"THX stands for Tom Holman's eXperiment. If you are a fan of George Lucas, you might recognize ‘THX’; it is part of the name of Lucas’ first feature length film, named THX 1138."
Home THX- The Best of the Best
Patrick Roberts
Home THX- The Best of the Best
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THX is a wonderful experience. Personally, I think that no home should be without THX.
However, many people do not really understand THX and how it works. I have had a THX home
theater for awhile now and it is great. Having the ability to wake up the neighborhood and
make the dogs start barking is a power not many people have. With a THX sound system, you
can do this (movies sound really good with it too).
THX is a sound system developed by George Lucas (a.k.a. The guy behind the blockbusters
Star Wars and Indiana Jones) and Tom Holman. George Lucas wanted to give the audience the
chance to watch a movie in all of its true splendor. THX was the very first attempt to
bring dubbing stage quality sound to the movie theaters (and the home).
George Lucas found that movie goers were not experiencing the movie as it was intended to
be experienced. In 1982, Lucas commissioned Tom Holman (at the time Lucas technical
director) to create a movie theater sound system that would re-create what Lucas and the
directors experienced in the dubbing stages. THX stands for Tom Holman's eXperiment. If
you are a fan of George Lucas, you might recognize THX; it is part of the name
of Lucas first feature length film, named THX 1138.
Home THX is fairly new. It has been available for a few years. Home THX is comprised of:
- A THX certified controller
- A THX certified speaker system
- Wires that meet THX certification
When THX was developed Lucas and Holman had to address a couple of problems. For
instance, movie theaters had the benefit of a large auditorium and usually had many
surround speakers. Lucas and Holman had to recognize that home theaters usually won't
consist of 10 to 20 surround speakers. So they developed decorrelation.
Decorrelation is the process by which the THX controller sends the surround speakers out
of phase signals. This makes it hard to localize any surround speaker (which creates the
randomness and ambiance of a theatrical experience). In simpler terms, it messes with the
sound a little bit to make things exciting.
Lucas and Holman also recognized the design of the speakers themselves. They realized that
many home theater buyers do not use the same brand of speakers. What this really means is
that when you are using different "types" of speakers, the character of the
sound can change. For example, if in the movie, the action begins to pan (moving from left
to right or vice versa), un- matched speakers will change the sound or tone of the
material that is coming out of them. THX controllers apply Timbre Matching to compensate
for mismatched speakers. Timbre Matching makes the sound move smoothly left and right and
from front to rear and back.
If you are interested in buying a THX home theater, you will have to keep certain things
in mind. First and foremost, it can be expensive. You need to budget yourself. Secondly,
you really need to devote a room in your house to THX. Dont have kids room/home
theater room. If it is possible, designate a room as the theater. If you have
not read the THX installation guide or have extensive knowledge on setting home theaters
up, I wouldnt attempt to install it yourself. It is worth the extra money for a
professional to came in and set it up for you. The professional will also calibrate and
tonally check everything for you to optimize your system.
THX is like Dolby Digital and DTS. It has six channels, three fronts, two surrounds, and a
bass channel. It is important to buy THX certified speakers because they have undergone
strict testing to gain the title THX Certified. They are built to THX specification.
Also, the THX receiver (or preamp and amp combo) is a technological marvel. Many things go
into making a THX certified controller. The THX amps have to meet certain specifications
to be passed onto us as THX Certified. All of this together makes one heck of
an experience. Believe me, I am hooked. You will be too. If you arent, stop by your
local home theater dealer and see if they have a THX setup, it will blow you away.
Lets all thank George for such a great idea.
The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of HomeToys
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