[taker]

I was surfing around on Paradigm web site and noticed that their Signature

series speakers were not THx certified I'm starting the design on my home and (Home theater) theirs is on of the products on my list to listen to ..is this strange to anyone else

 

[vinodk]

So what!! My Aerials are not THX certified but they still sound great. Go by how they sound, not by the certification.

 

[Kevin. W]

Quote:

Originally posted by taker I was surfing around on Paradigm web site and noticed that their Signature series speakers were not THx certified I'm starting the design on my home and (Home theater) theirs is on of the products on my list to listen to ..is this strange to anyone else

THX would have added more to the price and nothing else.


Kevin

 

[ChrisWiggles]

pretty much the majority of high end speakers are not THX certified.


THX is an afterthought to me due to my experiences and their history. Buy your speaker based on your listening tests and preferences.


The signature series is an excellent line of speakers. I am not a big fan of THX in general (I pretty much care less), however, speakers is one area where I would *avoid* thx certifications (except perhaps in subwoofers, but you can do much better value there anyway, with SVS for instance).


To my knowledge, none of paradigms speakers are THX certified. Most brands don't have thx certified speakers, and the best speakers usually are not.

 

[Woochifer]

Agree with the others, the THX certification has the least value when you're talking about speakers. And before they amended their speaker specs a couple of years ago, I regarded the THX certification as dubious because they required the use of dipolar surround speakers (a specification that IMO is way outdated with discrete 5.1 and 6.1 soundtracks and multichannel music).


It should tell you something that B&W made several THX certified speakers and subwoofers a few years ago, and now they no longer make anything with the THX label. In addition, one of Skywalker Sound's mixing studios uses a multichannel B&W Nautilus 802 monitoring setup, yet those speakers aren't THX certified either.

 

[HeaTransfer]

THX in electronics is fine - it's usually just an additional set of features, a nice THX silkscreen logo and additional cost.


For speakers however you're looking at specific design criteria, specifically about frequency response and dispersion. These controlled quantities for THX speakers may limit their ability to play back music nicely.

 

[taker]

Thanks for the advice everyone

 

[fieroloki]

Alot of things meet or exceed the THX requirments. But most dont pay to have the logo cause Lucas wants an arm to purchase the liscense to have THX on equipment. To me it's over rated.

 

[Fife]

Do you think George Lucas cares that his 5 B&W Nautilus 802's are not THX certified?


I think you are ok without THX. You will live.

 

[Greg_R]

Quote:

THX would have added more to the price and nothing else... THX in electronics is fine - it's usually just an additional set of features, a nice THX silkscreen logo and additional cost.

Ummm... no. THX does force the speakers to have certain dispersion characteristics and distortion specs (which they feel are optimal for HT-only use). The overall additional cost per unit is under $10 (according to people who have actually been through the THX cert process).


There was a very educational post a few years back in AVS that had a few manufacturers (Lexicon and another company IIRC) talk about the THX cert process. THX found various issues that their internal QC group did not find (so it is useful, even if you're an experienced HT component designer). The "THX adds tons of $$$ to the cost of the product" is a myth (unless your sales volume is super-small).


Yes, I agree that there are many excellent non-THX products out there (I own Paradigms). This does not make THX equipment garbage...

 

[mwheelerk]

Quote:

Originally posted by taker I was surfing around on Paradigm web site and noticed that their Signature series speakers were not THx certified I'm starting the design on my home and (Home theater) theirs is on of the products on my list to listen to ..is this strange to anyone else

Only strange if you think that THX certification matters. THX is basically a set of specifications to be met and not some process for improving sound. The Paradigm Signature Series are terrific speakers and should be seriously considered for any system home theater, audio or both. In fact all Paradigm speakers are bargains as far as I'm concerned given the quality of sound for the dollars invested. To me THX is nothing more than saying a product is U.L. Certified or Energy Star Compliant. This simply tells you that a product operates within certain parameters.

 

[ellisr63]

I agree with you for the most part that THX is just a set of specs but U.L. Certification encompasses the product being tested for safety and periodic examinations of the factory that is producing the product to make sure that they are still in compliance. I don't think THX goes that far to check out compliance after certification.

 

[mdrums]

THX is just specs BUT since Lucs and Mr. Holman designed the specs and sold off the company it really means nothing on gear unless your room acoustics are spec'd to THX too.

THX is marketing hogwash.