Engine sounds should fade/LPF with TAS/Alt
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Hi there,
Congrats on the latest update - it’s truly a wonderful simulation and one of my most enjoyed products.
However, there’s one thing that still bugs me about the sounds (which on the whole are excellent), and it’s been like this since initial release.
The engine sounds should have a low pass filter applied as TAS and altitude increases. This phenomenon is due to the lower air density causing sound to not be transmitted, and means that high frequencies (eg the buzz saw and whine) are not audible at cruise levels/high TAS.
In theory, you should just hear wind rushing over the nose and fuselage and a bassy rumble of low frequencies from the engines, transmitted through the fuselage.
Appreciate your thoughts
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Thank you for reporting this. I believe we did include some improvements to this area in a previous update to the 146, but we can take another look into this. I've logged this feedback on our internal bugs/feature request tracker for our sound developer to take a look into.
Mark - Just Flight
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Thanks @Mark ! Definitely intended as constructive feedback, as it’s one of the better sound sets out there for MSFS overall. For reference, typically the cutoff frequency for the LPF would start around the acceleration point at 10k ft, and slowly decrease (to around 100hz @12db/oct, as an estimate) up to around 20000ft as the TAS increases.
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Hey @Mark and team - hope this finds you well. I've just been watching a stream of the RJ, and wow - looks incredible. Can't wait. One thing I did notice (and i appreciate it's a pre-release version...) was that the above issue is still present - whilst at cruise, the engine buzzsaw and whine could clearly be heard in the cockpit, which is incorrect. Whilst cruising, the sound should just be a bassy rumble. Was wondering if you'd mind passing along this feedback.
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(to be clear, I'm referring to the sounds in the RJ, but this also applies to the 146...)
Direct from the sound developer:
"The audio levels for the RJ (and 146) have been designed to provide an immersive experience while at the same time not overburdening the listener and allow headroom for other components (warnings, cabin announcements, electrical and hydraulic systems, etc.) to be sufficiently audible.
Compared to "regular" sized turbofan engines, the (A)LF500 series engines are very small and that comes with specific traits. Most importantly though, it does not pack the punch of a CFM as found on the 737 or A320 for example and thus lacks dynamic range by nature in comparison.
Last but certainly not least; be aware that the listening experience might vary greatly depending on which speakers and/or headphones are being used to listen to the audio. Note that YouTube also applies volume compression these days depending on your "stable volume" setting. In other words, the audio in the video will yield a different experience than listening to it in the sim."
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Thanks @Derek, absolutely agree with the shortcomings of YouTube's audio compression. I'm an audio engineer (music, not planes :)) by trade, so critical listening is part and parcel of what I do.
However, I would add, that I am not debating the subjective quality of the sounds, I am querying the objective accuracy - as I cannot hear the distinctive LPF being applied with TAS as per my original post. It is the same in the current build of the 146, and in my opinion (as someone who is passionate about audio) is the one thing that I'm not a fan of in the product.
