I have purchased a Atlas Gold Series, Diesel at a train show, DCC and sound for $193. I was wondering what other guys think. Is it better to buy the basic DCC ready Diesel or Steam and then go purchase a DCC decoder with sound and the speaker and install it yourself?
I don’t know if the sound quality would be any better, never heard one of the Atlas gold series… I will say, that discount, steam, the Tsunami is $80 plus the speaker… It’s only one example of a lot of things to come but for pricing sake… Now add that to the price of the locomotive… Where are you at now?? Minimum I’d say of $150-$200. Steam installs for sound are pretty simple in my experience. Diesels, especially narrow hood such as a GP would be a little more difficult. What’s your modeling time worth to you? I’d say if you are happy with the RTR sound product, stick to it… Now if we are talking about Having sound installed aftermarket, different story…
Jeff
Bill,
I guess it depends on how “handy” you are and whether you have the skills and the time to do a good installation. When the cost of the components exceeds the cost of the factory installation, not including your time, it is fooli***o do it yourself, especially when you might damage fine details due to the extra handling of the model. Often, the factory cost is below the total of the components, and it is designed to fit! But, if you can get a bargain on a special model you want, and you have the skills to install something it “needs”, by all means do it yourself.
Mark C.
Unless the manufacturers system is a piece of garage, I’d stick with their installation. I’ve seen quite often that the difference between a manufacturer’s sound and “non-sound” locomoitve is small enough that it merits spending the extra amount to have the sound because you’d never be able to install it yourself that cheaply.
Tom