ON TEST LAB REPORT
56 Australian Hi-Fi http://www.avhub.com.au
20 Hz 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10KdBSPL50556065707580859095100105Graph 1. Room^110 Newport Test Labs
response using pink
noise test stimulus
with capture
unsmoothed.
Trace shown is the
averaged result
of nine individual
frequency sweeps
measured at three
metres, with the
central grid point
on-axis with the
tweeter. [Krix
Epicentrix Mk2
Loudspeaker]the response centred at 4.6kHz, a smaller one
centred at 14kHz and another up around
28kHz. All are so narrow in bandwidth and so
small in level (as well as so high in frequen-
cy) that they would not be audible, so if you
prefer the look of the speakers with the grille
in place, this is how I would recommend
using them.
Graph 3 shows the near-field low-fre-
quency response of the Epicentrix Mk2.
The output of the port (red trace) is fairly
narrowband, peaking at 52Hz and 6dB down
at 40Hz and 80Hz. The bass drivers (black
trace) roll off below 100Hz and above it are
flat out to 200Hz where they are rolled-off to
300Hz so the midrange driver (green trace)
can take over.
The impedance of the Epicentrix Mk2
shows that Krix is using the crossover
network to do so some serious frequency
compensation in order to get the flattest
frequency response possible. Although the
speaker will mostly present an 8Ω load to
your AV receiver, the fact that it drops close
to 4Ω from around 3kHz to 40kHz puts the
nominal impedance at 6Ω, according to IEC
268-5.
Newport Test Labsevaluated the frequency
response at 55Hz to 40kHz ±4dB, which is
an excellent result. Sensitivity was measured
at 87.5dBSPL at one metre for an input of
2.83Veq. Steve HoldingReaders should note that the results mentioned in
the report, tabulated in performance charts and/or
displayed using graphs and/or photographs should
ŽƬƋɁȭʊǜʁˁƬƞŘʊŘɡɡǚ˿ǔȭǷɁȭǚ˿ǜɁǜǒƬʊɡƬƋǔǞƋʊŘȧɡǚƬ
tested.LABORATORY
TEST
RESULTS
The room response of the Epicentrix Mk2
is very fl at, extending from 70Hz to 10kHz
(this last the upper graphing limit for this
test—measured performance at higher
frequencies is shown in Graph 2) within
±3dB. As you can see from the response
measured by Newport Test Labs (shown
in Graph 1) the speaker’s response is very
linear, rising to the 90dBSPL point at
around 170Hz after which there’s a very
small (–3dB) suck-out centred at 500Hz,
which rises to the 90dBSPL line at around
1.5kHz, after which it tracks out to nearly
6kHz before rolling off slightly.
The high-frequency response of the
Epicentrix Mk2 is shown in Graph 2, the
traces for which were obtained via an
extremely accurate, high-resolution gating
technique that shows the response that
would be obtained if the speaker had been
measured in an anechoic chamber. You
can see the response without the speaker
grille fi tted (black trace) is very smooth
and exceptionally extended, with output
maintained at almost reference level right
out to 40kHz (in this case the upper graph-
ing limit). The trace with the grille fi tted
(red trace) shows the grille is remarkably
acoustically transparent for the most part,
but it does introduce a small suck-out inPRODUCT & CONTACT DETAILS
Brand: Krix
Model: Epicentrix Mk2
RRP: $2,495
Warranty: Five Years
Distributor: Krix Loudspeakers Pty Ltd
Address: 14 Chapman Road
Hackham SA 5163
T: 1300 005 749
T: (08) 8384 3433
E: [email protected]
W: http://www.krix.com.auƊ SizeƊ Smooth midrange
Ɗ Neutral sound
Ɗ Bass/treble extensionI also appreciated that the quality and
depth of the bass that issued from the
Epicentrix Mk2s meant that I could re-tune
my subwoofer to roll off somewhat earlier,
so that it delivered only the very lowest
frequencies, which not only improved its
performance, but also gave a greater sense
of their being a real surround fi eld in the TV
room.CONCLUSION
As I said in the introduction, the Epicentrix
Mk2 is designed to be used when you’re
using Neuphonix Mk2 loudspeakers as the
front-left and front-right speakers in your
home theatre system. However, it’s also an
‘almost’ perfect match for many other mod-
els in Krix’s line-up, so it will also perform
brilliantly-well with other Krix loudspeakers.
However, the sound of the Epicentrix Mk2
is so neutral in character that sonically it
will also be a great acoustic match with most
well-designed high-quality large multi-driver
fl oor-standing speakers.
So if you have a pair of fl oor-standing
loudspeakers that are around the same
physical size as the Krix Epicentrix Mk2 and
you want better centre-channel sound than
you’re currently achieving, swapping out
your current centre for an Epicentrix Mk2
could be the answer to your prayers.Readers interested in a full technical appraisal of the
performance of the Epicentrix Mk2 Loudspeakers
should read the following LABORATORY REPORT.