"Gold Series" Atlas S-2 ....whaaaaa?

[OldEastRR]

OK, the promo says that these are going to have "sound" DCC units. Does that mean "sound" is installed on these locos (speaker and all), or that these are "sound-ready" decoders? Like a loco is DCC ready --- if you install the right parts.

[LV LOU]

 Silver version is DCC ready,$119.95..Gold version has DCC and sound,$239.95,so yes,the DCC version has sound,and there is no non sound DCC version....

[Philip H]

Well, there must finally be a real market for sound equipped locomotives in N scale if Atlas has done that. Good on ya boys. Now I'll have to get one just to say I had one.

[chicken45]

Hmm. Caboose has "015040000723 S2 +DCC & Sound PRR #5659" for $155.87. I guess that's the gold?

[superturbine]

They sound good to...... From 20 feet away!!

Not sure how well they pull tho?

[sirenwerks]

They sound good to...... From 20 feet away!!

Justifiably , there's a lot of ribbing of N scale sound locos, but I am curious what you mean by your statement.  Because of the limitations of onboard speakers but the cost factor of onboard versus the Digitrax's stationary speaker system versus me making funny noises is weighing in my conscious these days, as I ready to buy a DCC system.  An straight-up eyewitness account would be nice to "hear".

[bbussey]

Atlas had the sound activated on the S-2 pilot model at the Milwaukee convention, and it sounded very good.

[superturbine]

Yes, in Milwaukee I heard the engine.  Even with the crowd noisy and in a convention room, it had very good sound

[basementcalling]

Talk about making some noise....

There is no way the average N scale modeler will be able to afford the factory equipped version with sound. Sure it will sell well to  folks with money to burn, but an n scale switcher listing at retail well over $200? Come on, man.  If the market can support that I'll be surprised. We are entering new territory.

Given many beginners often start with small layouts with tight curves, a well running switch engine is a logical starting place for the newbies to head when buying engines. My first N scale engine was an old Altas/Rivarrossi switcher that actually ran about as well as the Con Cor PA1 I added one year for Christmas when I was a teenager (I suspect my parents paid $30 for the PA at the local hobby shop where I pointed it out every chance I got ). The switcher was a give away from a neighborhood widow who's husband dabbled in N scale.

What newcomer is going to plop down $200 plus for one engine. Heck for that price you could do a halfway decent job of starting a basic beginner shelf style layout or maybe even a hollow core door loop de loop style plan. I know MRH ran a $500 contest for a new layout for beginners, and that's not much more than what Atlas wants for one engine?

Don't get me wrong, I love Atlas and their products. My basement contains more of their engines than I want to admit, and a good chunk of their track and turnouts too. I am not trying to bash them at all, but put me firmly in the Lance Mindheim camp when it comes to sound. I think he is on to something with his idea of sounds from the throttle to the operator with ear buds.  That could easily be done with software, and probably at a lower cost than trying to cram a decent speaker onto a decoder and push it into a space that won't hold enough water to drown in.

I hope Atlas sells a ton of these locos - too old for my new era - but I want them to make money on them so they offer more products. I just hope the deep pocket folks can reach down far enough to buy these in multiples.

[sirenwerks]

I agree with you Peter for the most part.  The price point is difficult.  Despite the upfront cost, Surroundtraxx seems a like a viable solution to the loco-by-loco cost of sound but the six loco limit and blocking needs for a large layout to keep there from being too much sound drift from one location to another presents as a considerable challenge.  I still think a (don't laugh) wearable sound unit that syncs with a throttle or (more fashionably conscious and less technically-challenging) smartphone-based throttle/sound system seems like the best solution for N.  Soon enough there will be a sound designer element to model railroading; and maybe one day it will be a NMRA-required badge for master modelers.

[MVW]

Talk about making some noise....

There is no way the average N scale modeler will be able to afford the factory equipped version with sound. Sure it will sell well to  folks with money to burn, but an n scale switcher listing at retail well over $200? Come on, man.  If the market can support that I'll be surprised. We are entering new territory.

Given many beginners often start with small layouts with tight curves, a well running switch engine is a logical starting place for the newbies to head when buying engines. My first N scale engine was an old Altas/Rivarrossi switcher that actually ran about as well as the Con Cor PA1 I added one year for Christmas when I was a teenager (I suspect my parents paid $30 for the PA at the local hobby shop where I pointed it out every chance I got ). The switcher was a give away from a neighborhood widow who's husband dabbled in N scale.

What newcomer is going to plop down $200 plus for one engine. Heck for that price you could do a halfway decent job of starting a basic beginner shelf style layout or maybe even a hollow core door loop de loop style plan. I know MRH ran a $500 contest for a new layout for beginners, and that's not much more than what Atlas wants for one engine?

Don't get me wrong, I love Atlas and their products. My basement contains more of their engines than I want to admit, and a good chunk of their track and turnouts too. I am not trying to bash them at all, but put me firmly in the Lance Mindheim camp when it comes to sound. I think he is on to something with his idea of sounds from the throttle to the operator with ear buds.  That could easily be done with software, and probably at a lower cost than trying to cram a decent speaker onto a decoder and push it into a space that won't hold enough water to drown in.

I hope Atlas sells a ton of these locos - too old for my new era - but I want them to make money on them so they offer more products. I just hope the deep pocket folks can reach down far enough to buy these in multiples.

The retail price is around $160. I'm not saying that's a small amount of money ... but it's not outrageous for an Atlas-quality engine with DCC and sound. And consumers can still opt for the DCC-ready version for $80.

When I switched to N scale maybe 4 years ago, the first engine I bought was a BLI E7 with DCC and sound. Got it at blowout prices for around $110. I'm certainly not a "deep pockets" guy, but I'm attracted by value. And I think $160 for what Atlas is offering is a fairly reasonable value. Yeah, I wish it was a bit cheaper ... but I can say that in regards to just about any N scale product.

As for me, I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to scrape together $160.

Jim

[SkipGear]

Talk about making some noise....

There is no way the average N scale modeler will be able to afford the factory equipped version with sound. Sure it will sell well to  folks with money to burn, but an n scale switcher listing at retail well over $200? Come on, man.  If the market can support that I'll be surprised. We are entering new territory.

Given many beginners often start with small layouts with tight curves, a well running switch engine is a logical starting place for the newbies to head when buying engines. My first N scale engine was an old Altas/Rivarrossi switcher that actually ran about as well as the Con Cor PA1 I added one year for Christmas when I was a teenager (I suspect my parents paid $30 for the PA at the local hobby shop where I pointed it out every chance I got ). The switcher was a give away from a neighborhood widow who's husband dabbled in N scale.

What newcomer is going to plop down $200 plus for one engine. Heck for that price you could do a halfway decent job of starting a basic beginner shelf style layout or maybe even a hollow core door loop de loop style plan. I know MRH ran a $500 contest for a new layout for beginners, and that's not much more than what Atlas wants for one engine?

Don't get me wrong, I love Atlas and their products. My basement contains more of their engines than I want to admit, and a good chunk of their track and turnouts too. I am not trying to bash them at all, but put me firmly in the Lance Mindheim camp when it comes to sound. I think he is on to something with his idea of sounds from the throttle to the operator with ear buds.  That could easily be done with software, and probably at a lower cost than trying to cram a decent speaker onto a decoder and push it into a space that won't hold enough water to drown in.

I hope Atlas sells a ton of these locos - too old for my new era - but I want them to make money on them so they offer more products. I just hope the deep pocket folks can reach down far enough to buy these in multiples.

Not sure I agree with you. Sound sells in both N and HO and customers are willing to pay for it. Many of the N scale units sold at our shop go out the door with a sound decoder in the bag to be installed later. Anything N with sound we get sells in weeks compared to other loco's that may set.

#1 - I don't think most people are as critical of sound quality as a few vocal people on the forums are.
#2 - Sound is the new gizmo, I have seen customers that were not interested in starting a layout at all, poke in their nose at a sound loco demo for another and walk out with stuff to start a layout.

The old school crumudgeons may not care for the sound but new modelers seem to love it and are willing to pay for it.

BTW - The sound in these is not new, it was hinted at when they were first announced and confirmed when they were official in March.

http://www.atlasrr.com/NLoco/ns2.htm

[chicken45]

Hmm...yeah.
If you don't want sound, don't buy it.
If you don't want DCC, also, don't buy it.
Old guard versus new guard.
Code 80 versus code 55.
Pizza cutters versus ..uhh... wheel sets that can't cur pizza? 
If your time/effort/risk/reward is worth less than the extra cash you are willing to throw down for a complete solution, don't buy it.
Isn't a factory DCC installed setup usually cheaper anyways? I mean, it's not hard to install a decoder, especally if it's DCC ready. It's not hard to install a sound decoder, but not everyone has a milling machine to ream out speaker holes.
$160? WORTH IT. My Mikado was $120, with $100 Soundtraxx decoder. I'm already ahead with Atlas and it's RTR!
Sure, $80 a loco is "standard" but I'll need to drop $30-40 on a decoder anyways. How much do new Kato locos retail for? Around $100 IIRC. Everything is getting more expensive, though. Look at the price difference between the first GG1 run and the latest ones. $139, $145, $160 for the Conrail Bicentennial. All list, of course.

[Scottl]

Nice to see a unit with sound coming to the market.

My first experience with n-scale sound was a MRC decoder in an Atlas SD50.  It sounded great and I loved it, but the decoder did not play well with others so it came out.  I can see the attraction of sound for many people- it does add a nice element to the operation.

I also bought a Digitrax Soundbug decoder and installed it as a fixed diesel idle sound in my yard.  It gave a great ambiance and I had a thought I would add several to simulate multiple locos in the yard.

Given these experiences, I'd likely take the option of sound if it were in locomotives I wanted to buy.  The S2 is hopefully a sign of Atlas and others companies moving that way as a option.

[Bob Bufkin]

I'll probably bite for a soud equippe unit in due time.  Got enough locos to keep be busy for now.  As some have said if you don't want sound get the DCC ready unit.  One thing about sound is that is easy to turn off if you tire of it.