THX Audio

[Modeps]

Honestly, is THX all that much better than dolby or DTS? I just got my logitech 5.1 THX certified set, and well, it sounds just like 'normal' surround to me! Do they do anything special with the encoding that allows them to reproduce sound more true to 'life'? Or is it just Lucas being his crazy self and promoting something that really doesnt make that much of a difference?

 

[Aves]

It's not a sound format so you can't compare it to DD or DTS. It's a set of standards that define the tech specs of the equipment.


http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/thx.htm

 

[bentwookie]

I thought lucas sold thx

 

[jtusa]

It's not a big deal, it's Georga Lucas' "stamp-of-approval".

 

[ncclaw]

they are the same thing...thx isnt any kind of different multichannel format....thx certification is just like the good housekeeping seal of approval.

 

[BDawg]

Q: Why is it a big deal?

A: It isn't.

 

[biffbacon]

marketing gimmick that the company has to pay for. like people have said, a lucas stamp of approval. it fools the general public. in actuality, many systems are much better than thx certified systems, but they didnt feel the need to pay lucas to certify the systems.

 

[jdini76]

Originally posted by: bentwookie
I thought lucas sold thx

No he didn't sell it. You might be thinking of pixar.

 

[Apex]

Originally posted by: bentwookie
I thought lucas sold thx

Creative Labs purchased some of THX (becoming the largest investor).

You're really talking about different issues.

THX certifies hardware, setting a certain minimum standard, and goals for sound.

THX is also a steering algorithm for multichannel sound (THX EX), which can be processed over a standard say, 5.1 or 6.1 source.

Two very different things.

The certification is good for creating a baseline for how things "should" sound. THX certified products are not necessarily better than non-certified, but it will tell you a little bit about the product. For instance, for THX home theater products, there's a limited vertical dispersion, so less sound bounces off the floor and ceilings. This is good in that it lowers the requirements of the room design.

In terms of THX as a surround channel steering algorithm, I think it's mediocre. Logic 7 is far better, IMHO. I do like it better than Circle Surround, and a few of the others though.

 

[dmurray14]

Originally posted by: Apex

Originally posted by: bentwookie
I thought lucas sold thx

Creative Labs purchased some of THX (becoming the largest investor).

You're really talking about different issues.

THX certifies hardware, setting a certain minimum standard, and goals for sound.

THX is also a steering algorithm for multichannel sound (THX EX), which can be processed over a standard say, 5.1 or 6.1 source.

Two very different things.

The certification is good for creating a baseline for how things "should" sound. THX certified products are not necessarily better than non-certified, but it will tell you a little bit about the product. For instance, for THX home theater products, there's a limited vertical dispersion, so less sound bounces off the floor and ceilings. This is good in that it lowers the requirements of the room design.

In terms of THX as a surround channel steering algorithm, I think it's mediocre. Logic 7 is far better, IMHO. I do like it better than Circle Surround, and a few of the others though.

Hmm, please tell me more about this "Logic 7." We have it in one of our cars...I didn't know it was a big deal...

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: dmurray14

Originally posted by: Apex

Originally posted by: bentwookie
I thought lucas sold thx

Creative Labs purchased some of THX (becoming the largest investor).

You're really talking about different issues.

THX certifies hardware, setting a certain minimum standard, and goals for sound.

THX is also a steering algorithm for multichannel sound (THX EX), which can be processed over a standard say, 5.1 or 6.1 source.

Two very different things.

The certification is good for creating a baseline for how things "should" sound. THX certified products are not necessarily better than non-certified, but it will tell you a little bit about the product. For instance, for THX home theater products, there's a limited vertical dispersion, so less sound bounces off the floor and ceilings. This is good in that it lowers the requirements of the room design.

In terms of THX as a surround channel steering algorithm, I think it's mediocre. Logic 7 is far better, IMHO. I do like it better than Circle Surround, and a few of the others though.

Hmm, please tell me more about this "Logic 7." We have it in one of our cars...I didn't know it was a big deal...

i thought logic 7 was a proprietary Harmon Kardon format?

 

[Apex]

Logic 7 is owned by Lexicon, one of the companies under Harman International's umbrella. It's a bit more aggressive with the steering of the rear channels, and, IMHO, more involving for most sources. I normally listen using Logic 7 on all but a few of the DVD's I own.

Logic 7 was licensed for use in a few cars (BMW, MB, and a few others). I've not personally had a chance to play with those, but my guess is it's probably a limited version.

Lexicon processors (and in the future, perhaps Mark Levinson may license it for their No. 40 Media Console Digital Audio Processor) have the most fully featured Logic 7 setups. You can tweak pretty much everything. Set up right, it sounds amazing. I think Saving Private Ryan and the LOTR series are both excellent DVD's to use to really experience the difference.

Harman Kardon receivers have a more limited version of this (limited by their licensing, and also the lower processing power of their hardware). H/K's only process Logic 7 over 2 channel sources, not 5.1 or 6.1 (even the AVR8000 had to downconvert multichannel to 2 channel, then back up, if Logic 7 is used.

 

[cucumber]

Pretty much what everyone else said. THX is a basic standard that kind of ensures decent sound for a given aplication (with differnet aplications the standard differs...pro theaters, home theaters, computer audio...etc... all differnt standards. THX applies differently to these. If you get a Logitech THX set up, it's not th same as a THX home theater or pro system..)

It also doesn't mean that non THX certified systems are not good, much of high end home and pro audio equipment is not THX certified, and much of it is some damned awesome stuff.

Also someone else mentioned the limiting of vertical dispertion to prevent reflections from the floor or roof (a part of THX requierments). THX is also based on what the sound guys working for Lucas (I don't know anything about it being sold to other companies.......I haven't kept up...) so different people and companies believe different things make for better or worse sound, so there are those who disagree with the THX standard because they disagree with the philosophy that the standard was based on.

From what I've seen THX stuff is mostly a safe bet because it will llikely not suck, but don't make it the most important aspect of your decision when buying equipment. Listen, and buy what you like.

Edit: Oh, and THX os usually based on the current surround formats. It takes Dolby Digital or DTS and adds it's own eq + equipment...etc.... ideas on top of them. It is not a whole different surround format.