I see in this months Model Railroader that a new sound/motor decoder for HO and N has just been released by Digitrax. I see the decoder is also available (in stock) in a number of model railroad on-line shops. Would someone how has seen and heard this decoder let us know their impression of it?
I would not expect the quality to challenge that of say the Tsunami decoder, but then again it is priced very reasonably. It is getting expensive adding the Tsunami sound decoders to my roster.
Not meaning to be flippant, don7, but my first thought is: “If they’re not too expensive, why don’t you buy one and try it out?”
Then you’ll be able to provide factual information to the forum. Nothing better than true ‘hands-on’ experience! LOL
I most likely will at some point, but would like to hear others opinion’s on the quality of the sound.
I am not going to FRONT. I LOVE my Digitrax AC4400CW Sound decoder!! Listen there is NO REAL difference in the Digitarx to the Tsunami that is WORTh the significant increased prices! then you need to buy a Soundtraxx Booster thing for the programming track for Tsunamis and that is $50 more. Its not like a TV where you can buy a 720P or a 1080P and see the difference. Its not like a Bose Stereo quality in Tsunamis. they all sound like chatter after the initial admiring of the sound. So I go for Digitax and recommend it as well. I will equip all my Kato AC4400CW with the Digitrax sound decoder before I add in a Tsunami
Don, you might try posting this question in the DCC section.
Ken
Digitrax started advertising these about 3 months ago in MR, but they just showed up on their own site in the last week or so. Although some places are showing them available for sale, my guess is that they haven’t shipped any yet. My LHS doesn’t have any.
The spec sheet says they are 8-bit sound. So, they are equivalent to the Sound Bugs in that regard. I would be more concerned about the available volume. The Sound Bugs are fine, but the SFX0416 decoders suffer from a very low, almost inaudible volume level even when cranked up all the way. I noticed that the specs for the Sound Bug, SFX0416 and the new decoders all rate the sound output at 1 watt, so that’s a value I wouldn’t put much faith in.
Still, I think this is a great step. While it’s clear on my layout which engines have Sound Bugs and which have Tsunamis, the low price of these new motor-plus-sound decoders gives us all a chance to add sound to more engines without breaking the bank.
Those Digitrax decoders you are suffering to just came out last week. I picked up a few when I was down at Timonium last Saturday haven’t yet had a chance to install them. For the price as long as they work and don’t do an MRC on me I think they are a good cost effective solution.
Dear dgwinup…Sounds a little flippant to me. He was just asking if anyone has heard these decoders yet. Most of the posts here are asking about someone’s experience with a product.
Check the Digitrax group on Yahoo. A couple folks have reported on the SDH164D, at least one steam and one diesel. The reviewers’ overall comments seem to indicate that these decoders are a good value at their price point.