Intended to be a star announcement at the CES 2021 show and now waiting for the best opportunity for an actual in-person trade show presentation, the new PerListen Audio cinema speakers are certain to be one of the most important product introductions in 2021. The new Verona, Wisconsin-company is possibly going to be a major attraction at the CEDIA Expo 2021, scheduled to take place in Indianapolis, IN, September 1-3, 2021.
PerListen Audio is the first audio company to include THX Certified Dominus - the highest performing THX level - in its product line, aiming to bring a truly cinematic experience to the home. Its first two products to be launched and certified are the full range 4-way S7t Tower and D212s Subwoofer.
Dominus is the newest and the largest performance class of THX Certification, meant to bridge the gap between large home theater speakers and those used in commercial movie theaters and exhibits. Home theater owners with rooms up to 184 cubic meters of space and up to a 6-meter viewing distance (or up to 6500 cubic feet and up to 20 feet, respectively) can fill their entertainment space with the superior audio quality they should expect from THX Certified products. This translates to quieter whispers, bigger booms, and everything in-between at a greater distance for the enjoyment of premium content in the comfort of your own home.
"From distortion-free sonics to overall impact, Dominus is a remarkable engineering achievement," says Dan Roemer, chief executive officer of PerListen Audio. "It’s truly a privilege to work with THX on its home theater technology. PerListen Audio is the first company to offer the demonstrable benefits of Dominus to demanding music and movie lovers across the globe."
Specifically, for the THX Dominus testing, the PerListen Audio speakers are subjected to 120dB sound pressure levels where they must keep distortion to a minimum. Dominus speakers must also be sensitive enough to reach the cinematic THX Reference Level with THX Certified Dominus, and certain THX Certified Ultra power amplifiers. The 92dB sensitivity requirement for THX Certified Dominus loudspeakers is the most sensitive of any THX loudspeaker category.
PerListen Audio debuted THX Certified Dominus technology in its two first products, the flagship tower speaker, S7t, and D212s subwoofer, with an additional eight models expected to be introduced to the North American market throughout 2021 and a plan to offer bookshelf, LCR, in-wall, on-wall speakers, and more subwoofers.
Residential Cinema
There is a reason why PerListen Audio focuses in residential integration and home cinema applications. Its founding team includes professionals with extensive experience at some of the world’s most respected audio companies, mostly acting in cinema sound and custom integration. PerListen Audio wants to differentiate its portfolio by implementing proprietary designs and the most advanced technologies that enhance the listening experience, bringing home theater to a level typically associated with leading movie theaters across the globe.
The PerListen S7t Tower (SRP: $7,995/each and up, depending upon choice of finish) is the first loudspeaker in the world to feature THX Certified Dominus technology. The design serves as a prime example of the company’s ground-up approach, with all drivers designed by the company’s US-based engineering team, being able to generate THX Reference Level sound in rooms up to 6,500 cubic feet of space and 20 feet of distance between the screen and main seating area.
The S7t Tower is the flagship product in the PerListen Audio portfolio, featuring the company's proprietary DPC-Array that controls the mid/high frequencies in what is essentially an MTM arrangement centered by a 28mm Beryllium dome and dual 28mm TPCD (Thin Ply Carbon Diaphragm) ultra-lightweight TeXtreme domes. All PerListen S-Series speakers will essentially share the same DPC-Array to benefit from its unique timbre matching technique. These speakers can also be configured as bass reflex or acoustic suspension to meet the demands on any listening room.
The same (TPCD) TeXtreme carbon fiber that is used in the PerListen midranges is also the key to the performance of the S7t Tower four 7" woofers, resulting in extended dynamics and impact, with a frequency response that can play to 20Hz in a room. TeXtreme diaphragms are 30% lighter than standard carbon fiber of the same thickness while offering much increased strength and rigidity, by using a unique process of stacking multiple layers of the exclusive material composite. The unique weave is unmistakable and distributes break up modes without sharp peaks in the response while extending bandwidth.
This speaker design is also complemented by PerListen's patent pending Directivity Pattern Control (DPC) array, the result of 18 months of painstaking simulations using Comsol software, validated with Klippel measurements. In that unique array and waveguide, the two 28mm TPCD midranges are placed below and above of the 28mm beryllium tweeter, allowing the crossover point to extend more than an octave lower than typical, and without the beaming caused by larger diaphragms. The unique waveguide "orchestrates" the directional characteristics of the array, presenting a coherent wavefront, while optimizing early reflections and sound power.
The PerListen speaker designs combine these world-class materials and transducers with unique cabinets that aren't just pretty on the outside. The attention to detail on the inside continues with a 50mm front baffle, 7 different braces, strategically placed acoustic fiber to prevent internal resonances, and 1/8" of thermoacoustic damping material on all of the interior walls. The design also benefits from the finest crossover components including Mundorf capacitors.
The PerListen S7t Tower speakers are designed to be powered by the company's 1.5kW and 3kW amplifiers, all controlled by a 32-bit ARM processor and able to run innovative diagnostics that include real time temperature status, current and voltage monitoring, fault detection, and performance diagnostics - all evaluated at more than 1000 times a second. And the electronics are complemented with bass management to define the crossover points and behavior of the subwoofers, using a dedicated app that is able to control up to 10 subwoofers with 10 PEQ’s, Time Delay, Phase, 6 standard EQ’s, 24dB low-pass crossovers, and polarity.
As the reference subwoofer in Perlisten audio’s debut selection, the D212s (SRP: $6,495 and up, depending upon choice of finish) is simultaneously flexible and powerful, with equal emphasis on massive power output and ultra-low distortion low frequency reproduction. The company employs Advanced FEA (finite element analysis) to reach a high level of optimization requirements using two 12" woofers with 60mm peak linear excursion. These proprietary carbon fiber drivers produce extreme levels of bass without sacrificing total harmonic distortion (THD), resulting in bass response that is consistently accurate and powerful.
The PerListen D212s, a dual woofer push-pull configuration subwoofer, was designed to deliver the ultra low distortion and detail subtlety required by a THX certified home cinema installation. The subwoofer is powered by a built-in 3kW smart amp, controlled by a 32-bit ARM Cortex M4 processor, a Texas Instruments 48-bit DSP engine, and the already mentioned iOS and Android app, with the possibility of local direct control on a 2.4" LCD color touchscreen. It also features balanced (XLR) and unbalanced inputs and outputs.
Perlisten Audio has already enlisted Fidelity Imports as the exclusive distribution company in the U.S., and is currently establishing its international distribution network.
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