RE: THX and Arcam's reply to questions.

["Nick Tyson - The Edge" <nick@xxxxxxx>]

Speaking as someone who is THX certified (ie I paid to spend an
expensive
weekend at Skywalker Ranch learning stuff that I already knew) I would
agree
that a lot of it is just an excercise in marketing. Plus it can be
quite
confusing ie the man in the street might think that THX certification
on
software implied some kind of compatibility with THX hardware, or that
it
related to some sort of standard for picture or sound whereas on software
it
can relate simply to the quality of the transfer to the medium. For
example
when I was doing my *training* they had just given certification to a
movie
that had really poor picture quality and only mono sound on the basis
that
it was an accurate transfer from the film ie the film was crap and the
laserdisc is equally as crap.

What it does do is guarantee a minimum level of performance which some
manufacturers consider to add extra value to the product. A consumer can
buy
a THX product safe in the knowledge that it's going to perform to at
least
the standards laid down by Lucafilm. It doesn't in any way imply that
products without the logo are inferior. I understand the comment about
the
Yam 3090, but then instead of THX certification Yamaha chose to spend
that
extra money on DSP processing which for most people is no more benefit
than
a THX logo. You pays your money....

There was a time, back in the good old days of vanilla flavoured
Pro-Logic,
where the THX processing that you could only get on an approved amp was
worth having for the re-equalisation, decorrelation of the surround
speakers, etc as it did make a difference. But since the advent of
digital
surround that is now only a benefit on non digital sources (which we
still
use a lot - Standard sky receivers, all cable boxes, VCR, analogue
terrestrial TV, etc).

Whichever way you go you're going to be paying for a bunch of stuff that
may
not be of use to you, virtually all equipment has money invested in
features, facilities (or marketing) that may be of no apparent benefit
to
you. Ultimately I would agree that the important thing is to buy stuff
that
sounds great to you whether it conforms to any particular standards or
not.

Nick Tyson
The Edge
Tel 01473 288211
Fax 01473 288255
Email nick@xxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Harrison [mailto:Mark.Harrison@xxxxxxx]
Sent: 08 November 2002 23:59
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [ukha_d] THX and Arcam's reply to questions.


Well said, Ken.

I'd point out that the BEST (in the sense of most ludicrously high-end)
amplification and speakers for home cinema use don't have THX
certification
either.

Regards,

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: Kenneth Watt [mailto:kwatt@xxxxxxx]
Sent: 8 November 2002 23:02
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [ukha_d] THX and Arcam's reply to questions.


I was going to have a rant on how THX standards are total bollocks but
Phil beat me to it and did it so much better.

Basically rather than buying THX approved kit buy stuff that sounds
right to you, always the best way!

As a side note, you'll notice that one of the best selling AV amps of
all time does not have THX approval, the top of the line Yamaha's from
the DSP3090 onwards through the DSP-A1, AX1 and now the AZ1, they could
reach the THX spec but Yamaha refuse to pay the fees. Says it all
really.

K.




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