Review
Lyrix Complete Review - The Sensible Sound - USA
01 Feb 1998
Krix is Australia’s oldest and largest loudspeaker manufacturer. Scott Krix started the Krix Loudspeaker Company as a garage industry in the 1970s, and built the first manufacturing facility in 1979. A series of movie theater sound system installation contracts during the first few years of existence allowed the company to grow. Simultaneously, a program of home sound product and studio monitor development expanded the line. Design awards have followed, establishing the company in the international loudspeaker market. Krix has an R&D team and in-house sound lab that works to develop new models and upgrade existing ones, as well as investigate new technologies.
The 37.5” tall, bass-reflex, Lyrix model has a small 8.125” wide x 11.5” deep footprint. One and one-half inches of the overall height are contributed by a permanently attached black base on which the enclosure rests. Rated usable frequency response is 35Hz to 20kHz (no tolerance stated). Sensitivity is 92dB @ 2.8v, measured at 1 meter, ensuring that massive amplifier power is not a necessity. Speaker impedance is listed as nominal 4 ohms. Standard cabinet finish is wood veneer. The review models were finished in lacquered jarrah, a wood resembling dark cherry in color, with a more open grain and short, dark streaks in the grain direction. Enclosure material is 0.7” thick fiberboard. Tapping the enclosure with my knuckles yielded a somewhat hollow sound as opposed to the dull thud of the 1” thick, smaller panels of the reference Mach 1 speakers. When the speakers were playing at moderate loudness, I could feel some panel vibration by placing my hand at various places on the enclosure.
Two nominal 6.7” doped polypropylene cone midrange-bass drivers are mounted on the upper half of the cabinet. They vertically flank a 1” soft dome tweeter (one above and one below the tweeter). All three drivers are horizontally centered on the front baffle, so either speaker could be used on the left or right. The tweeter is the only driver that is recessed flush with the baffle.
On the back side of the enclosure, a 3.25” diameter x 6” long rear vent mounted low on the rear baffle can be stuffed with a supplied 2.25” long foam plug that alters the frequency response a bit (see the “Listening” section later in this review). Foam is used in places as internal damping. A pair of gold-plated binding posts is set in a plastic cup high on the rear baffle, approximately behind the tweeter. They are spaced 0.75” apart to accept standard dual banana plugs, and are angled upward at 45 degrees. The posts have metal cylindrical nuts with serrations on the outside diameter for a good finger grip. A large diameter hole through each post permits the use of large gauge wire.
Placement:
A four-page “information leaflet” provides some elementary guidance for avoiding some placements, such as in corners. It recommends placement so that the speakers and the listening position form an equilateral triangle. The separate specification sheet in the information packet with the speakers recommends placing the speakers at least 100mm (about 4”) from the wall behind them. Each speaker was 40” from the wall behind it and 107” from the listening chair, with 95” between the inside-facing cabinet sides. The closest sidewall was 65” away. I pointed the speakers at the listening position. The tweeters are 27.5” above the floor, well below ear level of a seated listener.
Associated Equipment:
I drove the speakers with a Carver TFM-55x and, alternately, a Parasound HCA-1000A power amplifier controlled by a Carver CT-17 tuner/pre-amplifier. Other speakers auditioned included my reference pair of Mach 1 M-Twos. Subwoofers (used occasionally – see later) were two NHT model SW3s run in dual mono, and driven by a dedicated NHT SA-3 amplifier with internal electronic crossover. Interconnect cables were by Gotham and Monster Cable, and speaker cables were Kimber 4PR, with Monster Cable to the subwoofers. A Sony CDP-C315 CD player, Dual CS5000 turntable with a Grado Prestige Red cartridge, and a Denon TU-767 tuner were used as signal sources.
Listening:
I first tried Chesky Records’ Jazz Sampler and Audiophile Test Compact Disc, Volume 1 (JD37) left-right imaging test. Each of the announcer’s positions, including offstage right and left were located with reasonable precision. The “up” test, in which the sound is intended to move vertically upward, curved inward toward the other speaker, starting about half way up, and ending at a position that was almost centered between the speakers. “Over” seemed to rise about 2’ above the top of the speakers at the center location. “Lateral” panned smoothly from side to side, remaining at a level that was approximately at the top of the cabinets. The depth test, in which the announcer and a tambourine move successively back from the microphone in three feet increments, was credible.
None of the preceding tests were noticeably different with or without the port plugs installed. There was, however, a definite difference in the apparent frequency response and the presentation of the sound. Deep bass was a bit louder with the plugs out, but the frequency response below about 100Hz seemed to be flatter or smoother with the plugs in. Overall ambiance was a little better with the plugs out.
I later performed some frequency response measurements to better evaluate my perceptions. I used pink noise and the analyzer section of an ADC Model SS-525X equalizer/analyzer with calibrated microphone. I first located the microphone 18” directly in front of the left speaker tweeter, and set the balance control to the left side. I then moved the microphone to a seated person’s ear height at the listening position, and set the balance control to center. The results were comparable with near field and distant setups with the plugs out, a slightly stronger output at 25Hz and at 40Hz. The 40Hz peak was 2dB close-miked and 6dB from a listener’s position. Repositioning the speakers had little effect on the response, but I made progress by inserting the foam plugs half way into the ports. This action tamed the response at the listening chair to 4dB down at 25Hz, gradually increasing to 72Hz and then flat from that point through 160Hz, except for a 2dB boost at 100Hz. Listening results were with the plugs installed halfway unless otherwise noted.
Pink noise can be useful in many ways for evaluating a loudspeaker’s performance. Using it, I found that there was a loss of highs when a listener was standing. Also, the closer speaker was more dominant than average when a listener was slightly off the midway point between the speakers. The Krix seem to have a more narrow horizontal sound pattern than many speakers I have auditioned.
The Krixes combine detail with mellowness. Evgeny Kissin’s piano on the Chopin Grande Valse Brilliante, Op. 34, No.1 (RCA Victor Red Seal 09026-60445-2) was full and rich, with defined percussive strikes of the hammers. These strikes were, however, a bit softer than on the reference Mach One speakers. The Krixes were smooth and enjoyable, with extended highs. The effect was as if I was about 40 feet from the piano with the plugs in, and about 25 feet with them removed. By comparison, the Mach Ones placed the piano even closer, but had less bass.
The Krixes could project a wide sound stage as demonstrated with “A Time For Love” by Milt Jackson from Ain’t But a Few of Us Left (MHS 419514A). Ambience and spaciousness were better with the plugs out, and tonality was good in either case. There was articulate detail and noticeable differences in the distances of the performer locations from the listening positions. By comparison, the reference speakers had these features and also lent a three-dimensional quality with more image height. Male voice sounded natural, but a bit warmer with the Krixes than with the reference. Nat King Cole’s “Ramblin’ Rose” from his Capitol CD of the same name (CDP 7 46651 2) had good ambience and depth, with a wide stage. The music was smooth and mellow. His voice was more immediate and close-up with the reference.
Female voice, depending on the spectrum covered, could sound natural or too warm. Julie London’s “Cry Me A River” from The Best of Julie London (Rhino R270737) sounded warmer and fuller than I am used to when she hit the low notes with the foam plugs in the ports. Her voice did not have the slight edge to it I expected, and the backup music was very warm, perhaps even a bit on the boomy side at times. With the plugs removed, however, her voice sounded much more natural, as the 100Hz boost was shifted to 40Hz. Female voices in the chorale music I played were of a higher register and sounded fine with plugs in, as did Ms. Slick’s on “Somebody To Love” from Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow (RCA PCD13766).
On T-Bone Walker’s “Stormy Monday” from Stormy Monday Blues (LaserLight 17103), the singer and his guitar were very 3-D and just to the stage right of center. Other performers were also precisely located. The sax was stage far right, the drums deep and just to stage left of center, and bass guitar was farther forward and to stage left. There was good layering and depth of the positions with an eye-level stage. Clarity was excellent. Applause extended from speaker to speaker.
However, I discovered a lot of precedence effect from the Krixes. When a performer was located near enter stage, moving my head a slight amount laterally shifted the performer’s position toward the nearest speaker. The performer location was stable with the Mach One speakers.
Massed singing voices were portrayed very well. It was easily possible to discern individual voices on “The Little Drummer Boy” by the Harry Simeone Chorale from the CD of the same name (Special Music SCD-4601). The sound stage was wide with good depth, and there was a three-dimensional quality to the music. The snare drum strikes were very precise and clean. The reference speakers were not as warm sounding as the Krix, but had a little more ambiance. The chorale group sounded natural on both sets of speakers.
Ben Webster’s “Nancy With The Laughing Face” from Atmosphere for Lovers and Thieves (JHS 512783F) was more mellow with the Krix. On this cut I compared the Mach Ones and the NHTs against the Krixes. The reference combination’s bass was deeper and stronger, but the Krixes were warmer. The ‘reedy’ quality of the sax was more present and real with the Mach Ones, but you could still hear the horn players’ breaths on the Krixes. Even though they are less analytical than the reference, they don’t bury the details.
The reference gave a sharper edge to the percussion, and the brass tone had more of a “you are there” quality on the Thelonious Monk Quintet’s “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” from the CBS/Smithsonian boxed LP set Jazz Piano (R039 P6 21010). On the next cut by Thelonious, “Honeysuckle Rose”, the piano was centered with good percussive attacks. The other instruments were credibly spread out behind the piano. The tone of the brass was clear with good tonality on the Krixes. The double bass was solid, and ambiance gave a sense of spaciousness. I was looking slightly down at the stage, and there was good front-to-back layering of the instruments. The same cut on the Mach One/NHT combination brought you closer to an eye-level stage, and had deeper, tighter bass.
The Krixes handled dynamic transients well, such as the orchestral crescendos on Tchaikovsky’s Ouverture solemnelle “1812” with Leonard Bernstein conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (Time-Life CMD-01A). They didn’t stumble at all on the cannon shots either, but I could see the woofer cones moving a lot. This was an instance where the Mack One/NHT combination showed the value of large speaker cones to handle the low frequencies. The ease, depth, openness, and sound pressure level with these same passages played through the reference speakers put them ahead of the Krixes in undistorted realism. The sound from the Krixes didn’t sound particularly distorted, but was congested by comparison.
Conclusion:
The Krixes are fine speakers, both in appearance and sound. The bass emphasis noted above, which may be as much room artifact as speaker, added warmth to some music. It was not always unwelcome, and in fact, could be quite pleasing. I don’t believe it was very accurate, though, particularly when the recording happened to have a peak in the same place. Wall treatment, floor treatments, speaker positioning, and experimenting with the ports and plugs can all alter the sound. The plugs add a versatility to these speakers that enables the listener to experiment even more than with many other speakers. The effects aren’t so pronounced that plugs in or out are likely to make the Krixes sound terrible. They have detail and extended bass and highs, with a smooth and pleasant midrange. They were enjoyable to have in my system, and it was only on some recordings that the bass sounded too warm. They sell at a price, though, where there is a lot of competition.
Speakers, more than most parts of a hi-fi system, can have widely varying appeal. The Krix Lyrix loudspeakers are worth a look at the fine cabinetry and a listen to the fine sound. Also, their relatively high sensitivity means they can fill a moderate-size room with sound without using a high powered amplifier. They could be a $ensible choice for you.
- The Sensible Sound , James T Frane
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