Review

Equinox Complete Review - Audio & Video Lifestyle - Australia

01 Mar 1995

Scott Krix continues to set a frenetic pace in the design of locally-made speaker systems for the domestic hi-fi market. Not content with earning accolades and sales for straight audio speaker systems, a few years ago he and his South Australian team ventured into the domestic home theatre entertainment arena with speakers dedicated to getting the best performance possible from video technology (tapes and video laser discs alike).

As Australia’s longest established loudspeaker designer and manufacturer (the first Krix model was released in 1974), Krix is one of Australia’s most awarded loudspeaker companies with CESA and AVL Best Buy Awards adorning the company’s boardroom. Culminating this year when Krix was named Australian Manufacturer of the Year.

The progression into home theatre was a natural one since Krix had been involved heavily and successfully in the professional cinema market for some time, so applying technology and engineering was not only more expedient for the company, it was also rapid and cost effective. Rapid because much of the technical groundwork had already been done and cost effective for the same reason.

The evidence of Krix’s involvement in home theatre, for example, is highlighted in the company’s new mini speaker system, the Equinox, whose qualities are not only eminently suitable for hi-fi applications, bit also instantly transferable to surround sound applications, thanks to magnetic shielding of the drivers.

But there are other applications for this speaker, whose performance levels continue the fine trend established by the (smaller) Krix Brix, and that is in multi-media computer systems where the high quality audio demands of such set-ups almost demand that a high quality speaker system be used to enjoy the full impact of everything the world of bytes has to offer.

All conventional drivers use magnets (some models featuring very powerful high flux designs) as a part of their motor or driving system. In normal drivers these magnet assemblies are open to the environment and by their nature leak a certain amount (sometimes a great deal) of magnetism into the surrounding environment.

While ambient air mass reduces magnetic radiation from the driver on a wide radial basis, close to the speaker it is strong enough to interfere with sensitive components, such as compact disc players, and in particular with screens of televisions and computer monitors. In the latter situation, the effect of magnetic interference can be so bad it makes the on-screen image unwatchable and can cause permanent damage.

But speakers which are protected from producing stray magnetic fields (either through the use of a metal shield or, more preferably, via a magnetic cancellation system) present no such problems and can be positioned close to televisions with little deleterious effect.

This explains some of the versatility of the Equinox, which can be used safely in a variety of situations where unshielded speakers dare not go, particularly since both woofer/midrange and tweeter in the system are shielded for absolute safety.

But versatility in this regard isn’t worth a proverbial pinch if other elements of speaker design are not fully met (relative of course to, among other things, speaker type, price point and enclosure size). We’re talking of overall sonic performance here; a speaker’s ability to relay sounds in an articulate, believable and pleasing manner. Here the Equinox passes the test with an A-rating and, what’s more, manages to retain the sound character which has become synonymous over the past four or so years across the rather expansive range of domestic Krix speakers.

Krix is one of those manufacturers who, when designing speakers, does it the hard way and gets every element associated with the project as right as possible at the start.

For example, the drivers are chosen for their mutual compatibility with each other and the enclosure, so that crossover network design can be engineered to be as simple as possible (complex crossovers often introduce problems which degrade sound quality sometimes to a very large degree), and higher levels of sound obtained as a result. A case of prior planning producing pretty potent performance.

Krix uses a two driver system in the Equinox (it’s wonderful the way the company has also managed to maintain integrity in its model nomenclature) linked to a bass to a bass reflex enclosure design, the outlet for which fires out the rear panel. This reflex system is engineered to use the acoustical rebounding effects of the rear wall to bolster bass performance from the system. It works well though the speakers’ positioning relative to the rear wall needs to be adjusted with a little care to achieve bass enhancement without making the effect false.

Handling the bottom end and midrange to just under 2kHz is a 130mm diameter driver which uses a doped paper cone and a reasonably heavy duty movement system. Krix treats the base cone material carefully to achieve optimum damping and, thereby sonic results. From the crossover point a 25mm diameter dome tweeter handles treble sounds. It uses a soft, fabric dome material which has also been treated to achieve the right balance between mechanical efficiency and customized sonic tailoring.

The crossover from low to high range driver is in the critical part of the audio spectrum where anomalies are glaringly apparent, but Krix has managed to blend the interaction of the two drivers quite seamlessly with no untoward pahse anomalies and very low distortion effects (3rd order slopes on the crossover let the drivers operate safely within their sweet area, yet filter out the garbage that occurs when they become ragged as they reach the limits of their potential.

Electrically, the Equinox produces a nominal impedance of 6 ohms. This means that a little care will need to be exercised when running two pairs of speakers simultaneously on selected amplifiers (there’s absolutely no problem using the Equinox system as solo speakers in a hi-fi system or in surround sound situations where the processing component has independent amplification for all channels). It’s advisable in a hi-fi scenario to select secondary speakers (or primary where the Equinox is subordinate) to make sure the system is rated well into the 8 ohms region.

The Equinox’s cabinet is made from wood veneer finished custom board, 17mm in thickness. Internal volume is seven litres and the cabinet is lined at critical points to damp vibrations and repetitive resonance effects caused by sound waves. Internal bracing would be a costly exercise for a speaker in this class, but the dimensions of the cabinet are such that the panels are small enough to maintain enough innate rigidity to ensure appropriate performance.

The whole assembly is fronted by a removable grille and the Equinox presents a neat, compact and relatively unobtrusive package. In terms of performance the Equinox can eclipse some of its competition in the sub-$600 price range. It is a competent speaker within its class. In terms of value for money however, it bests many by a country mile due to its custom wood veneer cabinet, high quality drivers and, or course, driver shielding (all of which cost Krix money, and appear to be expenses which have not been overtly passed on to customers). The Krix reputation for accuracy in sound character is well maintained. Given that the small cabinet dimensions preclude the possibility of deep bass, the sound is nicely balanced and very detailed.

The austere tonal quality produced by this speaker is by far more preferable to designs which try unsuccessfully to fool the laws of physics as they apply to enclosure size and bass performance and end up sounding chesty and false as a result.

Midrange is smooth and quite believable even when reproducing quite complex music and both make and female vocals (the latter are particularly well articulated when recordings are up to scratch).

Treble sounds are true form and function with a good range of extension. Fabric dome diaphragms such as the one used in the Equinox also lend a friendly air to high range sounds devoid of steeliness and aggression.

The ability to present a good, solid stereo stage effect is also up-to-scratch, with solid instrument placement and pleasing sense of depth. In a surround system the Equinox can be used as front, rear or twin centre speakers. A system using them predominantly as the main sound source would need the addition of a subwoofer (or two) to realise the full bass output of the medium.

Power handling capability is also no problem at all, provided your not silly about sound levels (low efficiency means you should look at 35 watts RMS per channel as a starting place). Also, try to use stands with the speakers where they perform at their best (bookshelf placement restricts sound, sometimes dramatically).

It’s obvious Krix has engineered the Equinox to provide a cost effective surround sound speaker system. The company has truly succeeded and made a damn good low priced hi-fi speaker system in the process.

- Audio & Video Lifestyle - Australia , Richard Morgan

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