[thomp-c]

I was curious if THX certification on a receiver is worth the money. I own several THX movies. Will they sound that much better? I have seen some good deals on receivers with THX select. Should I look into a receiver with the feature?. Thanks for any responses.

 

[avaholic]

If you do a search, you will find a few threads that have covered this topic. One entensive one, within the last couple of months.


Best regards,

Patrick

 

[mercury]

In short no....

 

[drunkonjack]

In the end it means nothing . It is just a stamp of approval and in the end only you can aprove or disaprove any of your gear.

 

[filmnut]

THX certification only means that the gear meets a certain set of standards. There's no magic about it, and your THX movies will not sound better on THX gear vs. non-THX gear. THX is a marketing tool, that's it. Companies pay big bucks to have those three letters on their equipment, because the marketers have done a good job of duping the public into thinking that "THX-certified" is worth more money. It isn't. It just means the gear passed the minimum THX standards. Most gear pass the standards anyway. For non-THX gear, the companies just chose not to pay the money to have the badge. Trust me, you will not hear the difference.

 

[thebland]

If you prefer not to research things to death and could care less about that part of building a system, a THX stamped product guarantees for the casual hobbiest minimum performance standards in the product. In that respect, it is very good. Buy THX Ultra products and that is even better. Sure, better equipment can be had, but seeing the THX moniker takes the hassle out of finding better equipment. It costs a little more but gives value in providing a certain threshold of performance.

 

[jcapellman]

THX Surround EX is a nice feature on THX certified recievers.

 

[louthewiz]

I also think that THX can make a big impact on most movies that are overly bright and it THX surround ex is a great tool to have.

 

[Razvanel]

I have owned two THX Ultra 2 units, the Integra Research RDC-7 and the Anthem D1. THX compresses the sound, I never use it.


R

 

[thomp-c]

Thanks for all the help. I wasn't looking to spend the price of THX Ultra 2 components. I found an Onkyo with THX select certified feature for a pretty good price. I will try to listen this weekend to the receiver. Just curious about the THX surround EX mode and if it makes any difference on THX certified movies and games. Thanks again.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Surround EX is just a way to expand 5.1 with a matrixed 6th channel. This feature is available in many a non-THX certified receiver, look for specs that refer to 6.1, or surround EX, or dolby digital EX, etc.

 

[tbhugh]

THX EX is for surround back applications which is sometimes referred to as 6.1. Will make a difference if you have speakers setup for rear and side configuration as well as an EX DVD. This is different than Select, Ultra 2 etc.


Guess Chris beat me to it.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Also note that the Ultra 2 spec carries with it more advanced 7.1 capabilities that go beyond the mono rear back with just plain EX (even in 7.1 receivers). It creates stereo rear backs. There are, however, other technologies such as Logic 7, and now PLIIx that can do this as well.