Product Review: SoundTraxx Tsunami TSU-1000

This week, I thought I would do something a little bit different.  We have done several product reviews in the past, but they tend to be locomotives and rolling equipment.  Model railroading encompasses more than locomotive and freight cars, so I thought I would do some equipment that makes it operate.  Today I want to talk about a DCC sound decoder, which I rather like.  SoundTraxx offers a wide range of DCC decoders for mobile and stationary applications.  I have known about them for quite some time, but because of the price, I have been hesitant to purchase any of their products.  Recently, I found a distributor offering a kit to upgrade Athearn's recent P42DC locomotive models to DCC and sound.  These kits featured the TSU-1000 decoder, which is part of SoundTraxx's Tsunami line of products.  The decoder in the kit was programmed with modern sounds from General Electric's FDL-16 prime mover.

The Tsunami line of products is SoundTraxx's line of sound decoders.  They offer both sound and non sound decoders for stationary and mobile use, although they are best known for their sound decoders.  The TSU-1000 is a one amp DCC sound decoder, and they offer different options for the sounds programmed onto the decoder, which encompass a variety of steam and diesel sounds.  They generally specify the prime mover programmed onto the decoder, and then several options for horn, bell, and other sounds are also programmed onto the decoder, allowing the user to customize the sounds to match the prototype.

When my kits arrived, I discovered a few things about SoundTraxx decoders.  When one purchases a decoder from SoundTraxx, that is all they purchase.  Even if it is a sound decoder, it typically does not come with a speaker, baffle, or harness for easy installation.  The distributor that sold me my decoder kits had included all of those additional parts, which is a good thing because I would have not known that they are not included.  While a complete package, including all the required parts would be nice, I can see the benefits to not including them also.  It does allow the user to buy speakers and other parts specifically suited for the locomotive in which the system will be installed.  It also gives the buyer the option of finding the parts from another supplier, possibly at a lower price.  I can appreciate these benefits, but I would also think that a first time buyer with limited electronics experience may want something that includes everything.

Assembly of all the parts was not difficult.  It does require some basic soldering skills and some patience, but it was not difficult.  Assembling the baffle is a simple matter of gluing a couple of plastic parts together.  Once assembled, the speaker can simply be pressed into the baffle.  The speaker must be soldered to the leads that come from the decoder.  All the decoder leads must also be soldered to their appropriate location within the locomotive.  The decoder does come with a diagram, which shows where each wire should be connected.  Additionally, NMRA compliant 8-pin plugs are available, and the decoder leads could be soldered to that instead, if the user wanted an installation that could be easily removed in the future.  I tried this method on one decoder, but found it difficult to solder the wires to the tops of the pins.  On the second decoder, I connected it directly to the locomotive.

Once everything is assembled, it must somehow all get inside the locomotive.  With any sound decoders, this can be a little tricky.  It always seems as if there are about a thousand miles of wire, and finding a place for the speaker, where it will not cause other problems can also be challenging.  Fortunately, Amtrak units are car body type engines, and while space is not ample, it is not too cramped inside either.  Before I closed up the locomotive, I set it on the tracks to test everything.

When the locomotive is placed on the tracks, the decoder goes through a start up sequence.  It produces sounds that sound like a locomotive starting up and then idling.  I was actually quite impressed with the sound quality, although I did find the default volume level to be a bit loud.  That is easily adjusted, and can be adjusted on the main track if your DCC system allows main track programming.  After I got the volume turned down a little, I pulled out the cheat sheet, included with the decoder, and tested the various sound functions.  The only one I really did not like was the horn.  There was another cheat sheet with the various horns on the decoder, and instructions on how to change the horn sound, so I changed it, and tested it again.  Then I throttled up slowly, so I could hear when the decoder went to the next notch of power.  Overall, I was impressed with the sounds.

I have a DCC system that allows programming on the main track, provided the DCC decoder in question can be programmed on the main track.  I find this feature very handy, and I am not sure I would ever buy a system without it.  Every decoder I had used previously  had been fully programmable, as far as I was able to tell, on the main track.  I tried to change the address on this newly installed decoder, and found that it would not accept the new address.  Having never run into this problem before, I looked through the documentation included with the decoder, and found nothing.  There were several references to a complete decoder manual online, and so I checked that out, and then found that SoundTraxx decoders cannot have their address reprogrammed on the main track.  Most other things it seems are programmable on the main track, although there are a few things that SoundTraxx decoders will not accept unless it is moved to a programming track.

Overall, I am happy with the pair of decoders I purchased.  Eventually I would like to put sound in all my engines, because I like what it adds to operations.  I do plan to purchase more decoders from SoundTraxx, though I will probably purchase the speakers elsewhere to save a little money.  I do think the decoders are a good purchase, and a good value.  The sound quality is high, yet the price is comparable to most other sound decoders.  I have three SD70MAC's, and I am eager to try the TSU-1000 with the EMD 710 prime mover sounds next.