Review

Esoterix Complete Review - Audio & Video Lifestyle - Australia

01 Nov 1996

It’s at times like this I feel very, very jealous. Not content with 50 issues under its belt, Audio & Video Lifestyle magazine has decided to give away all the products reviewed in this landmark issue. We’re talking totally free, nix, nil, diddley squat. And anyone who inherits this pair of Australian loudspeakers, ought to be counting their lucky stars. These are easily the finest sounding, looking and all-round delicious pair of speakers I’ve had the good fortune to clap eyes on in a long time.

The appropriately named Esoterix 1 mk2 comes from Australia’s longest established speaker manufacturer stable, namely that of South Australia based Krix Loudspeakers. It all started back in 1974 for Krix, whose speaker repertoire these days encompasses full home theatre systems as well as conventional pairings.

There’s not too much conventional about the Esoterix 1 mk2’s though, a speaker that has been designed to fit into the higher end of Krix’s range. The original Esoterix 1’s were released some 4 years ago, and the MkII’s see some major changes, most notably from a two to three way design. The revamp took place around 12 months ago, resulting in the MkII Esoterix 1.

This is a no-nonsense speaker from Krix, designed with all the stops out, to produce a loudspeaker of extremely high quality. Well, one thing’s for sure, it doesn’t take too long to realise that this pair of Krix’s are not your average set of lounge-room boxes.

It goes without saying, the new Esoterix 1 Mk2’s are a big pair of speakers, each weighing in at a back-breaking 30kg. Though every ounce of which exudes quality workmanship.

This particular pair of Esoterix come finished in a beautiful Jarrah wood veneer with the speaker cabinets mounted on an angled ‘foot’ enabling the speakers to fire slightly upwards (as well as accommodating isolation cones, Krix recommend using tip-toes). This deliberate design feature is down to the speaker’s driver configuration, which is implemented in a refreshingly different style.

Located towards the bottom of the cabinet, a long-throw 210mm bass driver delivers the bass punch. The unit is made up of heavy duty components and has obviously been designed to take some punishment. Towards the top of the box, the midrange and tweeter units are mounted in the increasingly popular inverted position, that is, with the tweeter located below the other driver.

The slight upward angle simply aids sonic dispersion, making sure that the various frequencies are reaching your ears at roughly the right time. That they certainly do, with deft timing and accuracy. With a speaker of this stature, plus the dual rear-firing bass reflex ports, a bit of care has to be taken over positioning. Krix want the Esoterix to work in harmony with your listening environment, and recommend leaving 400mm of air between speaker and rear wall, and 800mm from room corners. This is good advice, and putting it into practice, the Esoterix, in particular the bass response, behave themselves very well.

Ideally, these speakers need some room in which to flex their well-developed sonic muscle, it’s no good putting a pair of speakers like these in a shoe cupboard.

The physical size, as well as the fact the Esoterix demand top-notch ancillary equipment , mean here’s a pair of speakers that can sound great in a variety of listening environments and simply improve the higher the quality of source and amplification.

If the lucky AVL magazine reader who eventually wins this pair of speakrs has a 20 watt amp harking back to his or her Uni days, now’s definitely the time for an upgrade. Not that the Esoterix are particularly inefficient, far from it. With a sensitivity of 88dB coupled to a nominal 8 ohm impedance, these Krix speakers aren’t going to present too much difficulty for most amplifiers. Despite the high power handling capabilities, it’s simply not a question of how many watts per channel you can chuck at the Esoterix.

Forming the final link in the hi-fi system chain, the Esoterix’s superb sound quality reflects the quality of the rest of the system. One of the fundamental attributes of the Esoterix is the ease in which the speakers are able to communicate. They’re supremely easy to listen to, delivering a deep, controlled yet buoyant musical presentation. Starting at the very bottom, the Esoterix always sounds sumptuously rich and full-bodied, even late at night with the volume way down low. All sorts of music you care to mention, with particular reference to rock, pack a substantial punch, with plenty of guts, attack and control.

The two rear-firing bass reflex ports can be ‘plugged’ with a couple of acoustic resistive foam vent plugs. With these in place, the bass response is curtailed, allowing closer proximity, if necessary, to the rear wall. I gave them a go, though found the bass sound a touch muted for my liking. The Esoterix definitely sound their best given a bit of space and ‘unplugged’.

Tightly bolted to an expressive, never excessive midrange, vocals are easily plucked from within the Esoterix’s mix. It’s all here, great stereo separation, broad, expansive soundstaging, pinpoint stereo imagery. Without a doubt, there’s no musical stone the Esoterix 1 Mk2’s leave unturned.

Such is the nature of these revealing loudspeakers, their endearing warmth and expressive nature lend themselves to all types of music. The sonic mastery with which these speakers handle music extends to delicate classical, involving rock, solo voice, moody jazz, you name it. The Esoterix are great conveyors of the music’s power and emotion, never failing to get the message across to the listener, regardless of the material.

Another of the sonic features that help produce such an honest performance is undoubtedly the speaker’s natural and unforced treble response. The Esoterix 1 Mk2’s make for extremely easy listening, the crystal clear and brisk character of the Esoterix blends into sumptuous melodious detail. The upper reaches sound as unforced as they do convincing. Even some of my brighter sounding recordings, especially Eighties synthesiser pop, took on a more relaxed stance replayed courtesy of these Australian masterpieces.

Nicely priced at just below $3,000, Krix sure hasn’t skimped when it comes to craftsmanship either. The lacquered real wood veneer finish sets these speakers off beautifully, this is one pair of speakers that haven’t simply been manufactured, but meticulously hand-crafted.

The grilles are removable, and I’d suggest to the prospective owner to keep them that way, not only does it aid sound quality, but all that natural wood of the front baffle adds to the overall aesthetical beauty.

Another nice touch is the provision of tri-wireable speaker terminals. Rows of sparkling gold-plated heavy-duty 4mm terminals greet you, again enhancing sound quality by providing each of the three drivers with a cleaner, more direct signal from the amplifier. It’s a good idea to invest in a decent speaker cable, that’ll allow you to take full advantage of this worthwhile feature.

Well, there’s going to be an extremely happy and incredibly lucky AVL magazine reader out there. After all, it’s not everyday a top quality pair of home-grown speakers are up for grabs. I only wish, having had the pleasure of a relatively brief, yet thoroughly enjoyable encounter with the Esoterix 1 Mk2’s, that maybe the Editor wouldn’t notice if somehow my name slipped into the draw.

- Audio & Video Lifestyle - Australia , Nic Tatham

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