Soundtraxx Tsunami

Still way too expensive - who can afford to pay more for a decoder than an entire locomotive? It's too bad SoundTraxx has no real competition in the market - they sure need it!

Actually they do with BLI engines equipped with QSI sound. It's just that BLI may not yet be making the engines you want but they have a group in the pipeline. Also that cost is MSRP and there are a group of discounters out there. Remember BLI engines have some excellent discount prices also, depending on the dealer. My price on a BLI E7 is close to a Soundtraxx price on the sound unit.

You also might want to watch eBay and mail order dealers. As the new units are coming out the older versions can be had for very attractive pricing.

Hmmm... when I was a retailer, BLI was only giving their dealers a 30% discount - the lowest in the industry! Has anything changed that I haven't heard about?

Also, you're right - to wait for the engine I want from BLI is not going to happen, when I have engines I want to install sound decoders in. I want someone to compete on the decoder level and produce sound decoders that will put pressure on SoundTraxx to reduce their prices. As long as the big decoder manufacturers (DigiTrax, NCE, Lenz, etc.) are content to stay out of the sound market, we're going to pay top dollar for SoundTraxx.

That's a short discount which some other manufactures are also sticking with, IM for one I believe. But it seems many discounters are giving around

25% so not really sure what is going on!

Frank, have you looked at Loksound

or CTE and looked at their sound decoders? The Loksound is user programmable with whatever sound files you have - their is a rumour that some warped soul programmed the chuff noise with a sound byte of a worked small block Chev revving - and the CTE people have their GE70 piggyback decoder, like the Soundtraxx DSX series.

The Loksound site has an English translation, the CTE doesn't, but downloads appears the same in both English and German (Austrian?). All worth a look, just look outside the US borders.

Steve Newcastle NSW Aust

The usual test of whether a product is over priced is the rapid appearance of products that have the same features but at a lower price. If there was a prospect of a good return to a company for a competing lower priced product, we would have one by now.

That no one has jumped into the market with such a product would tend to indicate that they are priced correctly.

Bill Dixon

The one big problem with Loksound is that it's _not_ polymorphic (or however you spell that). I believe it can only output two sounds at once. Compare that with a dozen or so with the new Tsunami and there is just no comparison.

Polyphonic, I think you're looking for.

An interesting point. One of the members of our group installed a Loksound in a Bachmann K4. It was in for months and months before we realised it was not polyphonic. It was only when we tried for once to play the bell while operating the whistle - so for months, we did not use this combination. Chuffs still appear, BTW, just the ancillary sounds that you can play are mutually exclusive. Just try and remember when you last tried to play two sounds at once, it may be a moot point. Sorta like using a Ferrari for shopping.

And, in its favour, remember that it comes complete with speaker and baffle and is $50 cheaper (here in Aust) than the Soundtraxx. Swings and roundabouts. BTW, I don't criticise Soundtraxx, just installed one in my On30 Shay (one down, one to go). And there is still the CTE.

I agree, but then I think silence in the layout room is golden. Personaly, I didn't care for sound while operating. It's OK as a novelty, to show friends just how far technology has come, but I found it annoying.

Fortunately, I had the Soundtrax units that could be turned off. I can't imagine how the guys with the units that don't have that feature deal with all the noise. Imagine powering up the layout and listening to a dozen steam locos chuffing away all at once. HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did try it though. I gave it a chance. I installed it in 3 locomotives. But somehow, slipping into the layout room with a cup of coffee early on a weekend morning to do a little quality time switching, well.......all that racket just seemed to ruin the mood.

It's not so bad, after all, I still have to imagine all the steam and smoke happening when my locos are running, it's not much of a stretch to *imagine* they are making sounds as they run along too.

Doug

There is a solution for those who want sound but don't want expensive sound. MRC make a decoder for around $40 street price. You can read about it at the TTX site. It is something to use to compare and see what you spend the extra money on!

Some discounters are selling mass quantities and are satisfied with 5 or 6%. IM was giving 42% last time I heard.

There is a CV that allows you to configure the decoder to only start making sound effects when it receives a packet. There is another CV that will shut off the sound after, I think, a minimum of 10 minutes.

I don't want THAT cheap - these have already been reviewed and have generally faired poorly.

They also don't make one with a 9-pin connector, which is what I was originally inquiring about.

A steam engine costs less than that!