Audio Design Associates Cinema Reference Mach II PTM-8150 - Manual (Page 90)

Page 89
For either Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX, DTS, or DTS ES, THX
enhancements can be turned on or off. If THX is present, the THX
mode lamp will be lit.
When playing a two channel source signal, the IN indicator will dis-
play the L and R for Left and Right. The only mode lamp that might
be illuminated is THX, identifying the engagement of THX enhance-
ments.
Please note, the Cinema Reference Mach II does not detect the
presence of THX as it is not an encoded process but rather an en-
hancement process. Use THX mode for any cinematic sources.
THX certification to video tapes, laser discs, and DVDs is intended
to ensure that the material was properly mixed and transferred and
does not directly relate to the THX certification of the Cinema Refer-
ence. To engage either full-blown THX or THX Re-EQ, you must do
so manually on the Cinema Reference.
THX is an exclusive set of standards and technologies established
to make your experience of the film soundtrack as faithful as pos-
sible to what the director intended. Movie soundtracks are mixed in
special movie theaters called dubbing stages and are designed to
be played back in movie theaters with similar equipment and condi-
tions. The soundtrack created for the movie theater is then trans-
ferred directly onto Laserdisc, VHS tape, DVD, etc., and is not
changed for playback in a small home theater environment. THX
engineers developed patented technologies to accurately translate
the sound from the movie theater environment into the home, cor-
recting the tonal and spatial errors that occur. When the THX mode
is on, the following three THX technologies are automatically added
after the decoded signal:
Re-Equalization™ - The tonal balance of a film soundtrack will be
excessively bright and harsh when played back over audio equip-
ment in the home because the film soundtracks were designed to
be played back in large movie theatres using very different profes-
sional equipment. Re-Equalization restores the correct tonal bal-
ance for watching a movie soundtrack in a small home environment.
Timbre Matching™ - The human ear changes our perception of a
sound depending on the direction from which the sound is coming.
In a movie theater, there is an array of surround speakers so that the
surround information is all around you. In a home theater, you use
only two speakers located to the side of your head. The Timbre
Matching feature filters the information going to the surround speak-
ers so that they more closely match the tonal characteristics of the
sound coming from the front and surround speakers.
THX Enhancements