Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions THX

Can anyone give me a better understanding of THX, I realize that the equipment has to undergo certain tests and pay a licence fee to get this, but do they sound any different on movies that have THX certification?
When the upgrade bug hits on a new receiver, I would like to get the Audyssey auto setup, but am wondering, as posted in another thread if the THX is worth the extra expense.

From what I remember from my research, it is not worth the expense.

It won't sound any different than another amp with similar specs. The THX rating just means the amp met certain minimum specifications designated by THX. In other words, there is no special proprietary chip that gives an amp THX-qualities.

Money paid by the manufacturer.

There is a proprietary THX equalization program and bass management with THX UltraII. I'm reading about it in the 4806CI manual now. Don't quite understand it yet, but it's more than just a badge of honer or label. I'd be real interested in hearing about it from folks who actually have used it.

The NAD M 15 pre / pro has it too. Along with Anthem's pre / pro's. The M15 owner's manual is much easier reading than the Denon, so if you're interested, you might want to download it for yourself. Sure wish I had about six grand laying around to give them puppies a try....Or eight grand to try out the Anthem D2.

I just found this and haven't had a chance to read it all the way through THX It does sound like there are some differences from browsing through the artcle, I'll give it a full read later.
My amp is THX certified but my guess is the receiver would need it for the actual THX.

....not to mention THX approved cables, speaker wires, banana plugs, wall treatments, flooring and room furnishings.

Which of course leads to the debate about break in times for flooring, wallcoverings, and furnishings.....

Here's the Wikipedia page for THX. Also check out the links from that page.

Possibly the EQ part refers to this.

One note though, some THX certified gear IS actually better than other non-THX certified gear. By that, I mean, I have a THX certified receiver, but only because the receiver had all of the features I wanted. The particular brand didn't have what I wanted in their non-THX line.

So, a THX device may really sound better, but not because of the THX stamp on it. Only because many times the manufacturer puts better components in it than in the rest of their product line.

Personally, I'd skip it, or at least don't pay for it.

sounds like its not worth it with all the extra costs involved...not worth it...but just my .02 cents

the value is for people, lacking OCD, who don't exhaustively research their purchases. THX certification guaruntees a minimum level of quality.

I don't have a THX certified subwoofer, so I haven't tried the THX bass management, but the THX Ultra2 Cinema setting on my receiver does roll off the high frequencies some- with the theory being that large cinemas are more dead than most home theaters, so the soundtrack of movies mixed for the theater may sound too bright for the home. I have tried it in my room and don't like it. I prefer to stick with Logic7 all the way.

Thanks for that bit of info Dave. I definitely wouldn't pay a premium for any gear just to get THX, but wouldn't avoid it either. I have been noticing that many receivers don't carry the badge that used to not very long ago. The Yamaha line for example. I wonder if THX has raised the rates for certification?

When I got my receiver, THX wasn't really a requirement. I ended up with the Pioneer VSX-84TXsi which IS THX certified. However, the reason I got it was feature to price ratio. This unit has 4 HDMI inputs and I got it from a certified reseller (IE, warranty will be honored by Pioneer) for 1079 shipped. I looked at Denon, Pioneer, and Yamaha, and for the price the Pioneer had a lot more features than the others. Yamaha doesn't even offer a 4 port HDMI solution and with Denon you have to go to their $4k receiver to get it. Since my TV only has one HDMI input, I wanted to be sure that I'd have future expandability. For me that was the deciding factor. BTW, it's a great unit and sounds awesome with my Epic 80.500 setup.

In the end it's all about what you want to spend and what features you want in your receiver. If you're happy with it, then that's all that matters.