Cheap 8-ohm speakers with enclosure kits

[5Dublo2]

Only option left for me is either spend more on expensive decoders, or stick with limited space with smaller sugarcube or run the wires to tender to have better options.

 

 

There is another option a 4 Ohm resistor (if such a thing exists) instead of one of the sugarcube speakers - no idea what this might do to the sound quality though.

 

Also as I don't know the maximum voltage of the speaker channel on the decoder, as resistors have a maximum current rating, it's kind of difficult to say what current rating the resistor will need.

[P-Henny]

4 ohm resistor is not a good idea. Let's just for the sake of discussion say that the amplifier output wattage rating is 1 watt into 8 ohms. Only half that power will be delivered to a 4 ohm speaker as the 4 ohm resistor will dissipate the other 0.5 watts. The effect will be that the maximum speaker volume will be significantly reduced. Also, as you stated in a previous reply, the speaker impedance (the 4 ohms) is not fixed and varies with frequency, thus the power delivered to the speaker will not always be half, it may be even less than half at certain frequencies, since the 4 ohm resistor is a fixed value across the whole frequency spectrum.

[96RAF]

@P-H

TTS amplifier will drive max 1.6W into 8Ω according to the spec sheet. As you say impedance is not the same as resistance and a suitable wattage low Ω resistor will take up space and generate that dissipated current as heat.

@all

It is not as if the correct speakers are not available in a variety of sizes from micro-cube to matchbox and from experience it is not so much the size of the driver as the size of the enclosure which affects tone and volume. R&R is not the only supplier of speakers. Try Zimo and You-Choos.

I don’t know why folk rave over iPhone speakers as they come with an an odd shaped bespoke enclosure to fit inside the space left in a phone not best suited to a loco acoustics.

[Deem]

Thanks everyone for you comments. Appreciate everyone sparing time to help fellow modeller.

Colin I don't think resister option is viable.

96RAF, as for your point about iPhone speaker, as phones are even more slimmer than locos, big company spend so much money on R&D and they do sound quite good but you can't beat a full enclosure diaphragm speaker, I only have one full enclosure speaker which is fitted in class 20, in my opinion that sound the best even with TTS Decoder.

As my knowledge is limited about model railway, I am just asking for help or advice from previous experience of fellow modeller so I don't waste money on trying specially being with limited spending budget. Also In that if we all are learning or gaining knowledge and also saving, I think it's all positive for all of us.

I hope I am not offending anyone or upsetting anyone, if I am, I apologise in advance.

Regards

[Fishmanoz]

You are always fighting physics trying to get bass response at any reasonable level from such small drivers and enclosures.

The game is to minimise the attenuation at low frequencies and it will be trial and error to find the product that does it best.

So stick with what sounds best to you.

Now if you could lay your hands on the pipe musical instrument at the local church or town hall, that would be another matter, although the loco itself might be more compact! Yes, my tongue is firmly in my cheek but you should get the picture.

PS. Mods, couldn’t use the correct name for the pipe device, it gets caught by the rude word filter. That needs fixing.

[ColinB]

Well 96RAF I used to use iphone speakers in virtually all my sound locos only changing them when Road and Rails came up with their ultra thin ones which sound a lot better. Seeing as in most of my locos the speaker fits in the tender an iphone speaker is short enough to fit. The iphone speaker, if I think back to my audio days when making my own speakers, are of horn design so are generally very efficient but lack a great deal of bass. I must admit generally I look at the space where to fit it and buy a suitable speaker. So sometimes I buy them from YouChoos sometimes from Road and Rails. I have found some of the YouChoos speakers although they fit aren't very loud. The ones I found the best were their ice cube ones and they fit in the front of Unrebuilt Battle of Britain and West Country, they also fit in A4 ones as well. No four ohm speakers are not a good idea for TTS decoders as the halving of the impedance, doubles the output current, which the output drivers in the TTS cannot handle so will be damaged. In fact on my Fell I took out the 4 ohm speaker (it has a LokSound decoder) to fit a Road and Rails ultra thin 8 ohm one to lower the decoder current, it not only lowers the current but sound infinitely better.

[Deem]

After listening to you specially 96RAF and ColinB, (also others who surely deserve applause as well for help) I came to these 2 choices and would appreciate if I anyone who have used them can share their experience.