THE KRIX EXPERIENCE

Invision UK are amoungst Europe’s leading distributors of professional technology solutions for homes, hotels, and business, supplying custom installers across the UK and Ireland. Responsible for brands such as Trinnov, Sony, Screen Innovations and Home Cinema Modules, Invision added Australian-made Krix speakers to its portfolio in November 2020. But who is Krix? Invision presents the history and product offerings from one of the world’s longestrunning speaker manufacturers.

KRIX, AT ITS ROOTS

Krix was dreamed up in a humble garage in the suburb of Hawthorn, South Australia in 1974 by a young, bright-eyed, long haired music lover – Scott Krix. Scott’s teenage years were predominately spent on a fruit orchard with his parents and five brothers, where he scavenged parts from old radios and the like to tinker with kit amplifiers and experimental speakers.

After completing his engineering degree in Adelaide, Scott’s launched ‘Krix Speaker Systems’ from his garage in Hawthorn, designing one-of-a-kind speakers for friends and family. Two years later, Scott took the opportunity to open his very own Hi-Fi store named ‘The Acoustic Foundry’, where he engineered speaker kits for enthusiastic music-lovers.

Requests for night clubs and live venues soon followed, and Scott realised he needed a purpose-built manufacturing facility to keep up with demand. In 1979, Krix purchased an acre of land in southern Adelaide and with the help of his brothers and friends, the 72m2 Krix factory was constructed. This site is where Krix is still manufacturing today – with numerous upgrades and new facilities being built over the years.

INTRODUCTION INTO CINEMA

In the early 1980s, Scott was approached by a local cinema owner to help diagnose audio issues with their auditorium. Scott, who loves a challenge, soon discovered cancellation and reinforcement issues caused by reflections from the cavity behind the screen. His solution was to construct the world’s first infinite baffle wall, which is used in commercial cinema installations to this day.

Knowing efficient speakers and some waveform guidance was needed, Scott saw the opportunity to integrate some of the horn designs that he had been working on over the years. Utilising two 15in low frequency drivers and his custom horn design, the first set of Krix commercial cinema speakers were born. In combination with the infinite baffle wall, the result had the Australian cinema industry talking. Word spread, and within years, Krix cinema installations grew to cover more than 90% of expansions in Australia.

Over the following decades, Krix invested heavily into loudspeaker innovation and constant directivity horn technology, gaining multiple patents on their design. Fast forward to today, more than 4500 commercial cinema installations in over 45 countries have been commissioned using Krix commercial cinema speakers.

BRINGING IT HOME

While commercial cinema was taking off, surround sound also started to gain popularity in home environments. With Krix continuing its residential offering of Hi-Fi and home entertainment speakers, the company was well placed to release centre channel and surround speakers to meet the growing multichannel trend.

It wasn’t until 2010 though, that the two worlds combined. With decades of research invested into cinema speakers, it made sense for the technology to ‘trickle down’ to a dedicated home cinema range.

The first range of dedicated home cinema speakers to be released was the Series X line (short for Xtreme), and the speakers certainly lived up to the name. Large cabinets, big 15in and 18in drivers and Krix’s constant directivity horns saw a whole new level of performance available to the residential market. Series X range suits rooms from five to 23m in depth.

A few years later, Series SX (short for Scaleddown Xtreme) was created as a more compact offering that still maintains the signature Krix cinema sound. Utilising the Krix-designed waveguide found in cinema surround speakers, this range is suited for rooms that are three to 8m in length. It’s also the home to many of the surrounds and subwoofers that are paired with Series X and Series MX systems.

Celebrating its seventh anniversary this year, Series MX (short for Modular Xtreme) consists of five screen systems that each contain the three left, centre, and right channels, along with two subwoofers. Their modular nature makes installation incredibly easy, and the front baffle, complete with sound absorption panels, creates an infinite baffle wall - much like the one Scott created in his first commercial cinema. Series MX systems suit room from three to 14m in depth.

KRIX AND INVISION

Today, Krix is still family-owned. Scott Krix along with two of his brothers, Gary and Ashley, all actively work within the business and the Krix focus remains the same – continue to innovate and manufacture speakers that allow listeners to experience the magic of movies and music.

If you’d like to experience Krix – please visit Invision UK’s purpose-built demonstration room at Innovation House in Bracknell. Featuring a 22-channel system in a 11.1.10 setup with four subwoofers, the inspiring room consists of an MX-40, Megaphonix, Phonix and Cyclonix speakers and subwoofers. These are controlled by a Trinnov Altitude 32 AV processor and powered by a mix of Trinnov and Altitude amplification. While watching in the comfort of Home Cinema Modules luxurious seats, a Sony projector and 168in cinemascope screen work together to provide the stunning visuals.

INTEGRATED SYSTEMS EUROPE 2023

Krix will also be exhibiting at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2023, held in Barcelona from Tuesday 31 January to Friday 3 February 2023. Krix will be partnering with Trinnov Audio, Officina Acustica and Sony to present an 18seat, epic home cinema demonstration. Visit the team at stand 2D150.

For any Krix enquiries, please contact Invision UK on sales@invisionuk.com or 01359 270280.