Every sound install I've done myself has cost about $130 USD. Give or take maybe $10 if I have needed other supplies, but with built up stock that happens less. Also, about an hour or so of my time, which does have value. So yeah, the premium is in line with the diy world. 

As far as best goes, imma not start a fight. I like TCS Wowsound. Others like other systems. Ymmv. If you are lucky enough to still have a LHS, or if there is a club nearby, give a listen and decide for yourself.

TCS does a wonderful job in creating kits that are relatively easy to put into locomotives. I just put DCC and sound into a Baldwin S-12, which is a small switcher. Their instructions are pretty easy to read, their support is great, and they offer a one-year goof-proof warranty on all decoders. If you fry it while trying to install it, they'll send you a new one.

Their kits run anywhere from $110-$130 on eBay. It's worth looking into your model and reviewing the installation before buying a kit, as a few (not many) locos require a major frame modification.

I think I'd argue that sound is more valuable to the non-rivet counter than to those who obsess over every detail. The sound really makes a difference in the illusion, far more so than a few more (or fewer, in some cases) rivets.

The problem with sound is that it's like potato chips: you can't eat just one. Well, unless you have only one loco. When some of them are sound and some are not, the lacking ones don't fare well by comparison.

I think you are reading his question wrong.

" whats the BEST  DCC sound INSTALLED locos on the market? and at the end of the day, is 50 to 100 $ more WORTH  it? if I am NOT a Rivet counter?  "

What is the BEST DCC sound installed locos on the market. Sounds like he want to know who offers the best package Engine with Sound already installed   and is the extra 50 to 100$  required  worth it.

Any amount is worth it if you are not the INSTALLING DCC decoder kind of person.  Then it boils down to what you are looking for as to a specific engine, and what is offered.

Marc

I'd say Bachmann does a fairly good job with DCC-sound engines at fairly low prices. I was able to grab an ALCo S-4 off of eBay for $75 a few years ago with a fairly basic Soundtraxx sound setup. It's not the greatest sound quality, but it's a fairly cheap way of getting sound locos onto your layout. Their newer TCS Wowsound locos are much more expensive, but the sound (to me) is worth the increase, plus their built-in Keep-Alive makes them run like a charm.

Broadway Limited also does a good job with sound locos, and their Rolling Thunder is apparently a really cool feature (I don't own a RT system). They're some of the most expensive DCC-sound locos on the market. I'd really rather have these in a DCC-ready mode, so I can put my own sound into them, but they'll do.

Any manufacturer using ESU's Loksound are great-sounding locos.

It's probably worth noting the features that some decoders add. Loksound and TCS allow their users to press a button for brakes, and that makes a huge difference in the feel of these engines, so the increase in price is justified by both sound and operability.

Loksound and TCS allow their users to press a button for brakes, and that makes a huge difference in the feel of these engines

FWIW, as I understand it, Tsunami decoders have had that feature from the beginning.

Andre

"FWIW, as I understand it, Tsunami decoders have had that feature from the beginning."

Andre

By my understanding, in the Tsunami decoders, that is brake noise, not brakes.

My use of TCS stems from motor control and KA's built in instead of extra. Also, they have the voice programming, if one is CV challenged and not using JMRI. Honestly, it's Ford v Chevy, and I'll use any of the big 3 if a deal comes up, or one of them has a sound file I want.

The Tsunami2 has three adjustable brakes - Independent/Train and Dynamic.

...braking EFFECT effect, not just braking NOISE. I have TS1's set up to drift and you use the F6 key as your brake: Light applications by tapping on/off, sustained full brake by pressing on. (You determine the maximum brake rate in the CV's.) TS2's can do it, too. With a bit of practice, you can use it to drift up to a joint and just kiss the couplers.

I know what I speak of.

Andre

I stand corrected. And as said, no problem using them, should need or opportunity arise.