SoundTraxx Tsunami Installation - Manual (Page 13)

Tsunami Installation Guide Page 10 Tsunami Installation Guide Page 10
Speaker Considerations
You will want to use the largest speaker possible to get the best volume and
bass response.
The decision most critical to the success of your installation will be where to
put the speaker. Obviously, the ‘where’ of speaker installation will depend
on the size and type of the locomotive. But when considering the speaker’s
location, remember that the volume of the speaker will be greatly enhanced
when the speaker is fitted into a small airtight enclosure with the front of the
speaker open to surrounding air. The reason for this is simple: in order to
generate any appreciable sound, the speaker must develop air pressure.
Without an enclosure, an opposite pressure behind the speaker cancels
any pressure developed by the front of the speaker. The enclosure isolates
the front and back surfaces of the speaker, thereby increasing the sound
pressure and hence, the volume. It is critical therefore to make sure you seal
these baffles well; any holes or loose seams will diminish the results and in
some cases cause unwanted vibrations.
Additionally, the enclosure must be sized proportionally to the speaker such
that the volume of air enclosed is several times larger than the speaker
diameter. As a rule of thumb, for small speakers, the minimum for the length,
width and height should be equal to the speaker diameter. Unfortunately,
as space is limited in most models, this is only a general guideline, and
exceptions can and must be made in many circumstances.
HOWEVER, the use of a proper speaker enclosure cannot be over
emphasized and failure to use one is almost always the cause for poor sound
quality.
In many cases, the tender of a steam loco tender can serve as the speaker
enclosure. In this case, mount the speaker facing down through an opening
in the tender floor or up through an opening in the coal load as shown in
Figure 2. For diesel models, the fuel tank makes a good natural enclosure.
Alternatively, up under the fan grills or in the cab can be good locations.
SoundTraxx offers a variety of high quality, miniature speakers suitable for
use with the Tsunami Digital Sound Decoders (see the table on page 12) as
well as baffle kits for some of the more popular models.
Figure 6 - SoundTraxx Snap-together Baffle Kits
Installation