NW-2: Dallee vs Phoenix
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Its the old story here too, U get what U pay for... Installation will be about the same, if just some noise is
all U want, then go with the Dallee and save a bunch of money.. If U want good sound, then U'll have to
bite the bullet and pony up for the Phoenix...
Paul R...
all U want, then go with the Dallee and save a bunch of money.. If U want good sound, then U'll have to
bite the bullet and pony up for the Phoenix...
Paul R...
Joined
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20,885 Posts
The Dallee is pretty much monophonic, honk the horn and the engine sounds disappear. The horn is puny sounding in my opinion. The Phoenix is one of the best sound systems out there.
You get what you pay for. You can contact Dallee or look around for videos that others have shot to hear it. The phoenix, I believe, has sounds on the site, if not, there are plenty of You Tube videos.
I am an audiophile. To me the difference in sound is worth the money.
Regards, Greg
You get what you pay for. You can contact Dallee or look around for videos that others have shot to hear it. The phoenix, I believe, has sounds on the site, if not, there are plenty of You Tube videos.
I am an audiophile. To me the difference in sound is worth the money.
Regards, Greg
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5,623 Posts
If you just want noise for a cheap buck then you can get by with a Dallee. I think that you would be most unhappy with this sytem tho. There are a lot of options that come with the Phoenix system and you can costomize the board for various other funtions. Theis system is more closley to prototype operations and sound. Later RJD
Fred,
I'm sure by now U've gotten the idea about the sound quality, the price diff is probably around $150,
Phoenix over the Dallee... There R acouple of others U might want to look at that R sort of in between
the Phoenix and Dallee, U may want to check out Sierra, an also the QSI system... These R both good,
I haven't heard the new QSI yet, but if its anything like the older ones it should be pretty good, perhaps
not quite up to a Phoenix, but still good at somewhat lesser cost... They'll all be about the same
installation wise, the difference being mainly in the sound quality and features offered...
U'll get what Ya pay for!!!!
Paul R...
I'm sure by now U've gotten the idea about the sound quality, the price diff is probably around $150,
Phoenix over the Dallee... There R acouple of others U might want to look at that R sort of in between
the Phoenix and Dallee, U may want to check out Sierra, an also the QSI system... These R both good,
I haven't heard the new QSI yet, but if its anything like the older ones it should be pretty good, perhaps
not quite up to a Phoenix, but still good at somewhat lesser cost... They'll all be about the same
installation wise, the difference being mainly in the sound quality and features offered...
U'll get what Ya pay for!!!!
Paul R...
Joined
·
2,910 Posts
I posted a review of the Phoenix board recently. It's great in many ways although there are things I don't like about it. I'm sort of a novice user; I have a smallish layout that's casual and not to scale in any particulars. I'm running track power and trian engineer onboard. My reviews are mixed
The Phoenix has more features than I can make use of--it seems to me it really needs DCC or a more sophisticated remote throttle to get the best out of it. If you have that great. Someday I might and then I'll be happy to have the Phoenix. But all I want is that the kids and neighbors who walk by smile when they hear the horn and the chuff--I can get that effect for less, and rather than Dallee I'd try the Small Scale Railways soundcard, which has excellent sound with a much more limited, less controlable feature set. It's really easy to install.
As to the actual sound of the Phoenix---I'm a semi pro musician and I do a lot of recording/mixing/sound engineering. I picked the sound I wanted from the Phoenix website, which has great samples. What I don't like about it--and really, it's a fairly minor quibble--is the processing they did to it. They added revereb to all the sounds. Reverb is something that occurs in the real world, but what I hear is not real world reverb, it's reverb added in processing. It's the kind of thing you might add to vocals to "sweeten" them. It bugs me slightly--I'd rather have dry sounds and let the reverb come from the rela world setting the loco operates in. But it's a minor quibble--the sounds are excellent, and I only notice the reverb because I've spent many hours tweaking instrumental mixes.
IMHO it depends on your needs--Phoenix is overkill for what I do, but there are many far more sophisticated users on this forum for whom Phoenix is far and away the best choice. Take a look at the small scale railways site--they have excellent sound samples. I should note that with the small scale card, like the Dallee, the chuff stops when the whistle blows
www.smallscalerailway.com/
The Phoenix has more features than I can make use of--it seems to me it really needs DCC or a more sophisticated remote throttle to get the best out of it. If you have that great. Someday I might and then I'll be happy to have the Phoenix. But all I want is that the kids and neighbors who walk by smile when they hear the horn and the chuff--I can get that effect for less, and rather than Dallee I'd try the Small Scale Railways soundcard, which has excellent sound with a much more limited, less controlable feature set. It's really easy to install.
As to the actual sound of the Phoenix---I'm a semi pro musician and I do a lot of recording/mixing/sound engineering. I picked the sound I wanted from the Phoenix website, which has great samples. What I don't like about it--and really, it's a fairly minor quibble--is the processing they did to it. They added revereb to all the sounds. Reverb is something that occurs in the real world, but what I hear is not real world reverb, it's reverb added in processing. It's the kind of thing you might add to vocals to "sweeten" them. It bugs me slightly--I'd rather have dry sounds and let the reverb come from the rela world setting the loco operates in. But it's a minor quibble--the sounds are excellent, and I only notice the reverb because I've spent many hours tweaking instrumental mixes.
IMHO it depends on your needs--Phoenix is overkill for what I do, but there are many far more sophisticated users on this forum for whom Phoenix is far and away the best choice. Take a look at the small scale railways site--they have excellent sound samples. I should note that with the small scale card, like the Dallee, the chuff stops when the whistle blows
www.smallscalerailway.com/
Dallee is not monophonic on the diesel boards....
here is the gp40 board in my gp38
not too bad, but not the best...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYHJLdIR6gc
Philip
here is the gp40 board in my gp38
not too bad, but not the best...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYHJLdIR6gc
Philip
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1,579 Posts
You get bell function above Notch 2?
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1,579 Posts
That's an earmark of non-polyphonic.
well the horn works at all notch levels...
It may be monophonic... with the horn or bell recorded over different prime mover notches...
But I think it sounds ok for the money...
I guess what I was trying to say is... when you fire off the bell or horn, the prime mover sound does not go away...
With the steam units the chuff does go away when you use the bell or whistle...
Philip
It may be monophonic... with the horn or bell recorded over different prime mover notches...
But I think it sounds ok for the money...
I guess what I was trying to say is... when you fire off the bell or horn, the prime mover sound does not go away...
With the steam units the chuff does go away when you use the bell or whistle...
Philip
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1,579 Posts
It works the same as it always has.
It is okay for the money.
It is okay for the money.
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