THX certified Receivers - worth the extra $$$?

[Bluesmoke]

Considering my budget, I figured that a simple amp like the HK 135 would probably suit me well, to drive Polk RTi8s. However, the Pioneer 1015 is soo appealing with the 7.1 and THX. Now, I don't plan on buying another receiver for a few more years until HDMI is commonplace on AVRs and perfected. So basically I'm debating on whether the THX certification of the Pioneer is worth it. It's still about a $100can more than the HK at www.futureshop.ca, but it's also 7.1 whereas the HK is 6.1, but I most likely will keep a 2.1 setup for a while.

My living room is 13x16 and open concept with my kitchen, if that matters.

 

[brendy]

Only really worth it if you have THX certified speakers.

 

[mike c]

not entirely accurate brendy ... the THX badge is some sort quality control seal of approval. having that badge kinda guarantees good quality.

and you get bragging rights too.

 

[gmoneyreece]

THX Certification

The way I understand it is, THX certified products are required to pass some relativly stringent test (typically based on preformance and component tollerances). if a product is THX certified it will meet all their requirements but that is not saying a product that is not THX certified cannot meet these requirements too. typically the manufacture determines if the THX certification will benifit their sales or not, that would be the only reason to pay ($$$Lucas$$$) for the certification. Harman Kardon is one manufacture that makes nice receivers that are not THX certified, they must not think it is worth the extra money. i would take a HK over a THX select Sony in the same price range any day. here is an interesting link to see if your home theater could be THX certified...

http://www.thx.com/mod/services/CHTTechnicalOverview.pdf

 

[mike c]

HK is already over priced without the THX badge

 

[gcmarshall]

as the owner of a THX receiver, i would say that the THX certification should be low on your list of criteria. definitely on the list, but not at the top of the list.

 

[j_garcia]

THX does guarantee a certain level of performance, but the processing functions I haven't found useful at all.

There is NO additional cost for a THX cert receiver vs a non THX one. The manufacturer DOES NOT pay for the certification, though not passing may cause them to have to do some redesigning. The majority of manufacturers have a THX Select at least cert receiver, which means they already basically know what to design to in order to meet the spec.

 

[jonnythan]

THX does guarantee a certain level of performance, but the processing functions I haven't found useful at all.

There is NO additional cost for a THX cert receiver vs a non THX one. The manufacturer DOES NOT pay for the certification, though not passing may cause them to have to do some redesigning. The majority of manufacturers have a THX Select at least cert receiver, which means they already basically know what to design to in order to meet the spec.

At the very least, they have to pay for the THX certification process. No one is going to do it for free.

I'm fairly certain that they pay licensing fees for the logo, but I have no concrete info other than what I've read online. If you have some I'd love to see it.

 

[gmoneyreece]

they most definitly do pay for THX certification. Does UL provide listing stickers to any one who says there product is safe? NO! They charge a nominal testing fee (very expensive) for the initial product and then they charge for several visits per year to your factory to verify that the original specs are being followed. i would imagine this is how THX testing also works, they are basiclly an independent testing laboratory, same as UL, CSA, ETL etc. Nothing is free...

 

[j_garcia]

I read an article on the process in Home Theater Magazine, and I believe there is also an interview with THX here on AH. The companies do not pay for the certificaton, though you may be correct about the logo. Even with the logo though, the cost is going to be basically zero to the consumer to have it on there.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

THX certification has to do with the power of the unit and it's ability to reach reference levels in certain sized room. That is why you see Select, Select II, Ultra, Ultra II, etc... You'll notice that entry level THX units start at the magical number of 33lbs. (at least they used to) Thus, if you want a healthy amount of power, check the weight of the unit.

 

[mike c]

i dont think THX gets paid per se. but the cost of having to meet those standards WILL trickle down to the consumer.

just like ISO certifications (in my line of business)

 

[jonnythan]

i dont think THX gets paid per se. but the cost of having to meet those standards WILL trickle down to the consumer.

just like ISO certifications (in my line of business)

If you think Lucasfilm doesn't make $$ off licensing of the THX logo, you're nuts.

It's a commercial, private venture, not a standards body.

 

[Vigor]

The VSX-1015TX-S delivers a full 120 watts x 7, with MOSFET amplification circuitry, The HK delivers Surround Power Per Channel: 40 Watts x 6 (All Channels Driven) and 50 Watts sterio, The VSX-1015TX-S has more Power and All the extra THX , 7.1 and more, I test the HK in my place and did not like it not enough power for me I return it to the store.! today I have the Elite vsx52tx and believe me it delivers quality sound & power, I will go with $ 100 more and buy the VSX-1015txs.

 

[3db]

I'd check that spec more closely on the Pioneer

The VSX-1015TX-S delivers a full 120 watts x 7, with MOSFET amplification circuitry, The HK delivers Surround Power Per Channel: 40 Watts x 6 (All Channels Driven) and 50 Watts sterio, The VSX-1015TX-S has more Power and All the extra THX , 7.1 and more, I test the HK in my place and did not like it not enough power for me I return it to the store.! today I have the Elite vsx52tx and believe me it delivers quality sound & power, I will go with $ 100 more and buy the VSX-1015txs.

The only receivers that I know to pass (From reading various Audio equipment rags) all channels driven and maintain there advertised output is NAD, HK, Rotel, and Outlaw. Denon, Yamaha, Sony, Pioneer all start dropping their power levels once they start testing across 5 or more channels. I'm not going debate if the tests are valid or not. Thats not the point. If anything, the power supplies on HKs are much more robust than what can be found on Pioneers.

 

[Jase]

Good article here about THX.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_13_1/feature-article-thx-1-2006-part-1.html

 

[lostsoul74]

well, I just sold my HK 520 on ebay to buy a 1015tx. HK makes a good powerful product, with excellent dynamics. But for my personal taste, HK seemed to be lacking on an emphensized low end, and limited tonal controls make custimization difficult, they have an article on why they dont use eq's and prefer only filtered bass to your sub along with basic tonals, interesting article and makes sense, but to my ear, i'd take an eq anyday over the tonal they give. Also, I found that theyre sound stage dramaticly lost presence outside of thier imediate listoning area. I also found that my model HK lacked in channel seperation excellence.
I'm currently using a cheaper Pioneer d412 temp till I grab a new reciever. The HK certainly sounds better than this budget reciever, but this budget reciever does produce more bass with the sub then with the HK (though not quite without, without, the HK does a little better, but not nearly as well as my old school flagship JVC did-niehter the pioneer nor HK impressed me in this manner), an expanded listoning area (it engolfs my entire loft rather just the listoning area, ofcourse the HK fills the house, but it sounds "off" outside of that area). I'm hoping that the 1015 offers better amp design and better sound obviously over the budget d412, I'm definately not happy with the 412, but wasnt satisfied at all with the hk niether. The EQ on the 1015 i hope will give me the quality sound I enjoy. If you guys have an opinion on this, let me know, but all in all, I think that yes, the 1015 would have a better overall over the HK, the hk will have more dynamics, but limited on too many other areas. Just my opinion anyways.

(someone email me if you agree that the 1015 should by far blow away the budget 412, need to know before I buy another pioneer product)

 

[S.R. Johnson]

" i would take a HK over a THX select Sony in the same price range any day"


Last time I checked sony does not make a THX certified receiver. Even if they did, I would probably use it as a giant door stop!

 

[jbrillo]

jase,

Thanks for that link to the article on THX. Wow!!!! That is by far the best & most detailed explanation of the THX process I've ever read. That was amazing. For anyone that ever wondered what EXACTLY THX stands for(I mean what it means to be THX certified) should read this. Great article.

 

[Bluesmoke]

It's too easy for people, including us here at Secrets, to say "get as much power as you can", "you should have at least 100 watts per channel", and so on. While having more power than you need, even lots more, is not a bad thing and in fact is much preferred by speaker manufacturers (in that more speakers are damaged from underpowered amps driven to clipping, than ones which were fed too much power), the reality is that power, REAL power, is expensive.

Woah! That portion of the THX article really made me think. I did not know this.

The Pioneer 1015TX seems like a shoe-in choice for me now.