Напольная акустика — Kyron Audio P H O E N I X

The Phoenix is the Kyron Audio active system, from the Australian open-baffle specialist, that the company intends for dedicated listening rooms. Like other Kyron models, it combines dipole drivers without a box, DEQX digital signal processing and Halcro Lyrus amplifiers into one system that needs only sources. The smaller Kronos is intended for apartments, and an optional Jupiter subwoofer with a 15 inch driver and a 2500 W amplifier can be added to the Phoenix.

Key specs that matter

Each speaker carries three 15 inch long-throw dipole bass woofers, one 12 inch upper-bass dipole woofer, a 7 inch midwoofer with Kyron's patented SD-3 symmetrical-drive motor and ring-dome tweeters of 1 inch and 3/4 inch with SD-2 motors. Four Halcro Lyrus monoblock amplifiers per speaker, eight channels in total, deliver more than 500 W peak each. The DEQX processor runs at 96 kHz. Its control unit shares the Kronos connection set, balanced and single-ended analogue plus AES/EBU, coaxial, BNC, optical and USB digital inputs.

Engineering and use context

Without an enclosure, each driver sends sound forward and backward in opposite polarity, and the dipole pattern that results produces less energy towards the side walls than a box speaker. With four large woofers per side covering the bass and upper bass, the Phoenix spreads the low-frequency work over a large cone area, so each driver moves less for a given level. Open-baffle bass loses output where the front and rear waves meet, and Kyron counters this with an analogue compensation filter. The DEQX processing supplies linear-phase FIR crossovers, correction of each driver's anechoic response and group-delay correction, aligning the arrival of all drivers in time. Each driver group has its own Halcro amplifier channel, removing passive crossover components from the signal path. The SD-3 and SD-2 motors are Kyron's symmetrical-drive designs for the midrange and tweeters. Owners can order the cabinets with precious-metal accents, individual paint colours or carbon-fibre trim.

Pairing

The Phoenix works as a complete system, so a streamer, CD transport or computer connects directly to the control unit through its analogue or digital inputs. The Jupiter subwoofer extends the lowest octave.

Alternatives

The Kyron Audio Kronos is the smaller dipole system with two 12 inch woofers per side for apartments and smaller rooms.