THX Select vs Select2

[gcmarshall]

i can now comment on my own thread. after living with my Yamaha 2500 for a few weeks now and fiddling around extensively with the various sound fields and lots of different movies (most of which are very good on surround sound), i can say that THX does very little for me.

now, it could be that my system is not tweaked just right to take advantage of the THX parameters. i basically rely upon autosetup and a few minor manual tweaks and that's it. but, i find that the THX cinema mode seems to muffle the sound a little. conversely, when i switch to standard dolby digital, general cinema DSP or adventure DSP, the movies are more lively.

when i demoed this receiver in my local store, i was sold on it b/c when i played the battle for helms deep in the LOTR using THX, i could hear nearly every individual rain drop on the orcs armor when they were lined up prepared to attack. i don't seem to get quite that much detail at home.

of course, the bottom line is when putting a system together, it is a COMBINATION of receiver and speakers that make a complete system. a great receiver is nearly worthless with crummy speakers and vice versa. additionally, my retailer may have had presence channels which may have added additional detail. i don't know.

what i do know is that THX certification does not appear to be a good basis for a buy/don't buy decision. at best, it appears to only be icing on the cake if the receiver you want happens to also have THX. there may be people out there talented enough to tweak their system with every minute detail to take better advantage of the THX parameters. in my case, other sound fields sound better than THX on every movie i have watched to date.

 

[Audioholics]

gc,

While your initial postings seem to indicate a desire to understand Select vs. Select2, your broadbrush conclusion leads me to recommend that you read some more of Page 2 of this thread and realize that THX is most certainly more than just some DSP settings. To date, Audioholics has never found a bug in any THX product, at least not one that dealt with anything they specifically verified. On the other hand, we have found and disclosed numerous bugs in non-THX equipment.

To us, the THX badge means the product meets or exceeds a specific set of criteria, only some of which we are privy to, and none of which we can disclose. In addition, there are a number of extremely helpful functions built into a THX-certified electronics product that potentially help the HT experience.

 

[gcmarshall]

when i said in my earlier post that THX does nothing for me, i meant that the THX setting does not make movies sound good to me. i did not mean that THX is worthless, only that it doesn't sound good to me compared to the other settings i have used.

i'm always suspicious when i hear that something makes a product better, but how it does so it such a secret. the THX web site is perfectly vague. coca-cola, for example, is just brown fizzy water, but it is marketed so hard that it is a household name on every corner of the planet. in fact, the secret formula for Coke, which is locked up in a vault, says, "make brown fizzy water and market the heck out of it". in all seriousness, i have no doubt THX certification brings something to the table. however, as with most things in life, there is some degree of marketing involved here - brand recognition has a powerful impact on consumer's brains. however, all i can say is what i said before - every movie i have watched in the past several weeks sounds less lively and more muted when "THX Cinema" is engaged than when the above referenced soundfields are engaged. i am glad i didn't get swayed into paying more for the newer Select2 standard for the sake of Select2 alone. in the end, i still get a slightly warm, fuzzy feeling when i see the THX logo on the front of my receiver, even though i apparently don't appreciate its impact on my movies. i guess the marketing guys have gotten to me.

 

[satwar]

I'm going to go against my better judgement and try one more time gcmarshall,

I honestly don't think you've tried to understand a word that has been written to try and help you. Although I can accept that perhaps you can't appreciate the THX certification difference, and you are not alone.

THX certification is part of the electronics design and equipment performance no matter what sound mode you are in, not just when using "THX Cinema". The main point of THX certification, as has already been said numerous times, is that it guarantees a certain level of HT performance excellence, Ultra being more demanding than Select.

By participating in this "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" rating system, manufacturers can assure customers that they are getting a performance excellence, "Ultra" being more demanding than "Select". The "Ultra" family of certifications indicates excellence in performance can be achieved for large HT setups (up to 3000 cu ft listening rooms) while the "Select" family of certifications indicates excellence in performance for smaller HT setups (less than 2000 cu ft listening rooms).

The "Select2" & "Ultra2" designations are applied to receiver & amplifier equipment, while "Select" & "Ultra" designations are applied to speakers , DVD equipment etc. The "Select, Select2" & "Ultra, Ultra2" families of equipment are "complimentary" and work well together at their respective levels of performance.

Many will argue they hear no difference between THX certified or non-THX certified equipment. Many will argue that THX certification just allows manufacturers to justify raising the price of the equipment over competitors. Some will argue that the showroom salesman knows which equipment performs best. I'm sure the lack of transperancy in the THX standards makes certification suspect in some people's minds.

But in spite of everything, nobody can argue that THX certification "attempts" to quantify HT performance in a measurable way. It is, however, merely a tool. Maybe audiophiles don't need this tool, or say they don't, but many of us mortals can use all the help they can get. Personnally, if I see two units with the same features and claimed performance I'm looking for and only one unit is THX certified I'll buy the certified unit because I know that an independant party has verified that it does what it claims.