Having been into DCC for well over 10 years now and experience with most of the biggest makers the biggest question is not which is easiest but which is the best fit for your situation. The number one thing is the way the most common interface fits your hand and after a short time can you operate it without having to divert your full attention to it instead of the trains. That interface would be the throttle. I would suggest before investing in a system that you try as many as you can. Go to a DCC dealer, club shows that have modular groups, local clubs and any open houses and see, feel, and touch/operate the throttles. NCE, Digitrax, Lenz, MRC, Loksound, Easy DCC and Zimo.
My home layout uses an NCE Power Cab. My club uses Lenz and I love the feel of my Lenz LH90 throttle. If I could ever use my Lenz throttle on my home layout I would. My next investment will be a Lenz command station/booster. Then my Power Cab will be only used for programming and testing at the work bench. My friends Digitrax powered layout has a throttle that is hard for me to locate buttons and I find the knob small and hard to turn sometimes. But that is because of experience and no fault of the system. Repetition makes anything easier.
Think of your DCC system as an investment. Take the time to study the manuals for each and try as many as you can. If you ask for opinions you will get many different answers. What is right for you only you would be able to tell.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
The easiest to use system is the one you start with and get to know. Simple as that. I've had Digitrax since 1996. It seems second nature to me but others say the system is too hard. I pick up an NCE or MRC throttle and have trouble. I can get it as soon as I remember that it isn't my Digitrax throttle but it still isn't 2nd nature like the system I know.
What really seems to be hard is the learning curve required to make a system do more then just run a train. Every system will run a train with only a couple of key presses. Every system does not have the capability to grow as your needs or desires change. Stick with NCE, Digitrax, Zimo to get the best return for your investment.
Martin Myers
Maybe more important that pure ease of use is ease of use together with full features and expandability. My preference is the NCE PowerCap. For about $150 bucks you get everything you need to run a modest sized layout with a few locomotives. If your layout grows or you add more locos, especially with sound, then you can add boosters or upgrade to a PowerPro system. Also important is what system do your model railroad friends use. They can be your teachers/support group if you use the same system.
I'm sure others will have other suggestions. Good luck!
Which systems are the easiest to operate when starting out??