Review

Seismix 5 Complete Review - Audio & Video Lifestyle - Australia

01 Nov 2001

Australian loudspeakers were once at the cheap end of the market, but are now hailed by critics both foreign and domestic as being up there with the best in the world. British, American, German and now Australian loudspeakers set the standards in the ever changing technology driven world of home entertainment. Australian speaker designers have successfully captured the essence of what makes a British loudspeaker so refined and enjoyable to listen to, and incorporated it into a strong identity which, together with build quality that has come to typify the local industry, made a product that is well known for its heritage.

In terms of research and development, Krix is one of the Aussie companies that has contributed to the establishment of such a strong local speaker industry. Krix has always been at the cutting edge of loudspeaker development and technology, and has been one of the pioneers of the industry in the exporting of Australian loudspeakers. Krix has a reputation both here and overseas as a maker of quality loudspeakers for all applications, including hi-fi and home theatre. The Krix name is very well marketed with a ‘stylised’ KRIX trademark, and the company is very heavily into design and marketing of loudspeakers custom made for the commercial cinema industry. As long ago as 1980, Krix finished its first cinema installation and has since installed loudspeaker systems to 700 cinemas both local and overseas. This is an extraordinary achievement.

With such strong roots in cinema installations, it is not surprising that Krix’s consumer range of loudspeakers is dominated by home theatre models. The baby Equinox mini monitors are magnetically shielded so they can be used close to a television without distorting the picture, the Centrix is a high quality centre channel speaker for dialogue which is also magnetically shielded and the KDX (Krix Digital eXperience) system of two ‘M’ (main) speakers and a ‘C’ centre channel speaker is designed for the refined 5 channel Dolby Digital mode.

If music is an emotional experience when well reproduced, then home theatre is an equally involving and – with the appropriate software – emotional experience. Or at least it should be. If the magic of the movies is to be brought into the living room with all the realism and impact of a cinema presentation, then you must have equipment capable of delivering the full extremes in frequencies that lie within a movie soundtrack. An image is only half the picture in a motion picture. To come to life, images need appropriate and well matched sound. When a car door slams shut, the whack should be realistic and reverberate from the correct position in the soundfield. When glass shatters every last portion should be audible as it falls to the ground.
An action movie such as the exciting The Last Boy Scout features lots of car chases and some brilliant helicopter sequences, such as the hectic football field showdown. For a movie such as this to make an impact in the living room, the impact of cars colliding and C4 plastic explosives going off must be maximised by deep, powerful low-end frequencies. This bass sound must make the floorboards tremble and then rattle the rafters; after all, this is what happens in the cinema, which is what we’re trying to copy. Large, gutsy floorstanding speakers as front left and right stereo speakers are a start to building an appropriate surround sound speaker system, but for action blockbusters such as ‘Boy Scout’ you really need a subwoofer for maximum clout.

But it’s not just in the interests of home theatre that subwoofers contribute. Subwoofers are a curious breed. Some audiophiles hate them, after all, you shouldn’t need to add a subwoofer to a well balanced audiophile hi-fi system should you? Some would see the addition of a subbie as a waste of space, money and energy. But with dance music, rap and even large scale orchestral works, the addition of the right subwoofer can enhance the sounds already being heard rather than distract from them.

There can be no denying the appeal of well reproduced low frequency notes, and Krix knows the importance of balancing sound. The Seismix 5 is one of the company’s two subwoofers, the other being the larger and more expensive Seismix 7.

The Seismix 5 is an active subwoofer and features an onboard amplifier. This is one gutsy box of tricks! The power output of the built-in amp is a meaty 200 watts RMS. This is considerable power by any standard and should be more than sufficient for even the most bass-thirsty listener, working its magic in the pursuit of satisfying overall bass reproduction.

I like the convenience and flexibility that active subwoofer models have; the real advantage an active design has over a passive one is that output can be tuned to specific listening conditions and rooms. The volume control on the Seismix 5 runs from 0-10 then is controlled by the settings on the hi-fi amplifier. The frequency response is also manually controlled ranging from 40Hz to 95Hz. All these controls are hidden behind a solidly built speaker grille which also reveals the 300mm cast alloy bass driver.

Aesthetically speaking, the Seismix 5 is a beautiful subwoofer with refined looks and high standard of build. Behind the grille and sophisticated exterior there is a lot of hard-hitting bass-delivering technology here. Every aspect of the Krix subwoofer appears to have been carefully designed and well executed.

Placement of the Seismix 5 is very important, as it is for any subwoofer or loudspeaker. It may take a few experimental positions to find the right one for your room and taste. The Seismix 5 does not like to be shoved too close to a rear wall. Give it room to breathe and the results will be more enjoyable.

The output levels will also need to be adjusted to suit the room and to match the sound of the main stereo loudspeakers. As low frequency bass is non-directional, you will not think the bass is coming from the subwoofer in a well positioned system.

Looks can be deceiving. Whereas the Seismix 5 looks refined and cultured, the performance is something else – loud, powerful, wholesome and deep. Very deep. The sound is even uncouth – and I wouldn’t change any part of it for the world.

For home theatre, this is an exciting addition to the surround sound system and will particularly play a role in a high-end Dolby Digital set-up; as something of a contradiction, the subwoofer offers high-end low frequencies. The subwoofer sounds marvelous in conjunction to the full extremes of the digital format. The aforementioned car door slams have exactly the right impact and car chases comes across suitably electrifying.

The DVD release of Nightmare On Elm Street is doubly frightening with the added sense of menace from the subwoofer. Every important aspect of the movie soundtrack is heightened and given more strength, while remaining totally faithful to the original soundtrack. Spaceships and laserfire are also given more realism and firepower, which is essential for science fiction movies such as Event Horizon.

The Seismix 5 is a subwoofer that adds to what is already there, rather than imposing any unwanted characteristic to the sound quality of its own. It’s an admirable quality.

Audiophile subwoofer? A strange marriage of words, but if that means a high quality sound then I will go along with Krix’s marketing slogan. For music, a subwoofer should be used with caution. It’s not going to suit all genres of music, so accept it and move on. But with the right kind of music, particularly dance, rap and rock music, engaging the Seismix 5 is like turbo charging the system. I cannot fault the performance of this subwoofer when it comes to playing dance music from the likes of Kix FM, DJ Ferris or Danny Tenaglia. Fans will absolutely love the extra sense of punch that the subwoofer brings to bass lines; I don’t just mean depth but also definition and projection too.

The Krix is a party animal. The same performance is on show with heavy guitar based rock and rap music. Puff Daddy will be puffing all night long with this excellent subwoofer.
Overall, it’s hard not to be taken in by the Krix Seismix 5. It offers high quality bass in a high quality design. For movies or music this Australian made subwoofer is another reason to be proud of the local hi-fi industry. Good work, Krix!

- Audio & Video Lifestyle - Australia , Sian O’Neale

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