Teufel System 8 THX Ultra 2 review

For over 25 years, George Lucas’ THX standard has been the benchmark of audio-visual quality in the home cinema. Its recent diversification into THX Ultra and Select has made THX a reality for a large number of enthusiasts, but THX Ultra 2 remains the ultimate spec for any aficionado with a large-sized home cinema setup.

German speaker manufacturer Teufel is, in its own way, playing its part in making THX Ultra more affordable. By selling direct (and probably cutting out around a 30 per cent retail margin) it sells sets of THX speakers at prices that until recently you would only find on avforums or ebay.

We may be committing home cinema heresy here but we think this direct approach is way overdue. Sure, there will be purists who say you must audition before you buy but the great part about THX is that it guarantees a certain set of standards out the box. We would far prefer to pocket the saving and have a better set of speakers in a cinema room. On top of this, Teufel offers a full returns service within 8 weeks of invoicing (note, not delivery). If you don’t like them, pack them back up and return them to sender; the only cost to you is the postage.

So on to the speakers. Teufel’s System 8 is not the cheapest set of THX Ultra speakers available (as Teufel is selling its back catalogue of System 9 sets for £2,599), but they are certainly the most compact. THX Ultra 2 demands far larger enclosure sizes than is normal, especially in the rears where dipole speakers are mandatory for the required sound diffusion. At £3,099 the System 8s are neither small nor cheap but they put THX Ultra 2 within touching distance of the well-heeled enthusiast with a 50m³ or larger listening space.