Does "THX-certified" matter for a Receiver?

[pancho]

Well first off THX is NOT marketing bs... it is legit. Lets get into what THX is though for the people that are bias, uneducated, or misinformed. Lucas was unhappy with how Star Wars was being shown in the late 70's and rightly so, most theaters then were still mono and ripped seats and bad projectors. He wanted to know what is good sound in a movie theater, what is a good movie experience so he set up the THX program. Their goal was to trial and error what worked, viewing angles, frequences, band width, acoustic treatments, speaker placement, gauge wire, connects, ETC, ETC.

What they came up with in the early 80's was basically a set of standards that THEY felt made a movie theater a good experience and George Lucas' Stag theater was made from this set. Any movie theater in the world can get this set of standards and ok'd as THX certified if followed. It's just a company's opinion of what makes a good movie experience is all, that's how it started.

Now the 80's and 90's made movie experience worse with all these crappy cookie-cutter mall cinemas done on the cheap to just get seats filled and not done correctly, so THX was more important on setting guidlines. In Wichita, KS the Warren Theater is all THX certified in 3 complex's and let me tell you guys, I was NOT on the THX bandwagon until the Warren opened in 96. HOLY CRAP my first THX movie was Independance Day and hearing the localized sound, and good seating and feeling the bass thump in your chest without it being muddy and it was just so clear sounding and loud and good picture.. that did it for me. We no longer live in Wichita and we see these movies and the local mall cinema and it's crap! We travel 3 hours to see big movies in THX. So from an actual cinema stand point, THX does matter and is NOT marketing bs.. now.. home theater THX..

You have to start with what THX is to get to hometheater, many people, including me wanted THX sound at home. Now no ones living rooms is identical to others, acoustical treatment, windows, insulation, furniture, it's impossible to THX certify a house.. well nearly. All a THX certification means is that the boys at THX say that IF you fully THX your home theater with speaker placement, insulation, etc, etc then this will get you CLOSE to a great movie experience, there is no guarantee of course. So dont buy a THX onkyo receiver and go tell everyone I'm THX'd in my house cause your not. THX is a FULL range of calibrations, treatments, connects, wires, etc, etc. Yes buying a THX reciever guarantees that you got a good reciever but it doesn't make it better then a Sony for instance, and while in a movie theater you WILL notice a THX theater from a non one, in my home or yours, you wont be able to tell a THX reciever and speaker set up from another, just that it's set up good is what you'll notice... so it's good if you buy one but it's not a bad receiver if you get an affordable one either,,, just remember if you THX,, you have to really T H X things..


Hope this helps

[Woody]

This thread delivers....................

[Driver_King]

Originally Posted by RubberDucky

I Disagree more electronic consumers prob know more about monster cables then thx when ever you go to buy something from bb or any electronic store the idiot sales rep always talk about how much better it is to have monster cables I have gone to stores to buy receivers and I think maybe once someone has mentioned thx certified

I'm talking about the general public. For electronic consumers, it may be the opposite.

[pancho]

Originally Posted by Driver_King

I'm talking about the general public. For electronic consumers, it may be the opposite.

A little thing on that is that Monster Cable is the maker of THX certified cables and speaker wire. So even if you buy a Monster Cable that doesnt have THX on it, your in essence buying the same product but not the mark up because of the THX logo on it. According to a Monster Rep I talked to a couple years ago when I was buying wires and connections anyway was that I was told regular Monster is the same without the logo of THX is all.

Again THX is a great program but if you actually call the manufacturers of THX products, sometimes they can direct you to the same exact gear that performces CLOSE to the same levels as THX but cost a little less. Now I'm a huge fan of THX in terms of Movie theater performance, and while there is good things about THX in essence making manufacturers step up their products to a higher level, but in the end discontinuing their partnership with THX and offering essentially the same quality product without the THX mark up. So when looking for THX gear again just look at who manufacures or has manufactured thx gear in the past and start with simple emails or phone calls.. save ya a buck.

[pancho]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

I think both of those statements are fundamentally wrong........


THX has more to do than that, and it's just a classification.... like "Certified Used Car" etc......


In my opinion, it's all marketing B.S., and many many many of the best pieces of audio equipment and speakers aren't "THX CERTIFIED"

Well actually this statement if fundamentaly wrong. THX is not a classification it's a program that was started in the 70's on determining what works and does not work for a movie theater. It was natural with VCR's and DVD's and home theater popularity in the 90's that THX would be hitting the home market.

While it's well not really easy to determine a movie theater standards, it is easier then to determine home entertainment standards. So the THX group looks at the "average" living rooms and make the select or ultra catergories bases on square feet. It's tough to THX a living room because we all have our own tastes on decorating and living in them. However, they made hypothosis on what the average consumer is looking for. There are great products that rate right up there with anything THX certified that you and I wouldnt really notice a difference in our living rooms if they both were properly calibrated.

As far as the many best pieces of audio not being THX, well that is mostly false. Actually if you look up Lexicon, Denon, or other audiophile seperate components, most,, not all but MOST actually are THX certified because they realized long ago that it's what consumers of high end gear look for. It is my knowledge when I talked to a Lexicon engineer last year at and audio show that THX is a pain in the butt to acheive and most dont like working on it because of the ridgid details, but they all say THX people are the easiest and best to work with so they dont mind working on projects with THX.

again my 2 cents for what it's worth.

[pancho]

Originally Posted by Doc_Stew

That's funny!

Yeah, THX is more marketing than anything else. It just means the receiver's been held to certain standards and approved for THX. That DOESN'T mean, however, that other receivers have failed THX certification. It just means they haven't been tested.

So look at the specs and do your research, and compare that way. In reality, the only thing THX gets you is a higher price tag.

Yes and No on this statement too. A lot of other receivers are just as good and possibly better then THX certified equipement. However it's false that they havne't been tested and the only thing THX gets you is a higher price tag.

A manufacturer doesnt simply build a component they think is good and send it to THX to "test". The company sends a proposal first to THX telling them what they want to do first then THX and them together from the beginning work at designing it. From blueprint to prototype stage THX is involved in everything about the component. THX also has proprietary design on some circuits and power converters that NO other manfucaturer other then one carrying the THX logo can use. So in essence when your buying a receiver that has THX on it your buying a design as well and something that no other receiver can have that isnt certified. So I'm not at all saying cheaper or other equipment isn't as good as certified ones, just saying it's legally and literally different in design, construction, and power staging then other equipment. I'll be the first to admit that THX is way over priced.. WAY overpriced, but Onkyo is really working on that cost issue lately and bringing it down to an affordable level. I'm impressed with Onkyo's line of THX gear and the price really.

[millwork400]

Is THX certification on a receiver an important feature to have? I am new to the home theater bit and am looking to buy a quality Onkyo receiver and speaker package. Are there any other brand names that anyone particularly like other than Onkyo? Obviously room size should be considered when selecting, I have a modestly sized living room. Any suggestions or model numbers would be greatly appreciated.

[JJ]

There was a great thread about this not too long ago, trying to see if I can find it for you, it was a great read.

In the end though, the general consensus is that it's all a bunch of marketing hoo-hah (wow, there's a line I've never used before).

[H9k_]

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/featu...ification.html

This should give you a peak at what Thx is and if you think it is usefull or not. I think it is but im sure there are others that dont.
As for speakers check out klipsch.

Edit: For recivers you might also want to look at what Denon and Yamaha is offering. I chose the 805 when it was new and enjoy it alot excepet it might give heat issues for certain users.

Good luck choosing whats best for you.

[kpkelley]

There are many receivers that surpass THX specifications and are not certified by THX. For the most part it is marketing. It is not something that needs to be considered when purchasing a receiver, but certainly not entirely meaningless.

If you have questions about recievers that you are considering post them, and I'm sure there are those here who are knowledgable enough to answer.

[Hammie]

Whats your budget?

Denon and Yamaha are also good brands for recievers. The next step up are Pre/Pro with separate amps.

In my opinion, THX is not really needed any more. At one point, there may have been. But how far are you going with the whole THX certification? Did you know that they just released a THX certified wood door? Price starts at $2600 for the 32" model.

Also, there are many recievers out there which are not THX certified and probably perform better that a THX certified one.

[jceperley]

Well, when it comes to blu-ray, I can only think of two titles with THX, those being Indy 4 and this week's release of The Clone Wars. And, judging by the Indy 4 transfer, it doesn't really make a difference.