Review

Acoustix Complete Review - Australian Hi-Fi Magazine - Australia

30 Dec 2009

You could probably count on one hand the loudspeaker companies throughout the world that can make claim to offering a comprehensive range across the consumer, professional and commercial markets.

However, in our neck of the woods, we have a multitasking speaker manufacturer that can confidently lay claim to just such a rare achievement. That would be Krix of South Australia, of course. The company makes speakers that grace scores of cinema multiplexes throughout the world, are utilitarian tools for engineers in many recording studios, and of course, are the pride of a myriad of homes in music and home theatre systems.

The Equipment

The Acoustix speakers are a rather nicely proportioned two-way speaker with twin 130mm paper coned mid/woofers with high power handling 25mm voice coils wound around aluminium formers. The 28mm diameter ferro-fluid cooled neodymium magnet cloth tweeter sits between the two 130mm drivers in a D’Appolito/MTM configuration. The MTM drivers are very closely spaced so as to mimic a point-source and are crossed over at 2.1kHz. The speakers are rated as having a nominal impedance of 4 ohms and a sensitivity of 89dB SPL/w/m. Krix quotes the frequency response as being 50Hz to 20kHz ‘in-room’ but doesn’t reference any ±dB points, so it’s actually a frequency range ‘range’ rather than a ‘response’.

The Acoustix’s enclosures measure 450mm high by 180mm wide by 300mm deep, weigh 10kg and are vented via twin Krix-designed elliptical ports on the cabinets’ front baffle. The ports are positioned above and below the main drivers and have been designed to avoid chuffing and air flow noise. The rear of the cabinet houses a single set of binding posts.

The Acoustix speakers are available in vinyl veneer (which many will be hard pressed to pick as a vinyl veneer, rather than the real thing) at just $1,095. For only an extra hundred bucks you can upgrade the finish to one of a choice of several true timber veneers. Spend a bit more again (you’d have to contact Krix for exact pricing) and you can order your speakers in a specific custom exotic timber veneer to match other furniture in your room, or in a high gloss paint finish in any colour at all. My review samples came in a sumptuous red-tinged Jarrah wood veneer with a smooth and lovingly-oiled surface. Overall, these are extraordinarily assembled speakers with immaculate construction and finish. First rate, Krix.

Performance

The Acoustix’s tonal balance is dead neutral and this combination of drivers presents a very detailed sonic picture with delicate low level information and clear and natural sounding instruments.

The sister duo that is the vocal team for most of The Waif’s musical treats illustrated the resolute sound the Acoustix are capable of. Their voices – when singing in unison – were well separated and tonally distinct; there’s no mistaking Donna for Vikki Simpson on any of their tracks on their album SunDirtWater. Sure, compared to much more expensive systems there’s a tad of midrange nasality to the vocals (both male and female) and some dynamic restriction, but as I said, this only applies in comparison with much more expensive speaker systems using far more complex enclosures and far higher-tech drivers.

Krix’s tweeter is a bit of a beauty. In this implementation, the tweeter was all about absolute clarity and accurate timbral quality; elements that resulted in an experience that connected me, as the listener, directly to the music. This usually occurs when a speaker system treads that fine line between accuracy and musicality. Having said that, the Acoustix are revealing enough to tell you when you’re playing a badly produced recording…but never in a way that makes them sound harsh or unpalatable – they just sound, well…as you’d expect…brighter and more compressed.

Given the size of the drivers used and the relatively modest size of the enclosure, bass will never be overwhelming (damn those pesky laws of physics!). However, when placed close to the boundaries of the room – which is acceptable with this front-ported design – the little Acoustix can surprise; certainly in terms of punch…if not depth. Doug McLeod’s track Black Pony from his ‘Whose Truth’, ‘Whose Lies’ CD illustrates this succinctly. The kick drum and electric bass power along quite nicely at a fast and tight pace, giving a satisfying impression at the low-end frequencies. What’s more, there’s plenty of detail offered here – and frequency-wide as I made clear earlier – with superb tonality.

True to its design topology, the soundfield is seamless and the speakers are difficult to identify as the source of the sound being reproduced. This in no doubt is due to the proximity and spatial relationships of the drivers.

Conclusion

Krix has managed to produce a small speaker that can provide a seamless sonic picture and that excels at reproducing detail and resolution of complex and dense music mixes. Also noteworthy is the Acoustix’s ability to punch out bass. As stated above, it’s not the deepest bass (enclosure size is the limitation) but above the two lowest octaves, boy does it kick! Hey Mr Krix, I think your Acoustix are truly terrifix.

- Australian HiFi - Australia , Edgar Kramer

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