Why not send your suggestion to SoundTraxx and see what they have to say about it --
I don't think it will ever happen because when a company signs a contract to produce a special product for a particular manufacturer, there's usually a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo in the contract prohibiting them from ever selling that product directly to the public.
I think that would severely cut into their sales of high-end decoders. Right now, there is a significant gap in the price structure between Digitrax/MRC and Soundtraxx. If someone else were to start making quality decoders and undercut Soundtraxx, it wouldn't surprise me if they did consider retail sales of the Sound Value, though.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
We'll see what happens when TCS brings their sound decoders to market in the next few months. I will definitely give them a shot, as I've been pleased with the low-speed response of their motion decoders; something Soundtraxx has always been weak on.
A TCS Light steam decoder will more than likely go into a Proto 2000 0-8-0 that I've wanted to outfit with sound for a while now.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
There was an extensive discussion of this topic back in July, 2012 : http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/744/t/207960.aspx?sort=ASC&pi314=1
Mr. B.
Look at the Loksound Select brand. Very high quality and great sound with superior motor control for 30% less than a Tsunami. I have 5 of them in steam sound sets so far and am really happy with them. There is one more thing I can do with the Select over the Tsunami is that If I ever want to retire a locomotive I can change the sound set and put the decoder in its replacement.
Soundtrax and QSI have been at the top of the food chain in the sound decoder manufacturing for a long time. MRC has been unreliable and Loksound has been a nuisance at best. But times are changing. TCS is coming out with a sound decoder and Loksound has finally listened to the modelers they are supplying and have improved their products at affordable prices. If the TCS WOW decoder is everything they claim it is then I can see a large chunk of QSI and Tsunami market falling off and hopefully a price war will ensue.
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!
If it is a product positioned for OEM sales, they probably are not interested in retail sales, and contractually prohibited from selling existing units outside of the OEM channel.
The programming on those decoders is probably paid for by the company that is buying them. They determine the sounds and the features, and it is priced accordingly. Since they paid for the programming, they technically own the software and Soundtraxx cannot sell decoders with that software to anyone else. Probably buried in the legal contracts as well.
There is also the possibility that the manufacturer supplied the sound files used, which makes them their property as well. Therefore the decoders can only have my sound files, and may not be sold to anyone else. It is a competitive advantage. They also paid for any additional processing needed to create the audio files for the decoder.
I had posted a link to a previous discussion on this subject. Since it appears that that link won't be referenced by anyone, I'll re-post some information that I posted there:
"I just found these quotes from the soundtraxx website:
'Tsunami Technology' generally means that these manufacturers have elected to use a product based on our top-of-the-line 16-bit Digital Sound Decoder. It operates in both DC and DCC modes and provides many advanced motor control features. The specific sounds, number of functions, sounds and lighting effects will likely differ between manufacturers. These decoders, while manufactured and designed by SoundTraxx are made to order according to a set of specifications provided by each model maker. ( http://www.soundtraxx.com/factory/index.php )
and
Is the decoder in my model a “Full Tsunami”? All factory-installed locomotives contain custom decoders designed to meet the specifications set forth by their manufacturer. They contain the same software found in the Tsunami, including multiple whistles/ horns, industry-leading 16 bit digital sound, and many other great features. Some features may be limited by the manufacturer’s specification. ( http://www.soundtraxx.com/factory/OEM%20pages/faq_factory.php )"
And then a few will Rant that these decoders do not have all the values of the Tsunami standard decoder. lol
Even now, some Rant that the Bachmann locos with on board Tsunami do not have all the features of a decoder they install themselves.
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.
Years ago Soundtraxx had their LC series of decoders. They stopped making them. I'm sure there was a reason. Joe