I own two Tsunami decoders and of course I love them. I was given a new steam engine for my birthday and I cannot afford a new Tsunnami for the forseeable future. The board of directors might approve a capital expendature in the $40 range but I need t make sure this is better than a "sheer brillance". I am running a NCE power cab so I can change CVs.
Does the 164 come close to equaling the quality of sound of the Tsunami?
What else do I lose by buying the 164 versus a Tsunami?
I"ve read the specs and I understand at least half of them but hearing is believing. Has anyone actually heard the 164 who can compare it to the Tsunami?
This is a new decoder which was announced a few months ago, but only appeared on the Digitrax site recently. There aren't a lot of them in the hands of consumers yet. Walthers doesn't list them, although some other dealers do. I haven't seen them at my LHS, either.
The spec sheet indicates that this is an "8-bit" decoder. That is the size of a single "data element" in the sound recording on the chip. More bits = better sound. I think a Tsunami uses 16-bit elements, so it's going to have a lot better sound. If you've heard a Tsunami vs. a Digitrax SoundBug, that's the difference between 16-bit and 8-bit sound.
The SDH164D combines a SoundBug with a motor decoder, basically. For the price, it will do the job, but it will not sound as good as a Tsunami. On the other hand, it's programmable, so you could put one in now and then replace it later when you've got more money to spend on a better sound decoder.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
You might also try the Yahoo Digitrax Group which is mostly about Digitrax products. Do a search for yahoo digitrax dcc group.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
They'll be way better than MRC, but the sound isn't goign to be up to Tsunami standards, although it CAN be a lot better than the options offered in the Sound Depot. There is much untapped potential in the Digitrax sound decoders but it remains so because they are relying on third parties to develop new sound sets and to really exploit the decoder's capabilities requires some heavy-duty programming expertise - and I don't mean setting CVs, I mean programming a PIC microcontroller.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Nothing wrong with running it without sound until you can afford the Tsunami or QSI.
Springfield PA
I like the Digitrax decoders but for you the Tsunami would be a far far better choice.....save your $$ for it.
Don