I have noticed that so many people say the Carenado Cessna 182 sounds so bad and so “unrealistic”. Someone even said he stopped flying it because of the sound.
But I was absolutely impressed by the sound of the Carenado Seneca (it sounds EXACTLY like the real airplane in YouTube vids!) that´s why I got curious about the Skylane sound and made a comparison…
The flight sim version:
The real airplane:
I don´t hear any problem with the sound, and it sounds very similar like the real deal
I completely agree with you - but I still have to smile - that you dare to say that here.
It won’t be long before you are lynched for sure! Or maybe it will be me?
Fact: all Carenado sounds are very good and at least come very close to reality…
Those who complain about this are probably hearing impaired or don’t have a proper sound card/headphones/sound system… - where there is nothing, nothing can come out.
People are already complaining about the sound of the 337 Skymaster…
It’s like in real life, people who get upset about everything and everyone here are hardly satisfied with their own lives and complain about everything and everyone.
In your video the C182T sounds very good to me. They also do seem to match the real thing, though they are a touch more bassy than the real thing. If anything, at times the real thing sounds more like a “garbage disposal” or “lawnmower” or other things I’ve heard than the Carenado version!
The 337 is about as close to the real thing as I’ve found in an addon, to be honest. And that’s not to say it’s perfect, there are definitely some areas where it could be improved. But all of the characteristic sounds I hear in videos are there.
I am not wanting to demean anyone’s perspective and sound is subjective and based on equipment (I use studio-grade headphones, not a gaming headset, for instance) but it sometimes feels like people are just looking for some reason to hate Carenado and if they can’t get them on the visuals, systems or flight model they go after the sound. The less cynical side of me would like to believe it just comes down to the hardware used though. But let’s be real… Carenado is one of the most absurdly hated devs in the flight sim world despite excellent quality addons for fair prices. I’ll take slow update times and poor communication; the tradeoff is worth it to me but I’m not everyone!
Case in point: I record music as a hobby. When I am done with my first round of mixing, I play back the mix in my studio headphones (flat response), gaming headphones if I have them handy, laptop speakers, fitness headphones, even my car. It’s important to understand what it’s going to sound like in a variety of conditions. I then have to balance the audio so that it sounds as good as possible on all devices.
Let’s say I was Aeroplane Heaven and tested the F3F sounds wearing Beats By Dre or something with absurd low-end… I might say “that sounds perfect!” but a customer like me wearing flat response studio monitor headphones is going to say “that sounds terrible!” (my exact response to hearing the F3F.)
I think Carenado has struck a balance that few devs achieve with their audio. The engines have a wide range but lack nothing across the EQ spectrum. I am wearing Sennheiser’s so YMMV but to me, Carenado’s sounds are commendable, even in the 182.
I have been “messing about” with recording for over fifty years; used to work in the radio business and ran sound boards “back in the day” for several bands. At home, I use MDR 7506 Sony headphones driven by Realtek’s ALC1200 codec on my flight sim computer: I am very picky about audio.
I also have several hundred hours in a C182 over the past forty-plus years.
No C182 I’ve ever flown (or flown in) sounds like the Carenado model. I can’t speak to the external sound, but the sound inside the cabin on Carenado’s C182 would have me - in real life - shutting down and placing a call to the A&P; I wouldn’t even take off.
I think it definitely makes a difference if you’ve flown the plane. Sound is hard to replicate digitally, there are so many individual sounds being created by an engine that to digitize it is almost like making a 3D image 2D and then adding effects to make it “feel” 3D. If I listen to a recording of the plane (again, a digital reproduction) and then the sim, it might sound accurate. But had I flown the real aircraft I’d very likely feel the same. Out of curiosity, what (if any) aircraft addons sound authentic to you? I like the sound of the Stearman by DC and the Bird Dog and BN2 by BBS, and I’ve already said I like most of Carenado’s sounds, but most aircraft I feel are lacking.
You hit it right on the head. There are harmonics that are simply too complex to replicate, no matter how many microphones you use and what type of response curve they have.
Sound is vibration. Looking at the waveform of two different tenor saxophones played by the same person will show different characteristics, even if they’re both Selmer Mark VI horns.
Recording sound is challenging. (Just like flying.) That’s why it’s so much fun!
The best sounding aircraft so far (for me) is Carenado’s Seneca. Sounds really nice. However, I’ve got very limited real world experience with that one. A Seneca pilot may have a different opinion.
I’ve flown a few hundred hours in a real C182 and can tell you the sound in the cabin all depends on the quality of headset you are wearing, whether it be noise canceling with good seals around the ears or not.
When I purchased the Carenado C182, one of the first things that impressed me was the sound kit (I must be the only person on the forums to think its good). Certainly after flying the stock Asobo C172 for a while, then swapping into the 182- you can certainly notice the more lumpy throaty tones of the six cylinder engine up front, particularly from the external model. Just my 2 cents!
You absolutely can… that throaty note is pretty good.
What I’ve noticed - and I admit to being very picky - is a “grinding” note that is startling. It sounds - to my ears - like a metal-on-metal catastrophic failure just waiting to ruin your day.
I think the sound is very good. It´s a six cylinder muscle car engine delivering 170-250hp (depending on the Continental engine type) - what else should it sound like?
By the way in what development state is the Carenado C182 - is it flawless? Are there any bugs? Is the cockpit illumination and the dimming of the MFDs functional?
I am thinking about getting this beauty on the next sale but all YouTube videos are from 15 months ago or so and made right after release - and I know that Carenado is fixing stuff (details like having the manifold pressure getting up when prop speed is reduced and other realistic study-level details someone who knows about planes will notice) some time after release. A month later or so until perfect realism is achieved.
By the way do you know why there aren´t more YouTube videos about these kind of planes?
There is always a huge wave of “first impression! bought it!” videos of all kind of airplanes - but nothing else follows anymore about the Arrow or the Seneca or C182, all subsequent videos are constantly about any Prepar3D Boeing this and Prepar3D Airbus that…
Are people buying these planes just to let them rot in the hangar? I have found only one video of someone really flying a Seneca through a storm from five months ago. But no newer Carenado C182 vid to see in what condition it is.
(Oh wait YouTubers are not buying these planes - they are all getting them for free like any other game or program. That´s why there is always these huge wave of “first impressions, got the Carenado this and Just Flight Arrow that!” right on release day - and no second video is showcasing this plane ever again. Because YouTubers are not really interested in flying these.)
It’s a glass cockpit version using the default G1000 or WT G1000NXI if you run that mod. The C182 I flew IRL was steam, so not a massive fan of the Carenado one and have not flown it for many months now. I believe it has been given at least one update since release, but think that was just to fix bugs that appeared after one of the 2021 sim updates.
The C182T flies nicely. Now that the Garmins have been upgraded to NXi units it has renewed my interest in the aircraft. Note, however, that the implementation of the NXi upgrade is somewhat different than what you get in, say, the C208.
The ground handling is typical Carenado: twitchy and over sensitive. Move the rudder right or left too quickly and you’ll get a wing strike. That’s simply not right.
The sounds aren’t right. The flight model is “pleasant” but not exactly accurate. Landings are quite lovely however… with a bit of practice you can “grease” the plane on nearly every time.
The model is exceptionally pretty of course, like all Carenado aircraft. Overall I would give it a B-minus; above average but not by much. The Asobo C172 is a better representation if you want “true to life” performance with regard to the flight model.
The sounds pretty good but what I don’t like is both the 182 and 337 have a problem with a phasing sound at certain engine RPMS, that’s not a realistic representation that’s the only thing that puts me off them. Being a part time DJ myself I’m well aware of the phasing filter on my decks and that awful sound jumps out at me whenever I hear it in these aircraft. It’s normally only during run up/taxi but very annoying when it does it.
Un my opinion, the issue with the Sound is related to some veeery annoying mid frequencies, which I haven’t measured yet, but I will.
It literally drills my brain out.
To my ears, it’s gotta do with some phasing problem when recorded or edited. Also, it’s missing low frequencies to make it sound ‘realistic’.
My two cents.
The thing is that this plane is two years old, I doubt they’re gonna ‘fix’ that.
Or the audio file from the wheels while taxiing, which starts and stops every few seconds
I bought the plane yesterday and I 've asked Steam for a refund, first time ever.
Yeah I was gutted to honest, felt the same way flown it once and parked it up was looking forward to it aswell but lesson learnt. Really want the 337 but the video I seen had the same nasty phasing noise.
Just want to mention a point of order which is well known to most people, human hearing degrades over the lifetime of an individual. Young people can typically hear frequencies which older people cannot. Remember that mosquito ring tone that was going around? Kids were using it in class, and their teachers couldn’t hear it. At the time it became a fad, I could just BARELY hear the tone in a quiet room. My nieces and nephew heard it without problems.
That said, I think that engine sounds are one of the hardest things to get correct. It’s one of the reasons that racing sims didn’t capture my attention. I could always pick out any imperfection, and it killed immersion for me.
I have found only one video of someone really flying a Seneca through a storm from five months ago. But no newer Carenado C182 vid to see in what condition it is.