Sweet sound
#1
I read a lot about sugar cube speakers. They have their origins in todays modern iPhones etc.
This my very first sugar cube installed in Atlas U23B with a Tsunami sound decoder. The sugar cube is made of the speaker (top 1/3) and the baffle (bottom 2/3). The sound is excellent and the small size opens a lot of new mounting option.

I asked for a "new technology" of speakers when I bought my first sound decoder several years ago. The speakers looked like they did when I was a teenager and the small ones sounded as lousy as they did many years ago. I think the sugar cubes are really technology step forward! It makes a difference when big business of smart phones pushes research.

[Image: 27248332856_22c9ce884a_c.jpg]IMG_4894 by faraway52, on Flickr

This is a temporary test mount with tape. I will glue the speaker in place after a test periode.
Reinhard
Reply
#2
Reinhard, those are intriging. I have several Loksounf locomotives that keep blowing speakers and this might be a cure. What Omage are they?
I see them listed on EBay for a good price.
Are you happy with the volume? I have lousy hearing so I turn things up a ittle too loud for some folks (but I cut back when company is here).
How about a review with some video.
Charlie
Reply
#3
Charlie, I got mine from Zimo. The part# is LS13X18. I think that is the dimension 13 x 18mm. I bought 5 and one was close to dead. I called the seller and had a chat about sugar cubes as I had no experience. I asked if dead on arrival is a problem, he said that is not usual but he told be that they are quite sensitive to overload.
That information is not important to me because I suffer from extreme sensitive ears but you may check with other sources how sugar cubes behave if they are pressed hard.
I read also that plain replacement speaker for iPhones are very cheep. I ordered some just for 1 euro a piece but I have to build the baffle. May be a nice and low cost try to fit then in tight space.

I am afraid my old camera is not suitable to produce useful sound clips. YouTube is for sure a better source to get an impression of professional recorded sugar cube sound. Just search for "sugar cube speaker".
This professional side http://www.sbs4dcc.com/sugarcubespeakers.html might be useful too.
Reinhard
Reply
#4
Thanks for the reply. I hadn't given old cell phone speakers a thought and I have seen them at discount electronic online stores very inexpensive, in foact darned cheap. Maybe I will get some to play with. I will check for youtube videos.
Thanks again
Regards
Charlie
Reply
#5
Reinhard,

i got a disunited impression of that sugar cubes. Ordered a bunch of it of different seizes just for testing from Zimo:

[Image: dsc00366lnj3t.jpg]
All got soldered plugs for a quick exchange. Here is also the posibility for testing different decoders.
My first impression of the sugar cubes was, the higher frequencies were like cut off comparing with the more conventional speaker designs.
O.k. LOUD is no problem, but i want it moderate silent combined with a high fidelty reproduction of the original prototype sound. But i am still at the beginning for testing the different combinations of decoders and speakers.

Lutz
Reply
#6
Hi Lutz, I have two other smaller sizes of Zimo and a bunch of low cost 1€ iPhone parts on order for testing purposes.
I like the sugar cubes because they have good size to quality ration that helps a lot for easy installation.

I am playing at this moment with sugar cube baffle to fit it under the hood of a Rapido GMD-1. That is a great advantage to me. The ability to fit a speaker assembly in tight space. The removed baffle part is left of the speaker for demonstration puposes.
[Image: 27208812712_8b1b2f21f9_c.jpg]IMG_4895 by faraway52, on Flickr

May be a low volume washed out sound is better than a crisp and clear sound. I feel the quite simple Tsunami sound at a low volume in a distance between 1/2 and 3 yards is quite realistic. It is mostly some rumble in the background.
Reinhard
Reply
#7
The iPhone replacement speakers are sold in the internet for €1 each. I got some and will play with them. May be the small size can be compensated by small clusters? May be they can be fitted in small spaces never considered for traditional speakers.
Lutz, did you play with that little devices and built your own micro baffles? This shop http://www.sbs4dcc.com/sugarcubespeakers.html has some nice ideas how to cluster sugar cube speakers.

[Image: 26766526253_958a2201ff_c.jpg]IMG_4898 by faraway52, on Flickr
Reinhard
Reply
#8
Reinhard, i bought them from Zimo an they have the original Zimo baffles. Those baffles are 3-D printed.
This also offers the opportunity to create taylored baffles which will fit exactly into the available space.
And i played with the speaker box with the two sugar cubes. As delivered they were paralell an have had an impedance of only 4 Ohms. I resoldered the interconnection an made the serial with an overall impedance of 16 Ohms. For me it is still loud enough.
And were do you found the sugar cubes in the www?

Cheers Lutz
Reply
#9
Lutz, there are two sources I used. I got the same Zimo as you use them via ebay http://stores.ebay.de/fischermodell/ in the dimensions 13x18, 10x15 and 8x12. e.g. http://www.ebay.de/itm/kleine-mini-ZIMO-...2022911396. That is probable the kind you are using too. I tailored one 13x18 to fit into a GMD-1 hood and used three others as is.

I bought 10 of this (1€ each!) just for curiosity. The small size stimulates my phantasy. e.g. four of them in the hood of an Atlas MP15DC or Athearn SW1500 with a home made baffle. May be a good solution In tight space with a micro Loksound decoder.
http://www.ebay.de/itm/321665477206?_trk...EBIDX%3AIT
Reinhard
Reply
#10
I made a little baffle with four of the tiny iPhone speakers (two times two parallel) with a depth of 4mm/0.15" from 1mm/0.04" styrene and placed it in a second GMD-1. All speakers reside in one common little box. The second engine got the same Loksound 4.0 decoder and the exact same sound project and setting (just another address in CV 1).

The master volume CV63 was set to 10 out of 192 as set for the larger sugar cube installed some days ago. That was far to low for the tiny ones. I adjusted CV 63 up to 60 and got about the same volume of bell and horn. Might be a little bit more crisp.

The big difference is the motor sound. The four tiny guys produce a far more crisp and clear sound of the motor than one large sugar cube but they need a master volume set to the sixfold volume. Great and no problem for small layout at home.
Might be aa problem at large layouts and at exhibitions.

[Image: 27321590171_2b497a14a3_c.jpg]IMG_4899 by faraway52, on Flickr

ps. Flickr lost a patent case at a German court about photo uploading from mobile devices and had to suspend that function. They over reacted and disabled all kind of uploading inclusive desktop computers from Germany. I bypass that problem and use a VPN connection via Zuerich, Switzerland at the moment.
Reinhard
Reply
#11
Reinhard,
thank you for the links. You're right, i purchased my Zimo stuff from Fischer-Modell, but direct without ebay. And i just ordered ten of the little sugar cubes Wink
My presumes, a cluster of several little speakers have in the sum the same membran surface as one big speaker. So it must be possible to move this certain amount of air to create bass volume and also able to emit crisp cristall clear higher frequencies.
It will be interesting to make trials with steam sound. I think for a cluster which is placed into the smokebox.

Cheers Lutz
Reply
#12
An other very easy use is a cluster of four under the long hood of an Athearn Genesis GP38-2. It is all mounted with sticky tape only. That a very quick "and very dirty" way to get nice sound Wink The magnetic attraction of the cubes to each other is easy to handle with sticky tape. They like it to jump out of the glue and cuddle.

[Image: 27433538635_f5d2ae15f3_c.jpg]IMG_4900 by faraway52, on Flickr

No this is not cost effective. I think one large sugar cube would be fine too. But it is good to know that four babies are a good choice too in very limited space.

ps. I got my Loksound Version 4.0 decoders. The result is devastating. Loksound did not learn how to run a motor at slow speed without an unacceptable humming sound. I removed 10! Loksound 3.5 some time ago because they are unacceptable at slow speed. I am afraid the same is true for Loksound 4.0. The humming sound predominates the engine sound during switching Curse Curse Curse
The Loksound handles motors close to perfection with an acceptable silent humming sound. e.g. the Intermountain U18B hums too but very silent. Some fine Atlas engines are fine too.

The old and legacy Tsunami is the far better choice in most engines for me. Better simple washy old-fashioned sound than a loud humming noise!
Reinhard
Reply
#13
Found this today in my post box:

[Image: dsc00400zqxy2.jpg]
Ten of this tiny critters an two bigger ones. (Caliper is only for comparison of seize)



May be there will be new possibilities:
[Image: dsc004013fa6q.jpg]


Esu Loksond V4.0
For me i closed the chapter Esu Lokpilot and Loksound with the arrival of the V4.0. Before i was a pleased customer of Esu products. Then the V4.0 came and everything turned worse. And i made similar expierencs with this V4.0s, that they are not able to run a loco in the slower speed range without severe humming. May be they are optimized for the older coarse traditional motors like Märklin split field oder Fleischmann pancakes and may be they will do a satisfying job in this cases. But no way if you have a better motor in your loco. Intensive humming is the rule and no experimenting and no adjusting at the several P-I-D CVs will cure that. The self-adjusting does'nt work really too. And for that i am not a religious member of the "Esuitic" community of faith, chapter closed.


Cheers Lutz
Reply
#14
Schraddel Wrote:.... For me i closed the chapter Esu Lokpilot and Loksound with the arrival of the V4.0. ...
Lutz, what is your alternative? I love the motor handling of Zimo but their US sound library looks very patchy to me.
Looks like Tsunami is under constant development. A new cost optimized version and later on Tsunami 2.
Reinhard
Reply
#15
Hi,

Lutz, also when you won't hear that. The Loksound Select Decoder works very well for me, you have seen this at our meeting.
My favorite is this decoder. There is a very smooth control of speed also when you consist 2,3 or more motive power. On the other side, I was never able to get this from the Tsunami. After several hours I gave up.
So everybody has the own experience.
...
Greetings Hardy
...
GULF MOBILE & OHIO and FRISCO and also ILLINOIS CENTRAL (Gulf)
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)