Discussion....

**Tom Brennan** · January 9th, 2010, 11:33 AM

I know a couple of theaters with John Allen's HPS sound systems and they sound fantastic. The screen speakers are fully horn loaded. The Tivoli in Downers Grove has an HPS rig.

I've heard THX systems sounding good and sounding bad; usually sounding bad when pushed too hard and going into distortion. I used to go to a Keresotes chain theater in the burbs here that had an excellent sounding EV THX system and that also did excellent projection. Nice theater.

**Panomaniac** · January 9th, 2010, 12:39 PM

Remember that there is more to the THX certification than just the speakers and amps.
The rooms also had to meet certain specs to be certified - including crosstalk to adjacent screens.

The yearly certification was a revenue scheme, for sure. But it was also to assure that the cinemas keep the systems in alignment. Having worked in a number of cinemas, I can tell that most just don't care. As long as it works and there aren't too many complaints, that's all that matters.

So having a program, no matter who runs it, to keep the cinemas in top trim is a good idea in my book. THX tries to market the idea, that's all.

**Audio_by_Goodwill** · January 9th, 2010, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by Panomaniac

..... I can tell that most just don't care. As long as it works and there aren't too many complaints, that's all that matters.

I've heard cone rattles before...... at least that's what it sounded like to me. I've often wondered how many times a cheap car subwoofer has been slapped in place of a blown theatre woofer.

Next time, I go to the theatre I'm taking a flash light. Last time I went, I peeked behind the screen, but it was so dark, I couldn't see enough detail to make out what the big box was...... I could barely tell it was a box. If I had to guess, I'd wager I was looking at JBL horns (4560 and 4550 were used in theaters right?) becasue of the age of the theatre......80s.

**Nipper** · January 9th, 2010, 06:18 PM

Pretty interesting thread people! Thanks.

**MikeInNH** · January 11th, 2010, 10:40 AM

The THX certificaiton reminds me of the ISO-9000 or the SixSigma certification. All it is...is a way for a group of people to make money...nothing more. No one tries to ge the ISO-9000 certification anymore....same with six sigma. And it was basically worthless. All it said was you need to follow these standards to be certified...Well there were plenty of other standards that was as good or better. But at it's peak..many companies were loosing business because they weren't certified. I'm very very skeptical of these certifications. It's ALL marketing and has NOTHING to do with engineering.

**gvasale** · January 11th, 2010, 01:23 PM

I don't remember if anyone has said it, but most of the folks who buy Bose have never heard anything other than a clock/radio or tv or some other low performance device. Marketing like "as seen on tv" and the like is the strength of the Bose brand. I also remember well Bose selling a line of direct radiator speakers to dealers at a huge level of markup.

**Audio_by_Goodwill** · January 11th, 2010, 01:41 PM

Originally Posted by MikeInNH

No one tries to ge the ISO-9000 certification anymore....same with six sigma. And it was basically worthless. All it said was you need to follow these standards to be certified...Well there were plenty of other standards that was as good or better. But at it's peak..many companies were loosing business because they weren't certified. I'm very very skeptical of these certifications. It's ALL marketing and has NOTHING to do with engineering.

Yes, I always thought it was a joke, but if you're in the automotive business you do need to be ISO certified. ISO-whatever replaced QS9000/9001. Just over a year ago, I was working for a tier-1 supplier and it was still a big deal...... although we were having some bigger issues at the time, so maybe it did go away?

Say you're going to do it wrong, do it wrong, and document that you did it wrong, and you'll be golden

**MikeInNH** · January 11th, 2010, 06:41 PM

Say your going to do it wrong, do it wrong, and document that you did it wrong, and you'll be golden

Yes as long as it was documented. Doesn't matter if it's WRONG...Just as long as it was documented. Most software companies have left the ISO-9000 certification. It's too expensive and really means NOTHING. And I've gone through the ISO-9000 certification twice with different companies. The process was completely different for each company.

**mah** · January 11th, 2010, 08:31 PM

For most of the'90s I was an ISO 9000 certification auditor. The biggest problem seemed to be consultants who thought they were on a gravy train, implementing overblown and overly complex management systems.