HO model railroad speaker comparison

***LISTEN WITH HIGH QUALITY HEADPHONES OR COMPUTER SPEAKERS FOR BEST COMPARISON***
I tested several different speaker setups in-situ to determine what I would like to go with in the majority of my models.
The tests were all recorded from my own installations, using a Tascam DR-05 and 1" diaphragm mic.
Speakers consisted of Railmaster DSM-8's, 30mm rounds alone and in pairs (series), and Knowles Grand "sugar cube" speakers in custom enclosures, wired in series (pairs) and series-parallel (4 speakers).

[@zakgardner]

Kevin, any chance you could do a video on installing RailPro with Knowles Grand speakers (Plus building the enclosure) in a Scale Trains Dash-9?

[@freewake84]

Hi Zach - The Knowles Grand speakers aren't available anymore unfortunately. I've tried finding a replacement with no real luck. I've been very impressed with the Scale Sound Systems speakers, but unfortunately that supply has dried up too. So now I'm back to the drawing board. I have a ScaleTrains Dash 9 that I plan on doing some videos on, including Railpro hardwiring and speaker installation. But I'm waiting until I figure out what I'm going to do for the speaker before I jump in. I'm currently testing a few different options.

[@Texascudaguy]

Railmaster clearly better. Is the Knowlea grand a lot cheaper? Not much comparison at all

[@freewake84]

The Knowles are significantly cheaper, and easier to put multiple speakers in. They are no longer available though. The Railmaster speaker in person has a complete lack of depth. I used to like them but no longer have them in any locomotives. Sugar cube speakers in general sound alright in the right configuration, especially in pairs or quads, and spread throughout the locomotive. However, even those lack the depth that I'm looking for. Scale Sound Systems was much, much better than anything I've heard previously, but they are not providing any more speakers for an untold amount of time. I'm not sure if they will get back up and running or not. Currently I'm looking into high-bass speakers but fitting them is extremely difficult, and the volume is quieter than I like. Lots of compromises when working with model trains.

[@paistefreak18]

Do though sugar cubes have any high-end they sound like they’re pretty much all bassie to me??

[@freewake84]

Yes, they have plenty of high end. The problem with most speakers installed in HO locomotives is that they have way too much high end and it makes it sound "tinny" and can be very grating to listen to. In my experience, the sugar cubes give a much "rounder" sound, where the high notes aren't so shrill and the lower-mid are more easily heard. I've switched all my locomotives to sugar-cubes.

[@paistefreak18]

KPack OK thanks I just bought about 40 of them and I just switch the Railpro also can’t wait to get them installed thanks again appreciate it.

[@freewake84]

Make sure you build a speaker box for them out of styrene, otherwise you will hear nothing. The box does not have to be big....I usually make mine ~8-10mm in depth. MRH had an article on installing DCC and sound into a locomotive that showed some great pictures of how to do it. I can't remember the year or month, so you'll have to look for it.

[@paistefreak18]

KPack They all came with 8MM plastic enclosures, Hopefully they’ll sounds good any other advice for install them I’m listening

[@freewake84]

If you can fit two speakers in each locomotive, you should do it. Put one in front and one in back. That localizes the sound in the middle of the locomotive and sounds much more full. Much better than a single speaker. Wire them in series, not parallel, so you don't overdrive the speakers. They will still be plenty loud.

[@laurenceweiler]

Those 4 sugar cubes in the GE sound Fantastic! Did you make your own enclosures?

[@freewake84]

Laurence Weiler Yes, I used 0.020" styrene to make the enclosures. I found the method in MRH sometime late last year, I'll have to look up the issue and let you know. They are built so that there is ~1 cubic centimeter of space behind the speaker, which is what the manufacturer recommends. Making the enclosures for the first time was time consuming, but now it is easy and quick. I can prep a set of four speakers in about 20-30 minutes, not including glue dry time.

[@WestCoastRails]

Nice. Thank You for posting. I just purchased some Grands too. The big question is, when placing the speaker into an enclosure, do you mount with the foil facing out or facing into the enclosure?

[@freewake84]

I've done it both ways and really haven't noticed a difference. Lately I have been placing the speaker facing into the enclosure so I can easily solder to the tabs on the outside. Otherwise they have to be pre-soldered and hole drilled into the enclosure to get the wires out. Just a lot of extra steps that I now try to avoid. Having the speaker facing out helps in tight installs because the entire assembly is less tall. When you have space it's easier to face the speaker in. Sound quality is the same from what I can hear.

[@FlyingCrow]

I notice when I wire two speakers in parallel as Soundtraxx recommends, My decoder shorts out and restarts. This has happened with different speaker types and several different decoders. Has anyone else experienced this issue? Do you think the same thing would happen if I wired them in series?

[@freewake84]

Check your connections first. When using two speakers you need to be sure that the speaker terminals are labeled as positive and negative. If they are not, then you will need to do it yourself. It doesn't matter which terminal is which, just make sure it is the same for both speakers. Then wire them according to the diagrams. I'll bet that this is your problem.