient speaker... 

0 db increase = same power 
3 db increase = 2 x power 
10 db increase = 10 x power 
20 db increase = 100 x power 
30 db increase = 1000 x power 
40 db increase = 10,000 x power 

So 81.3 db AT THE SPEAKER would take 2 watts 

84.3 db takes 4 watts 
87.3 db takes 8 watts 
to break into the 90's takes 16 watts !!!! 

Hope my tutorial gets through... 

Get a db meter and measure the volume you want where you are standing, unless you lay down on the loco with your ear to the speaker. 

everyone else getting the picture? the volume drops off when you are not glued to the speaker... 

Greg


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

How often are you just 1 meter from the train? For every doubling of the distance you loose 6 dB. So if it's 78.3 dB at 1 meter it's 72.3 dB at 2 meters and 66.3 dB at 4 meters (13 feet).


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

While it's true I rarely listen to the locos from 3 meters, it's also true that I ha no trouble hearing a screaming child or a passing ups truck from 50 feet away. Do you?

If anyone wants to run their trains at 90 decibels, they should be sure to wear ear protection


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Rather than argue about how loud is loud enough, get a db meter and measure the volume you feel is acceptable. You DO have a dB meter right? I could loan you mine, and my spectrum analyzer, and Tek scope.... of course I know nothing about sound and all of this... 

Really, go somewhere and listen to what you want, and then you can measure the AVERAGE sound level... of course that means you would be listening to a sine wave with no peaks. Oh, you say that our trains have peaks? Gee, would that not require more power, or a more efficient speaker. 

This whole line of reasoning falls flat on it's face because you have been arguing AVERAGE sound levels, like a constant tone. 

Keep setting 'em up... there's still a number of things overlooked, oversimplified. 

Bottom line, we have our work cut out for ourselves trying to get big sound from small speakers, insufficient enclosures, low power amps and outside in higher ambient noise. 

Starting off "behind the 8 ball" with a lower than average efficiency, and you already have a low power amp, and a small speaker and a small or no enclosure, just a recipe for failure. 

Greg


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

greg you keep going on and on about efficient speakers what about fidelity?

and i have been thinking as you go lower in tone (hz) would you not need more energy anyway to get the same DB ?

so the lower a hz the speaker goes the less db you will get per watt of energy just by defalt


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Yep, another whole world of information. Normally fidelity can be had by low distortion measured at the volumes you will be using. 

But all kinds of things influence this, the material the cone is made of, the linearity of the surround, the "spring effect" if you will of the enclosure, how the speaker handles intermodulation distortion when used as a full range speaker... on and on.

But, lower in frequency basically "moves" more air, you get more of a piston action as opposed to vibration... takes way more energy. 

Notice tweeters are small and use hardly any power, and woofers are large, have much bigger voice coils, magnets. 

You never see someone putting 1,000 watts into a tweeter, but you do see people putting 1,000 watts into an array of subwoofers. 

So your second sentence is correct, this is normally true when you really get down low, like under 50 or 40 hz... I don't have the numbers handy, but my explanation above is something we are all familiar with. 

I believe it is also related to the impedance, although not just that alone (notice the impedance curves given are normally in free air, not an enclosure) 

It's a tricky business, not actually simple, so keeping to some of the more important guidelines will help ensure success. 

Greg


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Over the weekend I installed this speaker










This is the Dayton Audio speaker rated down to 80 hz. I put In a 2-8-0 made from a llionel atlantic and a Aristo mikado frame. The Aristo frame has a hole in the front that offers a convenient outlet for sound, so I put the Dayton Audio in the front, just behind the smokebox, and put a 3 inch 1 watt no-name speaker of the type that comes in the tender of an aristo steamer in the tender. I connected both to a QSI titan.

As expected, the front speaker produces less overall volume than the rear speaker, but it also distorts less at higher volume. As I expected, I was able to get more than enough volume, especially after building a small enclosure for the dayton audio speaker. It does produce a much richer bass, but as noted before, we mostly hear in the midrange frequencies, and midrange will convincingly pass for bass much of the time. It does not produce the kind of rumble you'd get from a bigger speaker, but the sound it does produce is much more full. It was especially effective with a low whistle--the best whistle sound I've ever heard. But this loco is a PRR prototype and will end up with a "banshee" whistle, which had relatively little bass content. 

It's been fun playing with the speaker balance. The QSI software, in some instances, switches very quickly from very little in speaker A to suddenly a LOT in speaker A. It took some jiggling between the overall sound balance, the individual sound balance, and the overall pitch, but the result was very effective--the chuffs come from the front, and the whistle appears to come from about the cab; the couple clank comes from way in the back, and the blowdown sound and dynamo comes all from the front. 

This was a relatively expensive speaker, about $20. was it worth it? It is better than anything else I've tried, but you may decide that a visaton speaker at half the price is perfectly good, or the speakers that Phoenix and QSI sell, which are quite good. This is a case of an incremental improvement, not a huge dramatic difference. If you try this speaker, build an enclosure for it.

I also ordered this speaker:










A tangband W2-1625SA. It's a cool little speaker rated down to 90 hz but not above 500 hz, so it's all midrange and some bass. It does not benefit as much from an enclosure and is a bit more sensitive (louder) than the Dayton Audio above. It's also smaller, and sadly more expensive. I've got pretty high hopes for this one, but won't have time to finish installing it for while though, not till after Thanksgiving.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Got the two Visatons in the mail today. Gotta get my column finished, then I'll get to playing. They _do_ fit very nicely in the ends of the hoods with no modification. 

Later, 

K


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

I just wrote to QSI to ask them how they processed their sound files. A locomotive going by produces a HUGE amount of low frequency energy. That's why the ground rumbles and shakes. But the vast vast majority of that has to go, because there's no way the speakers can reproduce it. Given that HO is the largest market, and the problem of no bass is particularly acute with speakers an inch or smaller in diameter, I'll bet QSI just uses a hi pass filter and removes most of the bass frequencies. It'd be nice if they replied, and gave some specs on the frequency range. I have a feeling that Phoenix sound may have a little more bass frequency content, but it'df be interesting and useful to know.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

There's likely going to be several answers... 

I'll see if I can get some info on the hardware first... to see what the capabilities are... that's from one source... then I'll talk to the guy mixing the sound files... I'm pretty. Sure the files wewe recorded 20 to 20k. 

Greg


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