Sometime back I seem to recall Nick mentioning working with Echo-19 on new sounds for the TBM 850. This caught my attention as the sounds (derived from the default TBM 930) are one of the few weak points in the otherwise excellent TBM 850 implementation. I had hoped this meant a new version directly from Black Square, but apparently not. Echo-19 have announced the upcoming August 27th release of the sound pack at a cost of $19.99. While not what I'd hoped for, I'll still be picking this up. The plane is worth spending a few more $$ for me.

A link to the announcement: https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/announcement-black-square-tbm-850-sound-pack-by-echo-19/774006

And the livestream YouTube recording for those with the patience: https://www.youtube.com/live/mcn3Ex34AkM?si=1IOAQrlPxHDycYbK

Scott

As long as it means I can then remove the default 930, I'm in. Good to see it will include headphone simulation as well.

I was expecting an update to the BlackSquare TBM this summer though to bring it up to snuff with the rest of the fleet in a few areas.

Edited Thursday at 01:16 PM4 days by St Mawgan

Unfortunately, it's only for MSFS 2024. Hope that it would also work with MSFS 2020.

49 minutes ago, St Mawgan said:

As long as it means I can then remove the default 930, I'm in. Good to see it will include headphone simulation as well.

Yes, forgot to mention the headphone simulation as that's another of the 850's weaknesses. Kinda like that they're tying it to the Pilot intercom selector - if I understand their meaning here.

Not sure about being able to remove the 930, but fingers crossed.

Scott

I won't be picking this up. I'm absolutely not a fan of Echo 19's work. The headphone simulation specifically is a poor rendition on the C172 pack and I don't think is even included as a feature on the C208 pack.

I'm surprised at this as later Black Square addons use Boris Audio Works for their sound packages.

Are we sure that this isn't just Echo19 creating and releasing an addon for the TBM? Rather than this being the long-awaited new sounds (as payware)?

Could just be Echo19 sneaking in then. Lets see if there is an official response.

14 minutes ago, JYW said:

Are we sure that this isn't just Echo19 creating and releasing an addon for the TBM? Rather than this being the long-awaited new sounds (as payware)?

This is just Echo19’s own pack. See post below.

Personally, I like Echo19’s sound work, find it on par with Boris, and will be buying this when it’s released. It doesn’t sound like a new set will be coming from BS any time soon.

Edited Thursday at 03:00 PM3 days by Gulf76

19 minutes ago, JYW said:

I'm surprised at this as later Black Square addons use Boris Audio Works for their sound packages.

Are we sure that this isn't just Echo19 creating and releasing an addon for the TBM? Rather than this being the long-awaited new sounds (as payware)?

Sure? No, but I specifically recall being surprised when he referenced Echo-19. Wish I could find the comment again but no luck so far. As I recall, it was not in a discussion about the 850, just a few words about things occupying his time.

Scott

6 minutes ago, tttocs said:

Sure? No, but I specifically recall being surprised when he referenced Echo-19. Wish I could find the comment again but no luck so far. As I recall, it was not in a discussion about the 850, just a few words about things occupying his time.

Scott

Black Square

BLACK SQUARE DEVELOPER

wrote 14 days agolast edited by

Boris and I are still trying to find the time for this. Since it's not a new release, I'm trying not to break the bank with Boris' amazing work. However, I know that I want it to happen eventually, because then all my mainline aircraft will have the same treatment. That's the kind of consistency that I feel I must achieve across my fleet.

https://community.justflight.com/topic/11161/echo19-tbm850-coming-soon/5

Edited Thursday at 02:59 PM3 days by Gulf76

10 minutes ago, Gulf76 said:

This is just Echo19’s own pack.

Thank goodness for that.

I managed to watch about 8 minutes of two tone murphy's stream, which was an exercise in pain and torture. Absolutely not impressed with the Echo19 sounds. It's like every single sound is compressed to be at max average level. Aka.. everything is way too loud, from the battery switch to the fuel pump to everything else.

In the Digital Audio Workstation world, there are 2 effects called compression and limiting that boost the average (RMS) level of audio. They have to be used very sparingly. It's like all of the sounds in this sound pack have been run through the WAVES compressors and limiters at max level. You lose all dynamic range within and between the sounds.

Echo 19 uses good audio source files, but the mixing and processing of sounds is atrocious.

Just my 2 pence.

Edited Thursday at 03:07 PM3 days by JYW

7 minutes ago, JYW said:

I managed to watch about 8 minutes of two tone murphy's stream, which was an exercise in pain and torture. Absolutely not impressed with the Echo19 sounds. It's like every single sound is compressed to be at max average level. Aka.. everything is way too loud, from the battery switch to the fuel pump to everything else.

Yep, I agree. The guy is just not my style - at all.

As for the sounds though, I've not yet had a chance to listen to any of it with my headset on and I'm not gonna read (listen?) too much into how the video sounds anyway since we're talking about audio that's been processed by Mr. Murphy (and that's kinda funny now that I think about it!) and then further processed by YouTube's compression.

Hopefully we'll have some better examples to hear before release, but even the short sections I've listened to on speaker seem an improvement over the insipid 930 sounds. And I'm afraid that any implementation by Black Square (and I am glad to hear it's still a possibility) is gonna be waaay down the road.

Scott

16 minutes ago, JYW said:

Echo 19 uses good audio source files, but the mixing and processing of sounds is atrocious.

Just my 2 pence.

Agree with this. The TBM is such a great plane to fly, it's a shame it shipped with default sounds. I hope he is able to get Boris to upgrade them at some point.....E19 is a hard pass...especially at $20

Hi everyone,

Tyler here, founder of Echo 19 Audio. I’ve read through the discussion and wanted to clarify a few things, not to argue with anyone, but because several assumptions are beginning to be repeated as settled facts.

First, our TBM 850 Precision Audio Pack is a separate, optional third-party product. It is not the native Black Square sound update, and it does not replace or cancel anything Nick and Boris may choose to produce in the future. Anyone who would prefer to wait for that is completely free to do so.

Boris is very talented and has earned a strong following within the Black Square community. We are not trying to imitate his style. Echo 19 has its own proven track record, technical approach, and philosophy for realistic, believable aircraft audio.

For this project, we documented two real TBM 850s, captured more than eight microphone positions and perspectives at up to 192 kHz, and worked directly with TBM pilots. We rebuilt everything from the engine and propeller to cockpit controls, doors, environmental systems, inertial separator, automatic fuel selector, warning systems, and failure effects. We are comfortable letting the finished product stand on that work.

We fully understand that our approach will not be everyone’s preference. That is completely fair. However, some comments here have moved beyond personal preference into sweeping technical conclusions about a product that has not yet been released and has not been evaluated firsthand in the simulator.

The claim that every sound has simply been pushed through compression and limiting at maximum levels is not accurate. A livestream passes through the simulator output, the creator’s monitoring and broadcast chain, and the platform’s normalization and encoding. It can provide a useful preview, but it is not a controlled evaluation of the final in-simulator mix or its dynamic relationships.

We would respectfully encourage people to wait for the finished release, official demonstrations, independent reviews, and firsthand user experiences before reaching a final verdict. Strong opinions are fine, but they should be proportional to the available evidence.

We also welcome specific, constructive feedback. If anyone experiences an issue with a released Echo 19 product, please provide the aircraft state, timestamp, reference material, recording, or reproducible behavior through our support channels or official Discord. We genuinely investigate actionable feedback and have updated our products many times because customers took the time to provide it. What we cannot meaningfully investigate are broad declarations such as “atrocious” or “inferior” without supporting examples.

Finally, $19.99 (or slighlty less if you buy direct from us) will not represent the right value for everyone, and that is okay. This is an optional premium overhaul priced according to the scope of the recording, development, implementation, testing, and continued support behind it. Nobody is obligated to purchase it.

We care deeply about this community and want it to have more high-quality choices, not fewer. All we ask is that the finished product be judged fairly, on its own merits, once people can actually experience it.

Thank you to everyone who has shown interest and is willing to give the work a fair listen.

can't wait to try your sounds on the TBM!!!

Richard

A great review by AvAngel

And our own launch trailer:

https://youtu.be/jOSG5vsblqw?is=t6miyH7nPpJ1iOWd