The sounds on these jewels are incredible. What's even more unexpected now is the fact that these are still available at more "reasonable" price-points if you time your purchase right with the various dealer sales going on right now. $1700 is a lot of money no matter how we look at it, but that's a big savings off the $2200 MSRP. Then again, the new MTH units can be had for around $700-$725 (ABS shell vs Lionel's all die-cast shell), and I've heard lots of good things about them -- but have yet to actually HEAR them. I'm sure they sound fine, but Legacy Railsounds has raised the bar again with the Lionel Centipede's stereoscopic echo-effect of the diesel horn. Splendidly, in fact.
David