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If "A" receiver had 10,000 watts per channel and .00001 distortion but no THX, but "B" had 100 watts and .05 distortion with THX, I would be hard pressed not to think I wasn't getting all my money's worth without THX certification.
THAT is what's hurting the industry, if anything. People like have specifications to judge things. They aren't comfortable with subjective decisions like what sounds better. As a result they buy way too much or way too little HT for their needs because they're so obsessed with specifications that are largely meaningless due to the amount of specmanship involved. Yamaha does VERY well with their receiver lines. Obviously, the lack of THX certification doesn't hurt them that much. Certainly, a company of their size could afford the certification process.
I understand what you're saying, but I don't think it has a huge impact on the industry. Some people need reasurance when spending large sums of money. For those people, THX is out there and they can feel comfortable knowing they have the bare minimum of what Lucas feels a home theater requires to enjoy movies. Some people need poorly documented specifications to compare one receiver to another so they can as well feel justified in their purpose. Some, prefer to rely on their own hearing being as that is the device which will ultimately judge the fit of a home theater. For all these people, there are products, each with the requisite characteristics to make those customers happy.
I prefer this to, say, the computer industry (my other passion) where the unaware compare Dell's $500 P4 to Gateway's in order to make sure they have the fastest Pentium on the market for their web surfing and email (all the while never aware of their 100MHz FSB, 5400rpm HDD and SDRAM...).
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I feel that a company that wants to stay ahead is almost obligated due to consumer pressures, and the fact that they get charged for this only makes it worse.
I'm with you on the charging thing, but Lucas has to fund THX somehow and the man isn't into movies for altruism (anyone doubting that need only rewatch his last two "movies"). I don't think receiver manufacturers feel OBLIGATED. Some use it for exactly as it's intended, as a marketing ploy to help the consumer feel a bit better about spending $800 on a receiver. Certainly, Bob Carver doesn't feel obligated to get his Sunfire's certified.
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I bet you would see many, many more companies with THX certification if they didn't have to pay the royalty to put that 1" logo on their receiver, and this is passed on to the consumer.
You're obviously right as it would be an easy thing to default to but then it'd be useless as a marketing ploy as EVERYONE would be certified with at least the base THX rating. For a lot of companies, it doesn't offer them a compelling product. They don't see a marketing gain for the customers they target to pay for it. Some target customers, like you, that mandate it. This market is large enough to bare the brunt of many niches with many vendors. I don't think anyone will be going out of business over it any time soon.
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And any company who choses not to, ie Yamaha, is left behind in consumer eyes as maybe not worthy to pass these qualifications.
Yamaha's financial reports seem to indicate otherwise and I don't know many people that scoff at Yamaha receivers. Anyone that picks a JVC or whatever other crap company Best Buy is whoring around over a Yamaha simply because Lucas asures them they will have the minimum receiver needed to enjoy one of his movies, probably wouldn't appreciate the difference anyway.
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Now I understand Ultra 2 is much more rigorous to pass, but consumers see this as the "Holy Grail" of audio.
I don't think that many people that can actually afford an Ultra 2 receiver and know enough about the hobby to warrant investing in one actually consider it the holy grail of audio.
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Like it or not THX is here to stay until someone comes up with a newer, latest and greatest standard.
Standards suck in a hobby based on subjectivity.
And, as a marketer, I love THX. I have to applaud anyone that can convince people their crap is top rate by buying a little emblem.
Regards,
Semi
