The versatile SP 2467 P8 pacific w/TCS Wow w/double sugar cubes plus full LED lighting and effects

am proud of improvements I made on this P8"V.2"upgrade. It was done so because the of first sound decoder a Loksound Select burned while was idling just siting on the track (???). On "V.1" this brass model received full lighting system included the firebox glow, markers and number boards and cab lights. All lights are SMD LEDs of various colors and sizes. On " V.1" I installed a Loksound Select and 2 speakers in the tender: 1 11x15 sugar cube and 1 1/4 in round. The quality of sound in that first install was not good. It was drowning. because too much of it was traveling inside the Vanderbilt tender despite proper speaker openings.

After waiting more than a year for ESU release Loksound Select sound files or any of US steam sounds on V5, just one, the UP8444 came out. My conclusion is that ESU is sleeping under a rock and it will for long time.

Finally, I decided to install a TCS Wow steam. My concern was about its size. it is a bit bigger than the loksound but It just fit on forward part of boiler. The KA4 keep alive was changed by KA1because it was too big to fit in the boiler. Next, I moved the 11x15 sugar cube speaker to the boiler with a specially designed enclosure. It sits under the steam dome inside the boiler. That made a tremendous difference in sound quality. The sound now is clean, not drowning and I can appreciate all the true 16 bit sound of decoder. However, somewhat I lost a little of sound volume. So, I installed a new 13x18 sugar cube, but this time received a tuned ported system that improved the bass and complemented the sugar cube in the boiler.

I love the "DDS" capabilities of this decoder. Sorry, I am stealing the term from Tsunami. The chuff sound varies accordingly to the effort of motor load. Going uphill or in a loaded train the chuffs are louder. Going downhill, they are quieter and you can hear the drift of sniffer valves and rod clank. The Loksound does not offer yet these capabilities.