my point was that they could bring in a lot of customers that are on the fence, by getting a universally accpeted stamp of approval. saying something doesnt make it so, companies all the time are fudging their specs. i doubt that it costs $50 per piece to have a thx certification, some of the cost would be offset by the selling of more units anyway. there are other certificatons that a piece of electronics goes through, why not skip those too??? im sure that would save some money. i doubt that the new models will be less expensive than their predecessors anyway, but i hope they will be!