ESSENTIAL SPEAKER SUPPLEMENT
THE AUDIENCE IS STILL LISTENING Loudspeaker manufacturer M&K Sound considers THX Certification to be not only a key component of its marketing message but also critical to offering up a unified home cinema ecosystem THX Ltd., custodians of George Lucas’s former high-profile cinema and residential sound and image laboratory, continues to make an impact. Despite the advent of object-based immersive audio, the good housekeeping practices of the once Lucasfilm Ltd.-owned division are reasserting their place in an industry short on accepted standards. M&K Sound has recently doubled down on the marketing potential with new partnership announcements, while cementing THX’s place as the sole heavyweight arbiters of all that can be excellent in home cinema.
24 SPEAKER SUPPLEMENT 2022
But for the last 25 years, Denmark’s M&K Sound has never strayed from the THX path. The company was the original creator of the satellite/ subwoofer configuration for full-range studio and home audio in 1973, an idea later adopted by THX. With M&K’s December unveiling of three completely revamped X+ Series reference subwoofers, the company has once again embraced the THX moniker as a key component of its technology and communications strategy. The top-of-the-range subwoofer this year is the home-demolishing X15+ leviathan with its pair of colossal, opposing, push-pull 15-inch drivers. Earning THX Certified Dominus status (the latest of four THX Certification levels), the Bay Area scientists deem the subwoofer qualified to deliver the required grunt in rooms of up to 6,500 cubic feet. Many reading here will know the THX story. Lucasfilm engineers formulated a plan for improving audio performance in cinemas for the release of Return of the Jedi (1983). George Lucas decided the multi-layered mix should be presented optimally in as many locations as possible. For a cinema to be THX Certified
and show the THX ‘Deep Note’ trailer before a feature under licence, theatrical exhibitors had to conform to strict criteria to deliver a first-rate film presentation. A THX Certified cinema had to reproduce dialogue accurately, elicit massive dynamics across the 20Hz to 20kHz range, be agnostic to audio or vibration leaks from adjacent auditoria, and mitigate background noise to virtual silence. Even the viewing angle to the screen from every seat should aim for 36 degrees. These were already the mainstays of Hollywood dubbing studios for mixing film sound. THX also provided design services and tailored recommendations to each customer. On the home front, quadrophonic audio had effectively been consigned to the dustbin of history by the late 1970s, but matrix Dolby Surround processors found their way into living rooms by 1989. It was becoming clear that a ‘unified theory’, for want of a better term, was needed to address the anarchy surrounding multi-channel audio in the home. The challenge with developing a home cinema audio system was how to play back a film soundtrack in a
/Essentialinstall
@Install_mag
essentialinstall.com
