Obi-wonton and Rikter both make good points. I think I actually fell a little short of what I wanted to say originally and I thank both of you for pointing that out. Let me try to be a little less monosyllabic.
First and foremost I understand that THX is not a sound format. I just wanted to get that out there.
What I was trying to say with the varying degrees of THX was that to the average consumer they will not know the difference between a “Select” setup and an “Ultra” setup. With that in mind I think that THX really messed up by introducing these nomenclatures. Of course to the audiophiles the THX naming system is very simple. But to an uneducated Best Buy shopper it’s just another bell or whistle that they can say they have. When in all actuality it isn’t a bell or a whistle at all. They just have a certified piece of equipment.
I guess what would have made me happy is instead of having THX on everything and then having a “Select” or “whatever” after it I would have been happier if they had come out with another name altogether. Now, I know, I know I’m just being nit picky but I have talked to way to many people who go to show me their set up and then tell me, “Oh it has THX sound too.” NO IT DOESN’T! If THX hadn’t added the different levels of THX I wouldn’t have to hear that again. When it was just THX, people who wanted to get into home theatre couldn’t afford a THX certified piece of equipment.
In the end I’m just mad I guess. It’s good because now people who couldn’t afford THX equipment in the past can. To me it’s bad because I have to hear stupid uneducated things about THX every time I’m in Best Buy picking up a DVD.
Does this make my last post make sense? Who cares it’s 8 in the morning…