[Howard Ferstler]

Bret Ludwig wrote:
Howard Ferstler wrote:
snip

For your purposes, THX is actually a Lucasfilm Corporation
performance certification program for A/V hardware and
software. Although the program began with movie theaters
(the first film shown in a THX-certified theater was Return
of the Jedi), it later spread to home-theater equipment and
even discs and tapes.

THX certification involves quality-control and compatibility
standards for hardware and software, but it also involves
special emendations to those standards for supposedly
enhanced performance, particularly if every component in a
home A/V system (players, speakers, processors, amplifiers,
and even wires) is so certified.

The performance requirements for THX certification of units are,
themselves, a trade secret. On principle I refuse to purchase any THX
certified product.

Suit yourself. I will point out that the manufacturers I
have contacted regarding the performance requirements have
told me that although they were contract bound to not reveal
them, those standards are decently rigorous. A few of these
manufacturers also passed on joining the parade, because
they either thought it was a waste of their money (they
could easily have made the grade but felt that their
customer base would not care) or because (as was the case
with a speaker manufacturer) they felt that the parameters
were not their cup of dispersion/radiation-pattern tea.

Look at it this way, whatever one might think of the THX
parameters, one will certainly not get a dud product
(particularly regarding electronics) if what they purchase
is so certified. However, I am not saying that non-certified
products (including electronics) would always be inferior.
Some certainly would be, though. For example, I rather doubt
that any tube-type component could make the grade, and
certainly no single-ended triode amp could.

THX is, IMO, a guarantee of mediocrity. Many superior products cannot
meet the secret standards.

Right, which is why it is not a bad idea to opt for
components that achieve those standards if one is looking
for a really safe purchase. It seems odd that one would care
to own a so-called superior product that could not meet the
kind of very basic standards that the Lucasfilm people have
come up with. If that product could not meet the minimum
performance standards (and here I am not talking about the
signal-manipulating standards, but just the basic
amp-performance or preamp-performance standards), one would
be foolish to purchase that product.

I prefer to judge for myself what is and is
not good.

Mediocrity is in the eye of the beholder. The THX people are
obviously aware, as am I, that proper amp performance is
really no big deal. They do require things like a
minimum-level output impedance and of course a minimum
power-output ability. However, they do not subscribe to some
of the weird and esoteric standards that certain high-end
operations feel are important. As noted before, many
so-called high-end amps would not be able to meet THX
standards, and I am talking about units that might be quite
expensive. Most DVD players would do well enough to satisfy
even discriminating viewers, but those products are often so
normally high in quality that most companies do not see the
point in joining the club. A few upscale models, do,
however, with the companies willing to pay for
certification, and one can be sure that those do manage to
deliver perhaps a slightly better picture than non-THX
versions. Sound quality (DD, DTS, and CD) should be pretty
much the same with just about all units, THX certified or not.

I would hazard the opinion that a THX Ultra certified
receiver would have superior amplifier and preamplifier
performance to a fair number of esoteric, non-certified
amp/preamp combinations that cost way, way more. Add to that
the fact that the THX versions would also have excellent
surround processing and additional channels, and anyone can
see that THX Ultra certification is not a bad thing at all
with high-end gear. As for cheaper stuff, it looks as if
those on a budget would do well to strongly consider THX
Select products if they do not want to take chances.

I will admit that when reviewing products for The Sensible
Sound and The Audiophile Voice in the past, many of those
that were not certified performed admirably, and were equal
to any of the THX stuff, or even a tad better. Of course,
many of the THX certified products exceeded minimum
standards by a wide margin, as well.

Howard Ferstler