Skip to main content

Razer takes a big step beyond gaming with acquisition of audio tech icon THX

Min-Liang Tan Razer CEO
Image used with permission by copyright holder
If you’re familiar with the Razer name, chances are fairly good that it’s because you’ve either encountered or heard of the company’s gaming PCs or peripherals. The company wants to be more than a gaming company, however, and on Monday it took a major step in that direction by announcing it would acquire the audio technology company THX, which was founded by George Lucas in 1983.

“Razer has a vision for innovation at every level of entertainment, a vision which THX has championed since its inception more than 30 years ago,” Razer co-founder and CEO Min-Liang Tan said in a statement. “This acquisition will allow us to reinforce Razer’s leadership in gaming and extend the brand into broader areas of entertainment, while at the same time empowering THX to develop into a global powerhouse, independently.”

Recommended Videos

The THX name might not immediately ring a bell, but the company’s iconic “Deep Note” sound is instantly recognizable. The company’s audio and video certification programs and tools have helped many a home theater enthusiast set up their new TV or A/V receiver, and will continue to do so while operating under Razer.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

THX will continue to operate independently, and under its own management. Most recently, the company debuted THX Live, which took its audio certification tools on the road to certify  stadiums for live sound on Beyonce’s Formation tour.

“Our focus has always been on ensuring that anyone can experience high-quality entertainment, regardless of their medium of choice. With Razer, we can now continue to strengthen our core lines of business while delivering excellence for our customers’ ever-changing needs,” THX CEO Ty Ahmad-Taylor said. “As a stand-alone company, THX will work with Razer but will primarily continue to service our partners in the industry in order to deliver great products to consumers.”

Moving forward, THX will also continue to branch out. Ahmad-Taylor wrote in a Medium post that “as gaming bridges into VR, we expect to play a leadership role in the audio portion of that experience.”

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Kris Wouk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…
Sonos Arc vs. Sonos Arc Ultra: Is the next-gen worth the splurge?
Sonos Arc Ultra.

The Sonos Arc has long stood as the flagship soundbar from the American networked audio giant. Upon its release in 2020, the Arc established itself as one of the most feature-rich products in its category. It was Sonos's first soundbar to support Dolby Atmos, which was a significant step forward at the time.

Four years later, the Sonos Arc Ultra was released, intended to take up the mantle of a premium flagship soundbar. The Arc Ultra represents the next generation for Sonos, features breakthrough technologies like "Sound Motion," and adds Bluetooth support for the first time in any Sonos soundbar.

Read more
You Asked: What’s the most impressive thing you saw at CES?
You Asked CES Editors Cut

On today’s special edition of You Asked, we tracked down each of our editors and put them on the spot to find out what they thought was the most impressive thing they saw at CES 2025 in Early January. Let’s find out what they had to say.
Panasonic Z95B

There’s been some really cool TV tech at CES, but the thing I’m most excited about is the new Panasonic Z95B. Instead of the regular OLED display structure we’ve seen in recent years with MLA technology, this uses a four-layer panel structure. It features individual red, green, and blue layers (two of the latter) for the emissive light.

Read more
Fiio brought its adorable KA15 DAC/amp to CES 2025 and now I want one
Fiio KA15 mobile headphone DAC/amp.

I admit it: Even though my job means I'm supposed to be laser-focused on sound quality, usability, value for money, and durability, every now and then, I see an audio product that I want to own simply because it looks awesome. That was my reaction at CES 2025 when I laid eyes on Fiio's KA15 -- a tiny mobile headphone DAC/amp that sells for $110 (though as of today's date, it's down to $90 on Amazon).

Specs-wise, this little all-aluminum, baby blue and silver gadget -- which also comes in a much more serious Midnight Black color -- covers everything you could want in a headphone DAC: support for PCM decoding up to 32-bit/768kHz, plus native DSD decoding up to DSD256, dual Cirrus Logic CS43198 DACs, a companion app and web interface that gives you access to a 10-band parametric equalizer, 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm unbalanced headphone jacks, an ultra-low THD of 0.0004%, and up to 560 milliwatts of power per channel (when in desktop mode). Perfect for getting the most out of your lossless and hi-res audio sources via wired headphones or IEMs.

Read more