Sound on your layout

Let people hear
your layout

Street ambience, a platform announcement or commentary on an exhibit. Place sound at the right moment and connect it with what is happening on your layout.

Sounds, announcements and ambience
Sound in the sceneModel scene

Three sound zones surround the model of a city square.

Ambience, announcements and effects at the right moment

What you can do

Sound creates
a sense of place and mood

Audio can accompany the entire show or play only when a selected event occurs.

Multiple tracks

Separate ambient sounds, announcements and short effects. Each layer has a different role in the scene.

Timeline cues

Place sounds at selected moments in the show alongside lighting and movement actions.

Smooth fade in and out

Use fade in and fade out to bring ambience in and out smoothly.

Audio zones

Organise sounds by location on the layout. The physical arrangement of zones depends on your audio setup.

Announcements and narration

Add an announcement, an exhibit description or guidance for visitors.

Language versions

Prepare recordings in different languages and use the appropriate version in the show.

Ideas for your project

How will you use it
on your layout?

01

Morning at the station

An announcement plays over the sounds of the platform. The arrival of a train becomes another part of the scene.

02

A street after dark

Quiet city ambience accompanies the street lights coming on. Short sounds highlight selected events.

03

An exhibit tells its story

Commentary guides visitors through the presentation, synchronised with lighting and movement.

Devices and connections

From a file
to sound

This is the functional sequence: a file is added to a scene, and the prepared audio system plays it at the layout. Actual wiring depends on the playback device, amplifier and speakers.

Signal flowAudio / 04 stages
  1. 01Source

    Audio files

    Ambience and announcements

  2. 02Sequence

    Scene

    Playback timing

  3. 03Playback

    Audio system

    Output and amplification

  4. 04On the layout

    Speakers

    Sound at the layout

What to prepare

Materials and wiring

Computer running the app

Preparing the scene and audio files.

Audio output and amplifier

Choose them for the playback method and number of zones in your installation.

Speakers

Position them to suit the layout and where visitors will be listening.

Connections and documentation

Prepare your setup

See the whole system

See how the app connects the different parts of the installation.

View the architecture

Choose audio connections according to the documentation for your devices. The architecture diagram shows the roles of system components.

Additions for your project

Expand your layout

Hardware, effects and files from the catalogue. Match them to the devices and scenes you are working on.

Narration synchronised with the exhibit

For museums and exhibitions

Example scenario

At a model of a historical station, a button could start a commentary. The platform lights up at the right moment and a train sound accompanies its arrival. A separate scene could use a recording in another language. The scenario defines the order, duration and ending so the next group can start the show again.

What to prepare

Prepare recordings, their language versions and permission to use the material. Playback needs suitable audio outputs, an amplifier where required, speakers and wiring. The number of independent zones depends on the equipment and gallery plan. A listening test at the exhibit checks speech clarity and sound spilling between neighbouring stations.

Scope and limits

Adding a track to a project does not create another physical audio output. The playback system determines the number of zones. Integration with every player or existing sound system cannot be assumed. Muting, restarting and interrupting a recording need to be agreed as part of the specific visitor scenario.

Questions before implementation

Can recordings be available in several languages?

Separate recordings can be prepared and assigned to different show versions. The content must be supplied, the language selection method agreed and the timing of the other actions matched to each recording’s length.

Can every station have its own speaker?

That requires suitable independent playback paths or devices. Dividing a project into zones does not by itself determine the number of outputs. Station placement and the acoustics of the gallery also need to be checked.

An implementation can be scoped and quoted now. The standalone Maqster app has not yet launched.

Enlarged view. On a small screen, scroll the diagram horizontally.

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Tell us what you would like to do with your model layout. After a consultation, we will prepare a complete system tailored to your project.

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