Issue with Speaker Crackle/Static - New Legacy SD50 (2433281)

I had the same issue on their E8’s.  Dave from Lionel said it’s something they’re aware of and it’s not fixable.  His advice was to turn up the volume (no kidding).  I called Lionel about an RA anyway.  They said they won’t accept an RA for that issue.  Therefore, I returned my E8’s to my dealer and haven’t purchased new Lionel since.  I don’t know if they have changed their position on this but I doubt it.  Totally lame IMO.

Wow, well I'm glad I didn't start poking around under the shell trying to figure it out.  I guess I can live with it since I really like this engine and I don't normally run the volume that low, but was just concerned if it was going to lead to a bigger problem with the speaker down the road.  Still curious to see if they give me that same response to "just turn it up" haha.  Thanks.

@WyattK posted:

Wow, well I'm glad I didn't start poking around under the shell trying to figure it out.  I guess I can live with it since I really like this engine and I don't normally run the volume that low, but was just concerned if it was going to lead to a bigger problem with the speaker down the road.  Still curious to see if they give me that same response to "just turn it up" haha.  Thanks.

You can always adjust the sounds individually thru the lion chief app.  Gives you a visual of the separate sounds you can adjust.  Horn, bell, crew talk, Prime mover & overall volume.

Have the same problem with my Lionel Louisville & Indiana SD40-2, especially at low volume.

Hey Wyatt, as Mike pointed out this was brought to Dave Olsen’s attention a few years back when the E8s came out and, yes he literally said turn the sound up. The good news is I’ve been running that E8 for years now and it doesn’t get worse or lead to any ancillary problems. By the way, it’s much worse in the Super Bass B units, but I guess that makes sense. I’m with Mike, haven’t purchased another Lionel since. In my opinion, the biggest advantage Lionel had over MTH was the quality of their sounds. The apparently unavoidable addition of this static to the sound set has neutralized that advantage.

Here’s my thread from 2021, including Lionel’s reply. Fortunately all the non-sound issues with the set were fixed by Lionel.

https://ogrforum.com/...c/153040682356460301

@MikeH posted:

I had the same issue on their E8’s.  Dave from Lionel said it’s something they’re aware of and it’s not fixable.  His advice was to turn up the volume (no kidding).  I called Lionel about an RA anyway.  They said they won’t accept an RA for that issue.  Therefore, I returned my E8’s to my dealer and haven’t purchased new Lionel since.  I don’t know if they have changed their position on this but I doubt it.  Totally lame IMO.

Hey Mike! I always remember when I posted about this issue in 2021 you were the first to support what I was saying. That helped a lot, since some people were actually claiming there was no static!

@JamesRx posted:

Here’s my thread from 2021, including Lionel’s reply. Fortunately all the non-sound issues with the set were fixed by Lionel.

https://ogrforum.com/...c/153040682356460301

Ah, dang so this has been a known bug for years now.  I appreciate y'all giving me some insight on this. 

@WyattK posted:

Ah, dang so this has been a known bug for years now.  I appreciate y'all giving me some insight on this.

I appreciate your post though, since I have recently been wondering if the issue was ever fixed. Guess not. All I can say is that I love everything else about the engine so much that I’ve learned to ignore the static. And that’s saying a lot for me since I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to these legacy engines.

@JamesRx posted:

All I can say is that I love everything else about the engine so much that I’ve learned to ignore the static. And that’s saying a lot for me since I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to these legacy engines.

Right there with you on that.

My set of PRR Baldwin Sharks have this issue too, though it's barely noticeable. Dave Olsen had responded to previous issues similar to this (prior to the E8) and said it was an issue with how the sounds were programmed. At that time, he said they could fix them and to send them to Lionel for service.

I can't find the posts, but maybe things have changed with the electronics. The static I've heard all cases though is definitely just a recording or encoding level problem. i.e. something was turned up a little too much and the sounds are "clipped" in audio speak.

The reason that turning up the volume makes it sound better is probably because the other engine noises mask the crackle/static sounds. Our ears essentially have a "variable EQ" based on the volume of the source.