MTH PS3 versus PS2 impression

You did not tell us which PS3 locomotive your are using.  I have purchased several PS3 locomotives to date and have not noticed a problem with the sound volume.  I admittedly do not normally run these things with the sounds cranked all the way up, but I haven't detected any difference in volume between PS2 and PS3.

It's the new GE Hybrid.

I thought i heard that one of the features for ps/3 was a more powerful sound amplifier circuit???  (I could be wrong so please chime in)

Do you think you might have a loose wire to the speaker or something? 

Oh one of those switchers with the three smoke stacks?

Hmm, I think the switcher has three seperate engines, smoke stack generators and a computer to decide which, any or all engines based on load you put on it to use.

Maybe it is quiet by design.

I have a PS3 Canton switcher coming (Ouch) but we will see soon once I take possession of it and I will put my experience here.

I agree the PS2 engines are quite good, enough to stay with them.

Hi Lee,

No not the Genset, the newer ESS44AC GE Demo from MTH. I have heard other MTH units with PS3 in the past like the NS SD50, the sound was tremendous, but for some reason its like only half of that volume on this unit.

Tried to find a youtube video of one but other then Bradstrains video from the hobbyshop, there isn't any so there is no real gauge for me to go by for I don't know what their sound setttings were.

Mike

Mike,

Are the horn and bell sounds loud? It may be just that the Hybrid engine sounds are less because of the 12 cylinder engine vs. the 16 cylinder engine on earlier locos.

Hi Joe,

No actually. It seems to be global to all sounds from PFA's, Bell, Horn, chatter, accent sounds etc...

All volumes are set to 100%, and I have the master volume up as far as it will go in the remote, also I know the volume pot is overriden with DCS but I have that turned to max as well.

Feature reset and factory reset was both done, and still at best it sounds like what would be a 40% sound setting on an PS2 engine.

Smoke unit was off as well just to be sure there was no issues stemming from that.

Mike

I have a PS3 dash 9, and I agree with you... the max volume is disappointing at best. Some of the bigger, late PS2 models were real ground pounders and I was looking forward to making even more noise.

My GE Hybrid is currently on the UPS truck, so when it shows up we'll see if it sounds any different, volume wise.

From what I read about the genset it only has one smoke generator.  Is there more than one model?  I was actually considering the genset, but I really wanted the independent smoke generation for more realistic operation.

Boilermaker,

That would be awesome if you can keep us posted on that. I had several people tell me this morning thru texting that they have several PS3 engines and some were I guess sampled/recorded nice and loud with authority and others were just flatout weak or should I say weaker.

Maybe we can load another soundset or MTH can recreate one for it raising the current volume level. As of right now it just gets lost in the mix.

I'd much rather have it sampled at a higher level and turn down the settings in the remote, then not to have them high enough with all the settings turned up.

Mike

John,

The MTH units has only one smoke unit divided across all three stacks.

Mike

My only PS-3 to date is an RK WM SD70.

I thought it sounded really good, at least on par with PS-2 engines.

I also think the rule 17 lighting (as I guess it is known) is a really cool effect.

The PS-3 board has the same footprint, but it is slightly lower being as it is only one board. It must also be cheaper to produce than the older 2 board PS-2 stack.

I wonder if PS-3 upgrade kits will have a lower price tag when released??  Hmmm...

Whatever the percieved pros and cons, PS-3 is here to stay on all new MTH offerings.

I won't shy away from them, but I also like my older PS-2 engines just as well. The battery issue is no big deal.

Rod

I have the MTH hybrid and yes the sound does seem a little lower then some others. I also have 4 other PS3 units and they all are louder then the hybrid but to me the hybrid is fine. Maybe that is the way it is supposed to be but I do wish it was louder.

All ES44 locomotives, including the thousands of production model ES44AC and ES44DCs running around the country since this model was introduced use the 12 cylinder Evolution Series prime mover.

I've noticed some variation in sound volumes over the years, but not necessarily corresponding to PS2 vs. PS3. For instance, I have a pair of PS2 Dash 8-40Cs from 2008 that seem to be louder than my PS 2 Dash 8-40CWs from 2011. Even similar engines sometimes will have a different sound file, sometimes with only subtle changes, like a different horn or FYS. I've wondered if some of the volume variations we notice are actually in the particular sound file in the engine and have nothing to do with its reproduction hardware. If indeed it turned out the hybrid sound file volume is low compared to other PS3 diesels, perhaps MTH can be persuaded to re-do it.

My only experience with PS3 is with the recent Dash 9s, and I have no complaints. But then, like Allan, I prefer low volume settings, which I find more pleasant and realistic. Now I have noticed that when programmed into a consist ("lash up" in DCS-speak) with one of those PS2 wide cab Dash 8s, the Dash 9s are plainly not as loud. I hadn't really noticed much difference between the Dash 9 and the Dash 8 individually, and wondered if the volume difference in a consist has something to do with individual sound settings DCS sends to the engines when creating the PS2/PS3 lash up. But because I don't like blaring sounds, it didn't bother me, and I simply turned the louder prime mover sound on the Dash 8 down to match the Dash 9s' volume. I actually like finding that I can run a lash up of PS3 engines at an even lower volume than PS2s. I also ran a Dash 9 in a consist with a PS2 SD45. I don't recall if I had to adjust the volume on the latter for that consist.

The one thing I've wondered about PS3 engines is if they are more sensitive to signal strength issues than PS2. I think I see comparatively more error messages and signal problems with PS3 engines than the PS2 fleet. The PS 3s seem more error-message prone than PS2s when additional engines are in the power block.

RM

Mike, just to follow up, I got my hybrid and the volume level is about the same as my PS3 dash 9.... its much lower. I'd say half as loud as my PS2 AC6000. I'm glad that someone took your suggestion to consideration, as if these things are capable of putting out more sound, then I'd love to hear it. The quality of the PS3 sounds seem to be very good, so they may as well let is crank it up.

The only model engine to have the sounds of 3 engines and smoke to come on independently are Lionel's NS and the UP vision line gensets. The rest from Lionel and the MTH gensets  do not reproduce what the first 2 gensets from Lionel did.

 Just a suggestion but try changing the speaker to a good after market one,if it will fit in. See speaker replacement on my blog if interested.

www.jcstudiosinc.com/BlogCategoryMain?catId=426

Dale H

That's what I figured.  I can't really use the Lionel genset as I have O36 curves and they have fixed pilots and a minimum of O42.

So I just had called MTH Tech support and spoken with Ben who was a great guy by the way to deal with, very pleasent. I had made the suggestion of them possibly if they had the means to open the sound file and increase the amplification of the audio and then maybe save it as a revision. This way maybe they can put it on their site and for the consumers to download and reload the sounds.

Don't be suprised if MTH DOES release a louder soundfile as I know of 2 instances where they have done that.

My impressions..

Picked up my first PS3 engine, a B&O Passenger Scheme GP9 Railking Scale piece this afternoon. Looks spot on and has, so far, been running well. One thing is it will take sometime to remember it doesn't have a battery! 

Sounds are much lower compared to my PS2 engines. I live in a townhome and tend to run the trains at about setting 30 for volume and, I feel that is plenty for me. The GP requires much higher volume settings to meet the PS2 settings. Not that this is a huge issue or deal breaker for me but compared to my Railking Scale Western Maryland ABA F3 set, which will rattle your teeth at volume setting 10 and just happens to be sharing a track with the GP, it is very quiet. Another thing is no matter where you set it, it is either too low or too high but that is just my personal preference in sound volume. I noticed a somewhat faint sound, similar to a cell phone ringing on occasion but might be a few killed brain cells due to some fluid inhalation !

The Rule 17 lighting is a neat feature, particularly the dim/brightness when the engine is idling or moving. Another thing I noted was a new Styrofoam box style with new lid design but as long as the engine arrives to me in one piece and stays together for years, that doesn't make much of a difference to me. 

Overall it is a nice engine. I know this isn't the best "review" but I'm tired and quite frankly, haven't run it enough to really get a good feel for it. 

All ES44 locomotives, including the thousands of production model ES44AC and ES44DCs running around the country since this model was introduced use the 12 cylinder Evolution Series prime mover.

Rich,

You are correct. I took out the ES44AC in my post above. Thanks,