It could be essentially the most daring design but from this Australian speaker specialist, however does this soundbar-style product ship large thrills from a compact field?
Crix
LX-7 Linear LCR Speaker
AUD $4,995 per unit (75/85/100inch)
South Australian cinema powerhouse Krix has launched its latest loudspeaker, undoubtedly the corporate’s most surprising design but. The LX-7 hit the market on the current StereoNET Hello-Fi & AV Present in Melbourne and stems from Krix figuring out a spot available in the market for these operating both a strong display or a TV, who could need a compact soundbar-like design however with out the compromise in efficiency.
Protecting throughout the Collection SX, MX and X vary, the ‘L’ in LX-7 refers to Krix’s personal description for this design, ‘Linear X’, which is certainly precisely what it delivers. Provided in three commonplace lengths – 75”, 85” or 100” – it would not be honest to name this a soundbar. It is extra a structural sound-beam, as every unit shares a constant 220mm peak and 142mm depth, however size and weight begin at 1,670mm and 25kg for the 75”, 1,892mm and 27kg for the 85” or a whopping 2,180mm and 30kg for the 100” mannequin. The LX-7 can be out there in customized lengths between the 75 and 100” sizing the place crucial, for a further 10% surcharge.
UP CLOSE
Every of the three channels is given a 165mm paper cone low-frequency driver, with a 50mm voice coil, paired with a 26mm material dome tweeter, housed throughout the proprietary Krix 90×90 short-throw waveguide. This two-way design has an in-room response of 60Hz-20kHz, and beneficial enter energy is between 50 and 250 watts RMS. The claimed sensitivity of 92dB means you could function these confidently via a receiver or a devoted energy amp. Observant readers could recognise these specs as being much like the just lately reviewed Krix Hyperphonix45 audio system – and with good purpose. The LX-7 is basically three Hyperphonix housed inside one structural package deal. Occam’s razor precept favours the only final result as the very best, and it would not get any less complicated than this.
The passive strategy implies that Krix will get to give attention to what the corporate does finest, which is, after all, loudspeaker design, whereas the tip person or installer will get to mix this with their chosen processor and amplifier. Versatility is the secret, and you can run the LX-7 with as little as a slim 5.1 channel receiver, or package deal it with a Trinnov Altitude/Amplitude combo, because the end-user specification dictates.
Whereas your alternative of encompass audio system could also be elective, with a 60Hz flooring on the low-frequency drivers, you will want to pair this with a subwoofer to maximise the 20Hz to 100Hz zone. The great thing about a passive setup is that, identical to any house theatre system, you may have your choose of sub alternative. Must you be in an house or small room, contemplate one thing compact just like the Krix Seismix 1 or 3. For those who’re in a bigger area, you may select a Krix Volcanix. To be honest, nothing stops you from pairing the LX-7 with an Ascendo 50” infrasonic subwoofer, though some could name that overkill!
Aesthetically, the unit is a mixture of tried-and-true cinema black, with a detachable material grill in line with the vary of Krix devoted house cinema audio system. It would not reinvent the wheel, nevertheless it’s a sterling effort to take such a calibre of dynamic drivers and package deal them into one thing that might be missed at a fast look.
Whereas the thought could be easy, there are some quality-of-life concerns that Krix has carried out to make sure the LX-7 is user-friendly. Most evident is the bracket design. Forgoing a heavy one-piece metal design like the unique Hyperphonix, the LX-7 makes use of a mixture timber/metal bracket, which facilitates easy levelling and positioning, in addition to possessing a helpful cutout within the place of the enter terminals for operating in-wall cabling to the precise candy spot. The brackets connect to the ends of the principle unit body, and material self-importance caps then cowl the {hardware} for a easy and stealthy set up. There may be the good thing about as much as 15 levels of tilt in each instructions to permit placement flexibility under or above the display.
My favorite mechanical function is the magnetic terminal cowl. Krix has positioned an oblong port via the whole depth of the unit, which lets you pull the cables via and join them to the push-in terminals inside – all whereas the unit is hooked up to the wall. As soon as linked, there’s a small faceplate that then sticks onto the LX-7, masking the port and cabling for a easy look. That is vital in the event you intend to run it with out the material body. The terminals settle for as much as 10AWG wire or banana plugs as much as 5mm, and are additionally certainly one of my solely complaints concerning the LX-7. Labelled as channel 1, 2 and three, I really feel it could have been extra intuitive to label them Left, Centre and Proper, however this can be a small gripe.
Inserting the LX-7 into my devoted room, the size are roughly 6m by 4.35m which is pretty typical, or maybe just a little bigger than lots of the rooms I might anticipate this speaker to seem in, with many media rooms sitting across the 4m by 4m vary. The magic was despatched through a Marantz 8805A encompass preamplifier and powered to 140W via a Marantz MM7055 5-channel energy amp.
THE LISTENING
Watching the UHD Blu-ray presentation of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol3the LX-7 instantly proved its blockbuster credentials and despatched packing any considerations I might need had about this being a critical house cinema product. Watching the Excessive Evolutionary’s ship come beneath assault from the big Knowhere was a very dynamic scene, with a mixture of large-scale explosions, scattered motion items and interspersed vocals. The ample tour of the bass drivers allowed for each explosion to be replicated for every of the three entrance channels with ease. There was no sense of the ‘gap’ that you simply typically get between the bass and LFE when operating smaller satellite tv for pc channels, and none of that small speaker really feel of a soundbar. The Krix tweeter waveguide additionally contributes tremendously to the expertise – one of many advantages of the Hyperphonix45 was a large on-axis response. For the LX-7, which is a one-piece unit with no lateral directional management, this broad response helps to supply a soundstage that is even bigger than the imposing width of the 100” bar.
Regardless of its comparatively small stature, there was not the slightest trace of compression within the Krix’s supply. Opposite to any soundbar I’ve heard, this can be a exceptional and delightfully full-fat house cinema expertise. Even in my largish, deep room, it imparted big-scale film thrills at a quantity nicely past what I might have anticipated primarily based on look alone. That the LX-7 might cross the partner approval take a look at is maybe its largest trick of all!
The current UHD launch of U-571 may nonetheless use the unique 5.1 DTS-HD Grasp Audio soundtrack that many lambasted for dropping the LFE may of the DVD model, however the mixture of tense silence between the splashing of the depth expenses into the waters above, and the hell unleashed as they explode across the doomed U-boat, is one other unbelievable instance of the LX-7 stepping past the confines of its dimensions. The exceptional scale with which this speaker can replicate each the fragile noises of the crew awaiting their destiny and the depth of the large explosions bouncing across the stage, is past what any standard soundbar can ever hope to breed.
These of you who benefit from the house live performance expertise aren’t neglected both. 2013’s reference high quality Blu-ray of The Eagles’ Farewell I – Reside from Melbourne is a particular favorite, and I used to be thrilled by simply how artfully the LX-7 dealt with it. The opening country-style solo into Heartache Tonight was participating and clear, whereas the transition to the refrain had all of the vibrancy and vitality of the stay live performance, even at actually excessive quantity ranges in my room. The vocal stylings of Glen Frey and Don Henley got ample area and depth, and the entire efficiency had a stadium really feel. The signature guitar riff of Life within the Quick Lane had me wriggling in my seat, whereas the solos and brass sections by no means fought one another because the track matured. It was a unbelievable supply of an thrilling stay efficiency – identical to the band itself, the LX-7 saved me listening and having fun with.
Whereas the shape issue screams simplicity, you’ll face lots of the identical concerns confronting house theatre designers all over the place. This consists of embedding your encompass, peak and LFE channels, selecting a processor or receiver to run all of it, and utilizing room correction and EQ to stability the brightness inherent within the tweeter design. It might be a studying curve for somebody pondering of this product in the way in which that one thinks of a soundbar, hoping for plug-and-play performance. This mentioned the payoff for that funding is exceptional.
THE VERDICT
Consider this speaker much less as a beefy soundbar, and extra as a big speaker system that delivers a giant house cinema expertise, albeit scaled down right into a kind issue that meets a distinct segment that is hitherto been poorly catered for. There was by no means a time throughout my weeks with Krix’s LX-7 after I felt disillusioned by not having my full-size audio system on website; such is the flexibility of this mighty unit. It isn’t aimed on the typical soundbar purchaser however on the critical house theatre fanatic who maybe desires of an MX system, however would not have the area.
Though this is not the primary passive soundbar to hit the market, Krix has, in impact, created a brand new weight class and beefed it up for that knockout punch. The LX-7 has all of the substances to turn into the go-to product for small to mid-size media rooms nationwide. If you need critical house cinema sound with out filling your room with cumbersome floorstanding audio system, or reducing massive holes in your partitions solely to search out your cavity is not deep sufficient, then the LX-7 is the apparent alternative. It is traditional Krix cinema high quality in a neo-Krix kind issue. Lastly, soundbars might be thrilling.
