Let's review...as long as any monitor or full range passive speaker is coupling well down to 80hz and that critical bass reigion, and they are using strong capable powered subs(good/well placed/and enough of them for the job) that are in phase, properly placed in the room, matched in volume, and mated well up to 80hz in the room, you will have absolutely no problem in getting superb dynamic capabilities and range from that system! This setup will yield about as good of a dynamic result as is possible from your typical speaker.
Ok, maybe you could take some very efficient and capable speakers (ok, maybe a Legacy or big Klipsch/horn speaker), and cross em over at 60 hz or so, as a bit lower crossover, and still get very good results. And yet, the 80hz still works superbly, and probably better! It's just a good point to crossover. Granted, the speakers need to be set up well, and couple well at that frequency to avoid the "hole in the middle", along with proper PHASE and volume matching!!!!
Ok, some subs are not so tight and capable up that high musicaly, as better speakers with a tight damping factor, granted. But this is easily traded off with the dynamic output and efficiency increase by a properly crossed over setup for dynamic DD/DTS movie playback!!! Your otherwised looking at a dynamically challenged and enemic, easily distorted and strained home theater experience at normal (approaching THX, which is too loud, I'll conceed) levels. Ok, some low volume listeners will argue they'd rather stay with the full range from their audiophile speakers, than compromise with a bad subwoofer setup. I find differnt, and would never go back. The exception is when I'm running large speakers with powered subs/drivers built in, to properly control the speakers for movies! This is all good of course. Still, for the proper dynamic range of an all out home theater system, this IS NOT THE WAY TO DO IT! But to each his own.
You know, back to THX, I still remember back in 1995 when DD/DTS was first being released on Laser Disc. In a store I was working in, Boston Acoustics came in and setup their new dedicated THX sup/sat system in our shop. The system was set up then for only DP Logic. We had DD/DTS Discs playing on our regular speaeker systems, and that was an obvious software improvement over analog recordings for movies, yes. Still, the THX setup was CLEARLY more dynamic, involving, coherent, imaged better, had a better envelopement of soundstage and cohession, that the other speaker sysetems in that same room couldn't match! There was just something (although the overall refinement and quality of the speaker was behind audiphile purity for certain) compelling and "right" about the THX setup that had GREAT POTENTIAL for movie playback...you couldn't deny!
I've since come to realize that DD/DTS through a WELL SETUP THX system is a formidable set of tools indeed!...and probably what most homes should use to do movies right if you ask me. But then, you can still screw all this up with "user error", like any multi-channel "ill-set up" system from an average consumer! Infact, regardless of speaker choices, most people get it all way wrong when it comes to setting up even 2 speakers, let alone 6 or more!...and you can take that to the bank!!!
ALL the THX speaker systems do is give a person a "fighting chance" at taming room relections from ceiling to floor, provide good horizontal dispersion, offer greater speed, impact, dialoge inteligibility, and involvment from the speakers! Dual mid/bass and multiple tweeter driver arrays are very effective at delivering all of the above for a movie soundtrack! Other stereo speaker designs mostly soften this experience, and sacrifice (inherently) what's important to a movie mix! YES, with the right speaker selections as tools, you can get just as effective, if not better results using "non-THX" stuff, sure. But this doesn't negate the potency of a good THX design in most applications for an effective home cinema system!
I don't care for THX bashing, even as an avid audiophile who's owned some expensive 2 channel gear. THX is good stuff, works well, and does what it should...giving consumers good tools as foundations.
Ok, maybe you could take some very efficient and capable speakers (ok, maybe a Legacy or big Klipsch/horn speaker), and cross em over at 60 hz or so, as a bit lower crossover, and still get very good results. And yet, the 80hz still works superbly, and probably better! It's just a good point to crossover. Granted, the speakers need to be set up well, and couple well at that frequency to avoid the "hole in the middle", along with proper PHASE and volume matching!!!!
Ok, some subs are not so tight and capable up that high musicaly, as better speakers with a tight damping factor, granted. But this is easily traded off with the dynamic output and efficiency increase by a properly crossed over setup for dynamic DD/DTS movie playback!!! Your otherwised looking at a dynamically challenged and enemic, easily distorted and strained home theater experience at normal (approaching THX, which is too loud, I'll conceed) levels. Ok, some low volume listeners will argue they'd rather stay with the full range from their audiophile speakers, than compromise with a bad subwoofer setup. I find differnt, and would never go back. The exception is when I'm running large speakers with powered subs/drivers built in, to properly control the speakers for movies! This is all good of course. Still, for the proper dynamic range of an all out home theater system, this IS NOT THE WAY TO DO IT! But to each his own.
You know, back to THX, I still remember back in 1995 when DD/DTS was first being released on Laser Disc. In a store I was working in, Boston Acoustics came in and setup their new dedicated THX sup/sat system in our shop. The system was set up then for only DP Logic. We had DD/DTS Discs playing on our regular speaeker systems, and that was an obvious software improvement over analog recordings for movies, yes. Still, the THX setup was CLEARLY more dynamic, involving, coherent, imaged better, had a better envelopement of soundstage and cohession, that the other speaker sysetems in that same room couldn't match! There was just something (although the overall refinement and quality of the speaker was behind audiphile purity for certain) compelling and "right" about the THX setup that had GREAT POTENTIAL for movie playback...you couldn't deny!
I've since come to realize that DD/DTS through a WELL SETUP THX system is a formidable set of tools indeed!...and probably what most homes should use to do movies right if you ask me. But then, you can still screw all this up with "user error", like any multi-channel "ill-set up" system from an average consumer! Infact, regardless of speaker choices, most people get it all way wrong when it comes to setting up even 2 speakers, let alone 6 or more!...and you can take that to the bank!!!
ALL the THX speaker systems do is give a person a "fighting chance" at taming room relections from ceiling to floor, provide good horizontal dispersion, offer greater speed, impact, dialoge inteligibility, and involvment from the speakers! Dual mid/bass and multiple tweeter driver arrays are very effective at delivering all of the above for a movie soundtrack! Other stereo speaker designs mostly soften this experience, and sacrifice (inherently) what's important to a movie mix! YES, with the right speaker selections as tools, you can get just as effective, if not better results using "non-THX" stuff, sure. But this doesn't negate the potency of a good THX design in most applications for an effective home cinema system!
I don't care for THX bashing, even as an avid audiophile who's owned some expensive 2 channel gear. THX is good stuff, works well, and does what it should...giving consumers good tools as foundations.