I see that Simmarket has the 'SYNCHRO-SOFT - 737 CLASSIC SOUNDSET FSX' on sale today, which should really be titled 'ORIGINAL' rather than 'CLASSIC' since it is supposedly a JT8D, but nomenclature aside, I'm curious to know what anyone who has it thinks of it.

 

I watched the preview video and to be honest, it didn't sound much like a JT8D to me, but it is kind of hard to tell from the preview video since there is no exterior footage. I really would like a good 'screamer' FSX sound cone enabled JT8D set for the CS and JF 100/200 original series 737s, as the sounds on those are a bit weedy for a JT8D in my opinion. The Synchro-soft set is relatively inexpensive, but if it doesn't actually sound like a JT8, then I'd be disappointed.

 

So, anyone took the plunge on this and have an opinion?

 

Al

IMHO the Captain Sim captures the JT8D sound nicely. I'm curious what you consider weak about it, Al? The only thing I'd make a comment about is low volume from the front, but that could be remedied by editing the sounds, I guess.

 

To take a stab at your question, the two Synchro Soft products I do own are absolutely recorded from the passenger cabin. They're not bad, but they don't capture the flight deck sound well. I know I purchased the CFM-56b (Airbus CFMs) package and something else (haven't used it).

Well, what I mean is that without the visceral feeling of being there, nor the sensory assault of movement and such which flying a real aeroplane gives one, then the role of sound is an important one for a desktop simulator experience. As I'm sure anyone over the age of about thirty is aware, the one thing you could recall about aircraft such as the 737-200 and others which sported the JT8D when they were passing over your head or taxying past you on a regular basis all those years ago, was the very different sound they made from that of the high bypass turbofans we are now so used to hearing. I think more could be made of the fact that the air moving out of the back of turbojets as opposed to turbofans, produces a sound which is both very loud, and very high-pitched.

 

Now of course we don't want to have to wear ear defenders when playing with a pretend 737-200 in FSX, any more than we want the explosions in a war movie we watch to be at the volume of real explosions, but film-makers are aware that there are other things which can be done aurally to create the impression of volume by means of equalisation, and I think that the same should be true for the sounds in flight sims in lieu of all that is missing from one's senses when using a desktop PC. Some sound sets seem to pull that off, and others don't, and I think the one for the CS 737 doesn't manage it; it's not terrible, but I think it could be more evocative.

 

Al