ProtoSound(1) vs Loco-Sounds vs RailSounds

I'm still fairly new to all this, but what I've learned about Loco-sounds from reading is it is a conventional operating system.  No command control as you mention, but it can be run by remote with the Railking IR Remote System MTH 50-1012...

Loco-sounds sets came with either this remote system and a z750 brick or a z-750 controller and brick.

Loco-sounds do not use a battery, and I think would therefore interrupt sound if power drops out.

Loco-sounds does have a synchronized or pseudo synchronized chuff & puff from what I understand.

I don't think Loco-sounds are as considered as robust as PS1, but I'm not sure.

I'm also not sure how loco-sounds compares to Railsounds.

I don't own any PS aka PS1 engines, and in fact I just bought my first Loco-sounds engine off the bay and am waiting for it to arrive.

Robert

I have a RailKing RS3 with Locosound and the sounds are nice.  I also have a RK 2-8-0 and it sounds like a box-o-rox.

One good thing Locosounds has and that's cruise.  They have no battery and yes, the sound cuts out when you go from F/N/R.

Locosounds is not very good especially at higher speeds. As mentioned they do have speed control and I had one that even had firebox glow as well.  Locosounds was always $100 cheaper than PS2. Of course it is strictly conventional.  I don't believe MTH has produced any Locosounds engines in the last few years.  About 5 years ago I asked Mike Wolfe personally and he said Locosound was about done.  I did see one item in a RTR catalog a few years back that said it was Locosounds but it could have been a misprint.  

PS1 sounds were much better than Locosounds. I cannot fairly compare them to Lionel though, no experience.  The earliest Railsounds were not so good but what was, back in the day?

I am not sure if MTH still produces the old IR system to control trains. It worked, I had one but you never knew for sure how much you were increasing or decreasing speed.  

I would stay away from Locosounds unless it is dirt, and I do mean dirt cheap.  That would go for any early Railsounds engine too. It's at least 10 years old and cannot be fixed, you would have to upgrade to something else.  

IMHO railsounds 5.0 is the best out there right now.

Believe it or not there was still a Loco-sounds RTR set in the 2012 Ready To Run Catalog.  It was the same look as the Pennsy 4-6-0 PS3 Freight set, but you could get it with Loco-sounds for only $70 less MSRP than the PS3 version (not a great deal).  It's product number is MTH 30-4208-0...I believe it even has the wireless drawbar.

I wondered if there was a difference in this 2012 Loco-sounds version versus the older models, but it makes me wonder if you couldn't still get parts for them.

I bought a 'prototype' loco-sounds engine from Perrystoyexchange who's been selling a bunch of the old MTH test models.  It's a UP 2-8-0, and it was $90 (a little more than I wanted to pay).  I bought it to mess around with the proto-cast & proto-dispatch features, because I also drummed up a couple of the Railking IR Remote sets for running my conventional Williams.  They work great for remote control of conventional engines, but as pennsydave said, you're never quite sure how much power you're delivering, and pretty sure the remote system is out of production now.  I believe that 2012 RTR Loco-sounds set came with the Zcontroller and 750 brick.

EDIT: Here are a couple clips of steamers with loco sounds...definitely a different kind of sound

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wYzBV99qj0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQUVPiMBNmw

I forgot about the speed control.  That's a nice feature you won't find on other conventional engines like Williams.  However the Williams 4-6-0 is a very nice, smooth running conventional steamer your son might enjoy.  It doesn't have puffing smoke, but rather a seuthe smoke unit as well as TBII whistle and bell (I like their sound)...no 'running' sounds.  Not sure how well the Williams engines run with the CW-80.

Depending upon how much you're looking to spend the Williams ten wheeler will run around $200, while you can get a full MTH PS3 RTR steamer set with some great sounds, synchronized puffing action and a good intro to command control,  along with the transformer brick, Remote Commander, and track for about $300.

Robert

loco sounds provide an mth unit conventional control with synchronized smoke.  it has synchronized sounds with speed control.  horn/whistle & Bell. Directional lighting.

For conventional operators who like smoke and basic but synchronized smoke and sounds it is a nice alternative.  Parts are still available.

PS-1 was command and control via bell and whistle button.  limited features, but pretty good synchronized sounds.  one at a time remote coupler that could be armed and fired anywhere on the track.  plus the passenger or freight yard effects.

Early conventional RS was better then the current new stuff because they used the RS 3/4 power supply and board set plus had battery backup.  The newer trainsounds/rs conventional lost the battery back up and do sound horrible in my opinion.  The transition of lionel RS especially the conventional rs is a lengthy and confusing subject.  RS, train sounds, signal sounds, Each with several board and feature revisions.  G

Loco Sounds are digitally synthesized sounds similar to what was produced by cheap sound effect watches.  The diesel version is at best tolerable in small doses.  The steam and electric versions are really, really, really bad.  One sounds like a cow mooing and the other like a dog coughing.  PS-1 sounds are stored analog sound sets.  The speakers were usually pretty crappy.  You could greatly improve the quality of the sound by swapping out the cheap speaker that came with the engine for a better quality unit and if you could "baffle" it, it would produce even better quality sounds.  PS-2 and PS-3 use better hardware and are much better sounding engines.  These are true digital recordings, PS-1 was analog.

TrainsSounds are meant for conventional only operation.  The sound sets are the same ones used in RailSounds but the sound processor is single channel only.  It can only play back one sound at a time.  RailSounds uses a multi channel processor that can play back basic engine sounds, an effect sound like the bell, and an announcement overlay.  The main issue with RS is the full sound set can only be accessed in command control.  

There have been incremental changes to RS over the years which included adding a more powerful sound amp and adding additional sounds.  It should be noted that RS does not just play back canned recordings.  Some of the sounds are actually snippets that are assembled on the fly by the processor on the chip.

Legacy sounds are about as good as it gets in a package as small as an O scale locomotive.  I've had various versions of RS boards in my engines over the years and I did not realize the real difference until I got my first Legacy diesel, one of the RS-11's.  The volume and richness of the sounds was something that I was not expecting.

I would tend to agree with Chuck.  RailSounds--true RailSounds--has long been the recognized leader when it comes to richness, clarity, and fidelity.  Even the first Lionel RailSounds diesels were knock-em-out winners.

Allan, I think you missed that I was talking about Conventional Railsounds only.  Big difference.  Sinclair was talking about the conventional units so I stuck with that.

The early Conventional Railsounds were very good as I stated.  Those starter steamer tenders were getting top dollar at shows and auctions.  The Later Conventional Railsounds versions and Trainsound are not as good and don't function as well partially because of no battery and sensitivity to dirty track and pickup rollers.

I have several conventional sets that I swapped out the signal sounds and trainsound systems for the original Conventional RS.  WWII Troop set really made a difference.

The current Lionel starter sets with the conventional sounds and no board are horrible reproductions.  Static and every time you change directions you get the diesel startup sounds all over again.  I don't know what they were thinking.

Of course I think all the manufactures have tried to cut the cost in the production of the unit, internals don't look as well made for the low end stuff as they did in the 1999 to about 2004 time.  I cherish the Korean produced items for their quality of workmanship for the 2 big manufactures.  G

Thanks for all the replies.  And yes, I am talking conventional only.  So no PS2, PS3, or Legacy.  I have no interest in remote controlled trains at the moment.  And if I do go that way, it'll be TMCC since we have two already.  Anywho, so I have learned what I've wanted too.  Stay away from Loco-Sounds unless it's a uber steal of a deal.  Older RS are okay, and a newer one won't be any worse then what my son is used to.  The best sounding is PS1 of these three, and I am already aware of the low battery issues with them (I'm in the process of waiting for a replacement chip on one.).

Now I just need to find a locomotive to get him.  Good thing Christmas is still a couple months away.  Thank you all again for your help.