How Low Will Lucasfilm THX Go?

[Wayde]

THX began life as a series of specifications for movie theaters back in the early 1980s when George Lucas was appalled by the varying audio/video quality that movie goers had to suffer. The first THX showroom opened in 1983 when the THX division of Lucasfilm opened. In 1990 the standard was applied to home sound systems, a sweet spot that has proved lucrative for the specification. The THX logo had long been considered a mark of excellence on home theater equipment. In its early days the logo was limited to relatively high end equipment that few could afford. Never a necessary mark of high end quality but many manufacturers chose to pay for testing at THX labs where it either passes or fails a series of explicit quality assurance tests.

I am probably of a generation that benefited most from this revolution of quality assurance standards in movie theaters. Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is surely seared into the DNA of a generation of movie goers as the specification for fine SF cinema. Unfortunately about the time Blade Runner was making its rounds the quality of the theater experience was horribly inconsistent. I saw the movie many times in theaters including a few very bad conditions. Few appreciate the bigger picture, what Lucasfilm and the THX project has done for movies in general, more than those who remember how bad they were. In its time THX did a great job of illuminating those shortcomings. In recent history THX has done a remarkable job of producing a standard, any standard that unifies some measure of quality in audio and video reproduction.

Since the time of high end THX gear it has split into two groups, THX Select and THX Ultra and some would say this is where THX began a downward slide. THX was still a series of specifications requiring stringent testing at THX labs (paid for by the manufacturer), but the logo started appearing on surprisingly mainstream equipment. Lucasfilm would tell you that it was opening up the specification to more mainstream applications. The THX Select certification was applied as a reference at levels for rooms with around 2000 cubic feet of space. THX still retained the THX Ultra certification for its truly high end equipment designed to work with multi-channel music in rooms 3000 cubic feet or larger. The certification ostensibly guarantees your home theater equipment will play back high volume levels at low distortion and disperse sound in specific ways.

The THX logo has been tarnished in the eyes of many serious audiophiles. But with more products coming out sporting THX logos, like 2.1 channel computer speakers, it's getting difficult to keep up with myriad of THX compromises and applications. What exactly are THX certified cables and interconnects supposed to do?

THX Integrated HT Spec

In June THX launched its Integrated Home Theater Specification. In this collaboration with Onkyo THX has helped create the first certified system of its kind, Onkyo's new HT-S990THX. What is an Integrated Home Theater system? Some call it Home Theater in a Box. Of course with Onkyo and THX branding behind the new product they're describing it as … "a space currently filled by home theater-in-a-box (HTiB) products"

Retailing at $1099 a fully THX certified home theater audio system has never been so accessible to the mainstream. And that's exactly the message from Robert Hewitt, vice president of sales at THX when he says:

“The THX Certified Integrated Home Theater specification provides CE manufacturers a means to bring more affordable, high quality audio to the masses. For years, THX has defined quality and performance in high-end home entertainment. Now, with the THX Integrated System specification and the Onkyo HT-S990THX, we are introducing a new category of home theater systems, one that bridges the gap between lower-priced HTiB products and premium home theater systems.”

So, it's not really HTiB like Zest is not really soap.

To Onkyo's credit, if you were looking for a budget home theater solution in one package you could do a lot worse than one of its HTiB systems that have received praise from reviews and users alike. The HT - S990THX is a feature rich system that includes:

32-bit DSP
XM-Ready
Onkyo's RI control
Can decode Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES & DTS 96/24
Includes processing for Dolby Digital ProLogic IIx, DTS Neo:6, THX Cinema2, THX Music & THX Games
Speakers include a 1-inch soft-dome tweeter and dual 5-inch woofers
12-inch subwoofer with 230-watt power amplification module

But let's face it - does anyone take the THX logo seriously as a quality standard anymore?

Link To Original Article

[Sonnie]

I have to admit I've ignored it myself. I haven't once considered whether anything I've purchased has been THX certified or not. Don't even know if anything I have is THX certified.

I have noticed that "THX Select2" has been included in the model descriptions of some receivers but it has not influenced me in one way or another.

[Tommy]

When I first started researching and purchasing everything for the HT room. I do know a lot of the reading material I viewed recommended looking for the THX for the receiver so I would have to say that partially influnced what I purchased as far as the receiver.

Ok I do think there going overboard with to many different certification programs including one for viewing distance to your desktop computer... but I do think it is an overall good idea to have a complete package or specs for overall performance based towards home theater.

Of course that doesnt mean standards should be lowered because its a HT room but good guidelines for optimal performance toward HT room would be interesting and I would like to at least see which of the equipment I look at reach those standards.

[Wayde]

I'm with ya Tommy. I have a THX certified amp I've had it since before any Ultra or Select, I'm still proud of it.

I think the bigger picture is noteworthy, that ANY standard was good for the industry as a whole. I admit it's easy to make a target of THX and I don't mean to be unfair. But come on, 2.1 computer speakers, HTiB and cables?

I submited a different version of this article to Audioholics and Clint rejected, he said I was being a bit too nasty toward THX. Maybe it came off that way so, I toned it down for my own blog. But let's face it ... THX must find itself in a position where they're hard pressed to refuse Monster Cables money so they can make a $100 THX certified HDMI cable.

[Sir Terrence]

THX became irelevant to me when a reviewer popped open a THX receiver made by Kenwood and found that its power supply was to small to support the amplifier specification listed by the manufacturer and approved by THX.

Also I found out that movie theaters approved by THX were not certified by a THX employee or certified representative. All the theater owners had to do was pay the liscensing fee if they were already approved once, and they would get a fresh certification no matter what condition the sound system was in.

THX has turned their program from a genuine legitimate certification intended to improve the quality of film soundtrack reproduction in both the professional theater and home to a income stream. Once they did that, then it became more important to see that stream grow rather than making the certidication a valuable thing to have on your equipment.

Where I think THX excels is in room acoustics certidication, and viewing certification for screen setups.