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Classic gear from yesteryear; vintage audio standing the test of time.

In addition

THX was originally designed to be a professional standard, not quite intended for home use. The specs were designed for movie theaters and such and thus had fairly large amplifier power recommended ( 110 watts, IIRC).

IIRC Star Wars had been playng in the theaters for a year and when Lucas toured the US he realized that having three soundtracks ( mono, stereo and surround sound) meant that often theaters would be playing the wrong soundtrack for their theaters. The public was not getting the sound that they were supposed to be hearing. The THX qualification was desinged to insure the movie going public that they got what they paid for.

As such do not be taken in by the THX certification, IIRC, the original Terminator movie on LD was THX certified and it was never recorded even in Sstereo. it has a monophonic soundtrack.

THX is merely a licensing program which certifies that the equipment meets THX standards. Much like the underwriters lab certification not having it does not mean that the equipment is automatically inferior or that it does not meet standards. Professional QSC amps used in the Mann's Chinese theaters meet all THX standards but they were not certified when they were installed.

IIRC the certification cost $10K per product per year. It was only later that THX came out with a "small" room certification, because many of their standards were overkill for home listening. At one point even Boston Acoustics had speaker that were THX certified.....


Stu


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  • In addition - unclestu52 15:21:19 03/22/09 (0)

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