Bob Ankosko

Few companies in the home entertainment electronics industry have as storied a history as THX, the company born out of George Lucas’ desire to bring the movie-going experience as close as possible to how he envisioned his theatrical creations on the big screen. Disappointed by the sonic limitations of movie theaters when the original Star Wars film was released in 1977, the celebrated screenwriter/director engaged a team of audio engineers to define a series of technical parameters theater owners could follow to achieve what we would call today an immersive experience. The theatrical program was a huge success, eventually finding its way into the home, and the rest is history. We caught up with Peter Vasay, general manager and senior VP for home products at THX Ltd., to get an update on what the iconic brand has been up to lately and where it’s headed.

The historic cold of Winter 2021 is almost behind us at last. As a new season beckons and we anticipate what “spring cleaning” might look like in a world moving quickly toward post-pandemic status, it’s a good time to take stock in all facets of your life, including the home entertainment setup that helped push you through the darkest days of COVID-19 isolation. Many of us took time during lockdown to upgrade our AV systems with bigger screens, better sounding audio gear, a new turntable, or perhaps a more functional setup. To help keep the wheels of progress turning, we present a sampling of the latest A/V news, which as it turns out is dominated by a gaggle of interesting speakers from brands old and new.

In post a couple weeks ago, we focused on some of the wireless headphones introduced at last month’s virtual CES 2021, the first virtual gathering in the show’s 53-year history. We’re visiting the massively popular category again, this time with a look at headphones introduced at the show or shortly thereafter, including models that bring new form factors and technology into the fold.