Product Review - Krix Lyrix Floorstanding Speakers - August, 1997

Jeanne Fairbrook

Click here to see larger photo

Krix Lyrix Speakers; Floorstanding; Two-way design; Two 6" polypropylene woofers; One 1" cloth dome tweeter; Vented box design; One 3 1/4" flared port on rear; One pair of five-way speaker binding posts; Cloth grille; Frequency response 35 Hz - 20 kHz; Crossover frequency 2 kHz; Sensitivity 92 dB/2.83V/m; Nominal impedance 4 Ohms; Size 36"H x 8 1/4"W x 12"D; Weight 34 pounds each; Jarrah veneer: $1,429/pair; Krix Loudspeakers Pty. Ltd., P.O. Box 37, Hackham 5163, South Australia, AUSTRALIA; Phone 61-8-8384-3433; Fax 61-8-8384-3419; E-Mail [email protected]; USA Distributor: Moondance Audio, 1881 South Broadway, Denver, Colorado 80210; Phone 303-777-4449; Fax 303-871-0376.

After having the pleasure of listening to the Krix Esoterix 1 Mk2 reference speakers in the Secrets laboratory, I really looked forward to the opportunity of reviewing the new Krix Lyrix, in my home, for a long time. They are about the same size as the Esoterix, although not quite as deep. The drivers are arranged in what's known as the D'Appolito array, meaning that the tweeter is in the middle, with the two mid/bass units sitting one above and one below. This produces a sound that results in the high frequencies not being audibly separated from the mid-range. In other words, the sound all comes from the same place, even if you sit close to the speakers, rather than being able to hear the highs coming from one spot and the rest of the music from another spot.

I listened to the Lyrix using a wide variety of CDs, but I especially like vocals. One of my favorite CDs is Tony Bennett's "Perfectly Frank". He has a very sexy voice, and I have listened to this CD so many times, I can tell immediately if something is not right, when I hear it on different systems. I also like Maria Callas. I found the Lyrix to be quite nice with Tony's singing, very relaxing, but invigorating too. My husband isn't a Bennett fan, but one afternoon, during a San Francisco 49ers game, he came out of the den during halftime, and listened to the CD with me. "Hmmm", he said, "those speakers sound great. Can I put them in the home theater when you are done?" "Sure," I said, and by the time I had just about finished preparing dinner, he had already put them in the den. I could hear "Independence Day" blasting away, and then suddenly, the amount of bass decreased. I asked him what happened, and he said that the Lyrix put out so much bass, that he could turn the subwoofer down. That was pretty much my appraisal too. They don't sound chesty or boomy, but the bass is very prominent. The mid-range is laid back, and the highs are forward, but not too much. Just very "there". My general preferences are to listen without a lot of volume, but my husband likes it loud. These speakers are pretty sensitive, so it does not take much power to drive them. Because of their low-high forwardness, laid back mids, and excellent sensitivity, these speakers might be good candidates for a tube amplifier, although 4 Ohm loads are not "preferred" by tube amps with high output impedances. When I called him in for dinner, he had switched the system back to the TV, and the sounds of tackles crunching against running backs were now testing the Lyrix. I couldn't tell who was grunting and groaning the most: my husband or the football players.

The Lyrix have stayed in our home theater for about a month now, and we both like them every bit as much as we did when they first came into our house. The Jarrah veneer (on all sides except the rear) compliments his walnut paneling and big oak desk. More importantly, they sound as good as they look, and I am afraid of telling him they have to go back now.

Frequency Response (Room Response), left channel only, 1 meter, on-axis, grille cloth on, volume set to 80 dB at 1 kHz :

20 Hz - 58.5 dB
25 Hz - 65.9 dB
31.5 Hz - 73.7 dB
40 Hz - 74.4 dB
50 Hz - 66.8 dB
63 Hz - 78.6 dB
80 Hz - 79.0 dB
100 Hz - 87.7 dB
125 Hz - 78.0 dB
160 Hz - 76.7 dB
200 Hz - 76.3 dB
500 Hz - 81.6 dB
800 Hz - 79.4 dB
1 kHz - 80.9 dB
2.5 kHz - 68.5 dB
5 kHz - 76.7 dB
8 kHz - 78.9 dB
10 kHz - 81.8 dB
12.5 kHz - 83.3 dB
15 kHz - 79.2 dB
18 kHz - 77.6 dB

Frequency Response (Room Response), left channel only, 13 feet, on-axis, grille on, volume set to 80 dB at 1 kHz :

20 Hz - 69.1 dB
25 Hz - 77.6 dB
31.5 Hz - 84.7 dB
40 Hz - 75.0 dB
50 Hz - 64.0 dB
63 Hz - 76.6 dB
80 Hz - 87.5 dB
100 Hz - 85.6 dB
125 Hz - 85.9 dB
160 Hz - 70.3 dB
200 Hz - 84.5 dB
500 Hz - 77.4 dB
800 Hz - 80.4 dB
1 kHz - 79.7 dB
2.5 kHz - 72.3 dB
5 kHz - 68.7 dB
8 kHz - 79.2 dB
10 kHz - 82.4 dB
12.5 kHz - 80.0 dB
15 kHz - 76.0 dB
18 kHz - 74.3 dB

The room response shows no major dips or peaks, other than room effects. The usable response goes all the way down to about 30 Hz, which is why my husband turned the subwoofer down when he was using them for movie soundtracks. These speakers are very spouse acceptable, although in this case, my spouse accepted them for their ability to rock his den with powerful, clean sound. We both recommend that you audition this new model of Krix speakers.

Jeanne Fairbrook

� Copyright 1997 Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity
Return to Table of Contents for this Issue.