Perlisten R Series Subwoofers and Measurements

Two weeks ago, we received the new Perlisten "R" series subwoofers.

Designed to give customers an entry level Perlisten experience, the R series has proven to be incredibly popular. So with matching single driver subwoofers at more affordable pricing, we were keen to put the R series through their paces in our demo room.

My demo room in store is 5.2m x 5.8m (depth), has Perlisten S series in-wall speakers in a 7.2.4 configuration.

The subwoofers we usually use in the room are D212s at the front and D12s at the rear which gives a really great experience and very flat response across 2 rows of seats.

I have run a number of REW simulations to find out the best placement for the subs and opposing corners work best for us in terms of layout and in-room response.

That said, I was keen to see how each subwoofer measured at the RSP in my room.

Test conditions:

REW UMIK-1 at RSP, 2.9m away from the subwoofer.

Running REW via an iFi DAC direct into the subwoofer (missing any room correction / audio processing from the AV processor) with no PEQ/adjustments in the sub. Simply out of the box.

Subwoofer has a gain range of -20dB to +10dB. We were running all at "0 dB" gain, 12.00dBFS RMS.

EQ mode set to "Large Room" on the subs

5Hz - 200Hz at 512K length.

Pricing and power

The Perlisten R10s features a 10" driver and a power output of 750w RMS.

It's priced at £2000! Click here for info.

The Perlisten R12s features a 12" driver and a power output of 1000w RMS.

It's priced at £3000! Click here for info.

The Perlisten R15s features a 15" driver and a power output of 1000w RMS.

It's priced at £4000! Click here for info.

The Perlisten R18s features a 18" driver and a power output of 1000w RMS.

It's priced at £5000! Click here for info.

What's my single subwoofer preference?

On Friday I had a client come up from London to listen to the subs. We started with the 18" and played the usual scenes from Ready Player One, Dune Part Two, A Quiet Place and Maverick.

Out of the 4 single driver subs I have in store, the R18s is much more of a "me" sound. It's more tactile, extends higher into the frequency band of the mains and provided a fuller, more exciting presentation. However, my client preferred what he described as "the speed" of the 15 - the bottom end appeared faster and tighter whereas the measurements show something a little different.

My subwoofer layout for the time being is now an R18s up front and an R15s at the rear. It's big, it's controlled and it's really fun!

I listen usually at 95dB peak (85dB normal voicing) and as you can see, at 0dB gain, there was plenty to give. I'll also put a graph below to show was +5dB gave on the D12s as a reference - i.e. it impacted not the full frequency response.

Measurement Results Below