Напольная акустика — Perlisten R5t

Of the two R-Series towers made by Perlisten Audio, the R5t is the more compact one. The company designs its speakers in Verona, Wisconsin and has them manufactured in China. Perlisten describes the R-Series as a stand-alone two-channel system that can also be expanded into multichannel setups, and it inherits technology from the S-Series. The R5t carries both THX Ultra and THX Dominus certification, with the Ultra rating covering rooms up to about 85 m3 in front left, right or centre positions.

Key specs that matter

Three 26 mm silk dome tweeters in a Directivity Pattern Control array work with two 165 mm woofers with HPF pulp diaphragms, in a 3-way cabinet that works either as bass reflex or as a sealed box. In reflex form the response reaches 24 Hz to 32 kHz at -10 dB, and sealed it runs from 38 Hz to 32 kHz. Typical in-room bass extension is 21 Hz vented and 32 Hz sealed, and between 80 Hz and 20 kHz the output stays inside a window of plus or minus 1.5 dB. Sensitivity is 89.0 dB at 2.83 V and 1 m. Impedance is 4 ohms nominal with a minimum of 3.2 ohms, and SPL capability at 1 m from 100 Hz to 20 kHz reaches 113.0 dB peak at below 3% of 2nd and 3rd order harmonics. The tower measures 1100 x 230 x 350 mm, weighs 26.5 kg and comes only in piano black.

Engineering and use context

In the array the centre dome covers 1.1 kHz to 20 kHz, while the domes above and below it operate between 1.1 kHz and 4.4 kHz. Perlisten chose silk for all three domes and developed them from scratch. The HPF woofer cones blend hardwood fibres, bamboo and wool in a pulp formula that took two years to develop in-house, and the actual cone diameter is about 135 mm. The front baffle is 51 mm thick, with side panels and internal bracing of 19 to 25 mm. A long port vents from the bottom of the cabinet through mesh grilles at the side, and a foam bung supplied in the box converts the speaker to acoustic suspension. A dense plinth carries domed rubber pads, with copper-plated spiked tips as an option, and the rear terminals allow bi-wiring.

Pairing

Perlisten specifies 100 to 250 W RMS of amplifier power. Because of the low impedance minimum, a stereo or AV amplifier with a 4 ohm rating fits best.

Alternatives

The Perlisten R7t is the larger 4-way R-Series tower, with four 165 mm HPF woofers, 90.0 dB sensitivity, a 100 to 400 W RMS amplifier range and a weight of 48.0 kg.