Decoders manufacturers had made thousands of decoders with sound in the last years. Isn´t it time to get down their prices???
As long as their sales are okay, there’s no reason for them to lower them.
It could be worse. They could be going up. ie: Case in point Tortoise turnouts.
What is a target price for you?
A few years back, you could buy a Soundtraxx LC series decoder for 48 Canadian Dollars…
The Digitrax SFX can be had for 70-80 dollars at discount.
David B
can´t cost as much as a DVD player!!!
I don’t have any sound in my locos. Guess why? Too expensive. I do agree that they are a little pricey, but I’m hoping in a year or two they will go down.
What is a target price for you?
David B
“I don’t have any sound in my locos.” sez Smitty311. Not true Smitty you got sound in your SHAY!!lol
Terry in Florida
Oil companies have produced Trillions of gallons of gasoline… Ya see THEIR prices coming down any??[:-^]
I was thinking that exact thought when I replied to this. I am so excited I’m bursting with fruit flavor!!! I can’t wait to hear that puppy roar. Thanks again Terry
They have. We are on the third generation of sound decoders. The first DCC one I purchased from Soundtraxx was $300. That same decoder came down to about $139 when they came out with the LC line. Then right before the Tsunami came out they could be purchased for $79, while the LCs dropped to $45.
Ditto for the Phoenix line, since they introduced the P5.
When BLI first came out the QSI decoders in them pushed the $300 price tag. I got a similar loco the other day for $125, and a disimilar one (U28B) for $69.
I see no grounds here for whining about high prices. Sound and DCC both are relatively dirt cheap compared to just a few years ago.
I am with TZ. If anything, prices have come down over the last few years. Sound engines were all in the 300-400 and up range 4 years agoi Steam even more. Couple of years ago I picked up 2 Hudson for 130 bucks each and they are great. There are a whole slew of engines now that are in the 130-180.00 dollar range to be found at the discount places. You can get DC sound engines for around 125-150 from Broadway.
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prices have come down , see TZ’s post for details
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DVD players are sold in the millions and are like printers , they’d gladly give them away if it keeps you buying DVD’s (or ink) to use in them
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sound decoders are less expensive than DVD players , if the DVD player is HD or Blu-Ray
Personally, I’d like to see the price of all things DCC come way down so that everybody can afford it and we can return to one power format so to speak.
I switched to DCC a few years ago and can’t imagine what life was like with DC anymore but still, the price is a but prohibitive.
Prohibitive? Lets see…a Zephyr costs 200 bucks and decoders are 13 dollars a piece. A typical locomotive runs you about a 100 bucks. I dont see how it is prohibitive. How much do you think you need to spend on a decent DC power pack and block switches? You will probably find that in the end you will be ahead with DCC.
Also, notice how the OP hasnt replied to my question about his price point…I think he was trying to stir the pot here and nothing more.
David B
You getting your decoders out of yer Cracker Jack box??? [;)]
The typicl DCC w/sound loco is $100 more than it’s DC counterpart. Look at the P2K 0-8-0 or the Atlas MP15DC.
I don’t want bottom-of-the-barrel. And I want a lot of locos.
And the Zephyr? I started with one but at some point you might want to have more than one operator.
It’s prohibitive, otherwise everybody would ahve made the switch!
Only one operator with the Zephyr? I dont think so. You just attach a DC throttle to one of the jump ports and you are operating with 2 operators. Add another DC throttle to the OTHER jump port and your count is now three. Spend 60 bucks on a UT4 and you have a walkaround. Compare that to what we had to pay 10 years ago and you will see the price has come WAY down.
NCE make some decoders that are FULL FEATURED with 4 light outputs for 13 dollars. Hardly cracker jack’ value.
Some people are just too far into the DC end of things to make the switch. It has nothing to do with the cost or availability of DCC.
David B
Yeah – only one operator with a Zephyr. Unless you spend plenty more money. I have a Zephyr, you don’t need to explain it to me. I also have the Chief and several Digitrax throttles of varying capabilitles, plus assorted Loconet doodads to make the throttles useable. And if you want to use DCC for turnouts, you’re looking at even more expense.
DCC is not just a Zephyr with some old DC powerpacks stuck to it. Might be a good way to start but it’s not going to satifsy in the long run.
And good luck buying a ready-to-run DCC loco with a $13 decoder in it.
The fact remains that the DCC version of a loco will run you about $100 more than the DC version of the same. Manufacturers don’t offer DCC-lite versions.
My main point, anyway, is that the hobby will be better off with one standard. The need to produce two different (DC or DCC) versions of each product is a burden on the manufacturers.
Why do you think so many of them are moving to the pre-order model of business? They just can’t afford to have umpteen different kinds of inventory sitting around.
Actualy, when the prices are adjusted for inflation it is right about where it should be, compared to $1.80 in 1975, despite oil prices being 2-3 times what it should be adjusted for inflation - so in a sense, gasoline prices are 1/2-1/3 of what they should be compared to oil.
Yes, aparently you do need it to be explained to you. All you need is a UT4, DT400 or any other throttle that Digitrax has ever made and just plug it into the back of the Zephyr. Yes, out of the box the Zephyr only allows one operator, but that is NO DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER DCC SYSTEM OUT THERE.
No, A DCC equiped locomotive does NOT cost 100 dollars more that its DC counter part. In fact, the mark up is minimal for a pre-installed DCC decoder. Please DMM, show me where the difference is 100 dollars (remember that we are talking about DCC, not DCC and sound).
Are you unable to take the shell off of a locomotive and plug in a decoder? Why do we need RTR DCC equiped locomotives?
No, this hobby does NOT need one standard. There are many people who are just happy with DC. There is NO n
I got my blueline AC6000’s (with sound) for just (.05) under a hundred bucks each. So, locos with sound are not $100 more that their non-sound counterparts.
Tilden