Tweet
These are a couple of topics I was asked about recently. I've had a lot of people asking me about this, so hopefully these answers will give everyone my opinions in advance about this stuff. I've been an audiophile for 20 years and working in the industry for about 12, so maybe some of you will find my insights worthwhile. I hope so.
THX certification:
THX certification is a nice buzzword, isn't it? They lost all credibility with me when I heard of a $250 set of 5 computer speakers with sub which was THX certified.
When the original THX specs came out they required a number of basic things from manufacturers in order to be THX certified. First, each amplifier channel had to produce 100 watts with 3db peak headroom above this (basically saying that this had to be a true high current amp.) The other main specs had to do with dispersion characteristics of the speakers. Further, there were specs introduced for wire and rooms, with speaker placement in the rooms being critical. There was also a decorrelation algorithm employed for producing out-of-phase surround information from the dipole surrounds which must be used. The problem with all this was that the extremely directional front THX speakers were awful at producing stereo music, most people were not willing to completely dedicate their rooms to be a perfect environment for the THX effect, and a fee had to be paid to THX by the equipment manufacturer for the certification to take place. The first THX components which came out were expensive seperate amp/preamp solutions since they had to meet the original specs, which were subsequently weakened so THX could collect more revenue from the certification of more units. If you buy something based upon THX certification today, in my opinion you're wasting your money.
Yamaha vs. Denon:
I have been selling Yamaha products for as long as I've been in the industry, and they and Denon are arch-rivals. You don't see stores selling both unless extraordinary circumstances interfere (the only case I know of was when a Yamaha dealer and a Denon dealer merged.) Yamaha and Denon both make excellent receivers, but have distinctly different "personalities" as companies when it comes to marketing. Yamaha has its own odd way of marketing which is more traditional than Denon's way. It is easy to see how many people who are into computers like Denon products. They often go online to look up specs and high tech digital features, since that is what they understand from the computer world. Denon caters to this by listing technical specs in large numbers. Yamaha's website is difficult to navigate, and their listing of specifications is pretty spare by comparison. Denon tells you about every whizbang circuit they use, and I get people throwing this stuff in my face all the time, saying "yeah but does Yamaha have this?" Sorry, but it gets really old. Yamaha did not choose to participate in the THX certification process for most of the reasons I listed above. They were, however, one of the first companies to put 5 channels of equal high current power into their mainstream receivers, and continue to be the best, most versatile, and robust solution for most custom installations and semi-serious home theaters, in my humble opinion. (If you want to know what really serious home theaters are, they involve separates and a dedicated room, for starters.) By the way, if you think Yamaha's marketing is conservative, look at some of the real high end folks. Try to find this technical stuff on Linn's website, for instance. The best example I could give you is Rolls Royce. For years they wouldn't even tell you the horsepower rating on their cars! If you asked, the answer would be "adequate." 
So I'm really not going to waste my breath trying to sell Yamaha to anyone here, since I can't produce the specs to "prove" the worth of their products. Just go by whatever method most pleases you to pick out your equipment.
THX certification:
THX certification is a nice buzzword, isn't it? They lost all credibility with me when I heard of a $250 set of 5 computer speakers with sub which was THX certified.
When the original THX specs came out they required a number of basic things from manufacturers in order to be THX certified. First, each amplifier channel had to produce 100 watts with 3db peak headroom above this (basically saying that this had to be a true high current amp.) The other main specs had to do with dispersion characteristics of the speakers. Further, there were specs introduced for wire and rooms, with speaker placement in the rooms being critical. There was also a decorrelation algorithm employed for producing out-of-phase surround information from the dipole surrounds which must be used. The problem with all this was that the extremely directional front THX speakers were awful at producing stereo music, most people were not willing to completely dedicate their rooms to be a perfect environment for the THX effect, and a fee had to be paid to THX by the equipment manufacturer for the certification to take place. The first THX components which came out were expensive seperate amp/preamp solutions since they had to meet the original specs, which were subsequently weakened so THX could collect more revenue from the certification of more units. If you buy something based upon THX certification today, in my opinion you're wasting your money. Yamaha vs. Denon:
I have been selling Yamaha products for as long as I've been in the industry, and they and Denon are arch-rivals. You don't see stores selling both unless extraordinary circumstances interfere (the only case I know of was when a Yamaha dealer and a Denon dealer merged.) Yamaha and Denon both make excellent receivers, but have distinctly different "personalities" as companies when it comes to marketing. Yamaha has its own odd way of marketing which is more traditional than Denon's way. It is easy to see how many people who are into computers like Denon products. They often go online to look up specs and high tech digital features, since that is what they understand from the computer world. Denon caters to this by listing technical specs in large numbers. Yamaha's website is difficult to navigate, and their listing of specifications is pretty spare by comparison. Denon tells you about every whizbang circuit they use, and I get people throwing this stuff in my face all the time, saying "yeah but does Yamaha have this?"
Sorry, but it gets really old. Yamaha did not choose to participate in the THX certification process for most of the reasons I listed above. They were, however, one of the first companies to put 5 channels of equal high current power into their mainstream receivers, and continue to be the best, most versatile, and robust solution for most custom installations and semi-serious home theaters, in my humble opinion. (If you want to know what really serious home theaters are, they involve separates and a dedicated room, for starters.) By the way, if you think Yamaha's marketing is conservative, look at some of the real high end folks. Try to find this technical stuff on Linn's website, for instance. The best example I could give you is Rolls Royce. For years they wouldn't even tell you the horsepower rating on their cars! If you asked, the answer would be "adequate." So I'm really not going to waste my breath trying to sell Yamaha to anyone here, since I can't produce the specs to "prove" the worth of their products. Just go by whatever method most pleases you to pick out your equipment.
Comment