Filed under: News
Krix is pleased to announce the release of their new floorstanding loudspeaker, the Phoenix. The Phoenix replaces what was arguably Krix's most awarded loudspeaker, the Lyrix / Lyrix Gold.
A great number of improvements have been introduced into the Phoenix which will deliver significant benefits to the listener which are outlined below.
New Tweeter & Bass Drivers
The identical 28mm soft dome tweeter used in the Apex 4 and Equinox 2 provides exceptional performance. It has a very flat response with a smooth roll-off towards 20kHz, consistently low distortion across its working band and a surprisingly quick and uniform cumulative spectral decay.
The bass drivers are a doped paper cone, delivering a fast and punchy response and solid low frequency output. The driver's motor system has been carefully optimised to deliver linear cone excursion, maximum sensitivity and minimum distortion.
Internal Cabinet Bracing
Like any enclosure which has large parallel surfaces, standing waves are sustained between these surfaces with individual panels tending to flex and resonate. Considerable effort was spent in order to minimise these effects with the inclusion of two angled MDF braces. These braces meet at the front baffle just below the tweeter and run diagonally across the side of the speaker for half a metre. They effectively alleviate structural resonance and enclosure standing waves and as a result of this improvement, acoustic instruments with lots of mid-bass energy like double bass and guitar have greater impact and definition.
Vent Flaring
Cabinet tuning has been revised with the Phoenix, with the rear firing vent incorporating soft edge flaring both internally and externally to eliminate wind noise and chuffing at high output levels.
Bass Driver / Tweeter Layout
The acoustic benefit to overlap the tweeter faceplate with the bass drivers is found predominately around the crossover region. Where these acoustic sources generate an interference pattern, the vertical polar response is much broader than it would be if the driver units were further apart. This ensures that the stereo image holds up well when the listener is not seated at the ideal angle or distance such as sitting on the ground or moving about the room. Moving all the drive units that little bit closer to the top of the cabinet also lessens interaction with the floor and positions them closer to seated ear level.
Moulded Grille Frame
Not only does the new moulded grille add cleaner and softer curves which soften the look speaker, it incurs considerably less edge diffraction that the previous wooden version.
Crossover Network
Arguably the most crucial element in any loudspeaker design, the Phoenix crossover is an in-phase Linkwitz-Reily type. A Zobel damped 2nd order network on the bass driver and padded 2nd order network on the tweeter is used to achieve the required 4th order acoustic roll-off. Use of low distortion polypropylene capacitors and inductors in the crossover network allow the driver units to perform at their maximum potential resulting in the Phoenix having a very balanced mid-band response with fuller vocals.
