Thanks for taking the time to post this comparison, it will help everyone make a tough decision and save quite a bit of money - if there hearing is not on the same level as yours. I’m hoping you will review the Martin Logan XT F200 and SVS’ S new top of line towers - to see how they compare to your memories of the Perlisten speakers. Please keep up the GREAT work, Sir!
Very useful vid, makes me feel going for the R line or the "cheap" line does not reduce the quality of the audio. If I ever decide to change from my ATC's, Perlisten R line would be on the short list for sure.
Hey Ron, love what you're doing with the Channel, refreshingly honest. I've recently been curious about Open Baffle Speakers and I know you are a big fan and knowledgeable about that type of sound quality. Could the Perlisten sound change your preference over Baffle speakers?
Hi Ron. I am considering the R7t and the Revel f226be for my home theater, which I use actually more for music listening. I have watched your review on the Revels several times and am in agreement with your findings. They play it safe, but lack some things I'm looking for like more detail and less flat of a presentation. Do you thing the R7t is the better speaker? I don't have the opportunity to hear them to decide for myself. Thanks for your time.
Similarly priced Focal and Revel are off my list. All that remains are Legacy, Paradigm, and Perlisten. The first 2 have active offerings I'm looking at. But for timbre matched 7.4.4 atmos home theater would you audition just these 3 brands? I have four 18" subs. Need 4 surround speakers and its $14k just for Perlisten S series surrounds. Would 4 of the R series surrounds blend with LCR of the S series well?
I just completed the same comparison. Yes they sound at lot a like but only when used with relatively modest amps. First I used a JBL SDR-38 and found almost the same observations as this test does. Then I shifted to a very high-end amp setup, AVM MA8.3 monos and SD8.3 pre/dac. With the AVMs the S7 is far superior to the R7 !
I bought a pair of the R7T floor models and couldn't be happier. They completely fill the room with an upfront sound at low volume. Completely nailed it.
When you have to use measuring equipment to see differences that you can't even hear or can barely hear what is the point of that?! Am I missing something?!
I auditioned both of these with my own music A&B them one track at a time. St7 are slightly more transparent in delivering details in mids and highs, the main difference is in dynamics. St7 being superior. I consider them both high end Home Theater speakers, and very good hi-fi speakers, but not world class hi-fi soeakers. In their price range Paradigm Persona 5&7f are substantially better in soundstage imaging, and delivery of details in the recording, but no where near the dynamic slam of the Perlistens. The Focal Sopra 2&3 are also superior. Now if you're into HT and Hard/Metal concert level Rock, these are unbeatable.
I’m in the market for this and I’m considering LCRs of Revel 328be/ Paradigm Person 5F/ Wharfdale Elysian/ b&W 804s. All within the same price range of the Perlisten. Can’t go wrong with any…the question is which sound signature do I like!?
IMO a good speaker is a good speaker . If it lacks dynamics- it’s not a good speaker and it will Compromise both HT and 2ch listening . It is really strange that you mention details and resolution lacking in these speakers . I have compered them to many higher priced hi fi speakers and they either compete or surpass . All the best
@@Novilicious I’m also looking at the Wharfedale Elysians, and they’re quite a bit cheaper than the top of the line Perlistens. My observation is around $5k per speaker is the sweet spot: you can pay more but the returns diminish significantly after that point.
@@Novilicious Paradigm Persona 5F are my preference for two channel audio with my music (mostly acoustic and live). Th Revel 328be are my least favorite on the choices you present. Best to you on your pursuit.
This is interesting, at the Florida Audio Expo I thought the Perlisten room sounded a bit hot up top but I attributed it to the room and also the volume being too high. I wonder if they also had the S series in there.
Nigh perfect. Granted this is just my opinion just as Ron’s is his. If you have the coin I can tell you that the S7T really is worth it over the R7T. Now that being said. The R7T might be one of the best silver medalist/little brother speakers ever if not the singular best itself. It is killer value. Absolutely.
I’m with Ron. I work in the industry and I’ve heard almost everything. I heard the Perlisten S7Ts with their subs at a show and bought them over everything else my employer carries even though we didn’t after a couple months of preparing my wallet lol. Including the Revels. That’s how amazing they were. First thing to do completely “wow!” me in a long time. Also I do actually think they are worth it over the R7T myself. However kudos to the R series for being the closet performing little brother for the most savings possibly ever.
Percentage wise is this more for music or movies or is it 50/50 balanced for both of these type of content? I have a tv42 ipal subwoofer as my main subwoofer right now.
This company has shaken up the industry. Both of these offerings are for a select group of customers as they are priced in the B&W 800 Series realm. They are unlucky because this is turning out to be the golden age of the speaker. The Elysian 4 costs the same as R7t and looks amazing in walnut. It looks like it costs $30k and is considered a bargain. The 805 D4 is apparently nearly as good as the Perlisten which is high praise for the 805 but also high praise for the Perlistens. B&W launched its 700 series which is also overpriced but sounds pretty comparable to the 805. Q Acoustics launched the Concept 50 and addressed some of the Concept 500's issues in a package that costs half as much. Sonus Faber's Lumina II is apparently a stellar standmount. The Focal Aria 906 is overpriced in the States but free in other countries and is excellent. The Buchardt Mk 2 is also an amazing standmount. Then we have the Pro-ject Speaker Box 6 S2 which is a shocking value. Polk has an amazing offering in the R series. Then we have Arendal and I'd love to see a comparison of the R7T vs the 1723 THX Tower. Perlistens sit at the top of all these and deserve all the praise and their lofty price - I just hope they get the market share they deserve.
The Polks should be booted off the list. Extremely overrated and forgettable. Sold maybe one pair whereas Sonus faber Lumina Vs are practically sprinting out the door like crazed zombies and for good reason.
@@lukerestlessstudios The Polks have had positive reviews from everyone. The Luminas seem to be excellent speakers. I haven't heard them side-by-side but I have a feeling you believe the Lumina V is far better than the Pork R700. Is that correct?
@@techsamurai11 Precisely. The Polks have such reviews because those reviews are bought. They aren’t anything special and frankly neither is almost anything Polk makes. It’s a Best Buy speaker for a reason.
@@lukerestlessstudios It’s hard to believe that everyone who has reviewed the R series including the R700, R600, and R200 simply were providing false information. The way they’ve been reviewed reminds me of old B&W speakers and unsurprisingly I discovered that there’s a connection now between Polk and B&W through Price United. I would not be surprised if the R700 was made to match the old B&W 703 at half the price.
@@techsamurai11 not false information just over hype and fanfare, marketing if you will. They are better than previous Polks and if that’s what you are coming from you’ll be impressed. However if you leave the local Best Buy, go to a hi-go shop and listen to genuine hi-fi brands like Sonus faber, Totem Acoustic, Q Acoustic, Monitor Audio, etc… all of them outclass the Polk at their own price point, and in my opinion the Sonus fabers for example outright devastate them and not just in sound but in design, attractiveness, material quality, and build quality.
I've got the perlisten s7i and focal kanta 2, the perlisten sound so damn real life. But I do enjoy the berrylium tweeter that focal does. Focal for super wide sound stage. The perlisten for depth of sound stage. In my opinion
This is gonna be a bit odd to ask, but how far was the jump to the S7T vs. the Polk L800 which you tested sometime back? That's basically the bracket/range of my next upgrade.
If I may being that I’ve heard both extensively, the Polk should not even be in this conversation. The S7T is special, and I say that as someone who’s heard almost everything being talked about here. Including hearing $55,000 Sonus fabers almost everyday. Now that said I do find Polks to be very overrated speakers in general, and I really can’t stand them, so read whatever bias into that you will. For example in the under $3k price tier the Polk R700 gets absolutely devastated by the Sonus faber Lumina V, like it’s so bad you almost feel bad laughing.
@@peternemeth4947 yeah because it’s true. I don’t like seeing people deceived even if unintentionally into spending their hard earned money on inferior products. There are vastly superior speakers available for those looking to spend less than $3k. Sonus faber, Totem Acoustic, Tekton, Buchardt, Monitor Audio, Q Acoustics, and more. The fact the Polk gets almost $2,500 for a product that looks like, feels like, and sounds like it was made out of recycled water bottles is just absurd. The ont thing I’ll give it is that it is better than previous Polks, but it is inferior to almost everything else at its price point in more ways than one. I do this for a living. Not one of my company’s employees all of which are hi-fi enthusiasts themselves liked or recommended the Polk after it was put out in our showrooms, and they didn’t sell almost at all, our clients were not interested. Monitor Audio, a little bit of Totem Acoustic, and especially Sonus faber have been doing very well at those price points with our clients however and for good reason. Those are great value products. Look, I love Ron and his channel and the other guys on here too. Talking about hi-fi and stuff and trying to provide good reviews is great, and 9/10 guys like him are right on the money. Sometimes though even if rarely they just don’t have the whole story or they haven’t seen the whole picture because they aren’t surrounded by all of these products at the same time everyday. They get stuff in, review it, and have to try to go on memory for comparisons more often than not, and we have research showing that our memory for nuances in audio exactly like what we get with different speakers is not exactly superb. I’m not claiming to be better than any of these gentlemen on TH-cam, I think they are awesome. But, I do get to side by side A to B this stuff almost everyday or whenever I want, and that’s when you really find out what’s good for said price or purpose/application.
This particular system reminds me a lot of what I am hearing with the R7T’s. X-LS Review | Sound Clips with Commentary th-cam.com/video/-LvuYjlsMH0/w-d-xo.html
Great review. I would like for reviewers to talk a bit about height reproduction. In my opinion, this is a factor that separates good from great in speakers.
Most people don't prefer accurate bass because they don't get to hear live acoustic bass in a large space. Boom always wins the 5-minute Best Buy shootout.
Crap? Just depends on what attributes you value, ie., where you are on your particular audio journey. I've been at this since the 70's... I clearly remembering I valued power, dynamics over everything else. I bought a pair of Cerwin Vega D-5 (12" 3-way, still own them today... although they've been stacked in storage in the garage for about 35yrs). Set up right, they served me well.
@@FOH3663 older cw might have been better but both cls and xls series sounds like crap, sure if you value to play really loud and don’t care about sound quality sure they do their job, but for me it would be fun for 5 minutes and then i would get tired on them, i just don’t value high spl in speakers that don’t have good sound quality, but in terms of the speakers that video is about is much more intresting, they play very loud and still does not sacrifice sound quality to get there, but it comes at a higher price, but i rather pay that then live with crappy sounding speaker with no details or any good sq
@@andreasmoller9798 All valid points. It's a juggling act of priorities addressing one's audio goals. Realistic imaging, realistic output, realistic tonal balance, realistic dynamics. It's no secret most place tonal balance at the top... for good reason. However it's worth noting high output/high sensitivity designs aren't a one trick pony... It's my experience such designs are strong performers at lower levels, late night levels. With the Equal Loudness Contours being what they are, the resulting spectral change can truly shine mated to a robust, elevated bass, dynamic, scooped response type design. Just pointing out, ... loudspeakers with high-sensitivity/high-output, that attribute is not simply for high SPL playback, at low levels such a platform can be fantastic.
The price of the Perlistens puts them out of reach for most people. For me, the biggest takeaway from this video is that’s it’s possible to get comparable performance for a fraction of the price and that’s where the issue of value comes in. Yes, they’re good and well made, but there are many less expensive options with comparable performance (the Wharfedale Elysians, for one)
And then Andrew Robinson goes and says the Polk R700s are 90% as good as the Elysians for a mere $2k a pair. So where do you draw the line? When is it worth spending more money?
@@hobblyjig It depends on how close to the state of the art you want to go. Robinson said the Elysians were as good as anything he’d ever had, and the Polks were 90% as good (though I would have preferred a volume matched side by side comparison to verify this rather than rely on audio memory)
I’ve worked in the hi-fi industry for years. Diminishing returns is definitely a thing. However a $2,000 Polk does not even get to look at an R7T let alone sit in the same room as it. My employer had Polk R700 on display in three diffeeent showrooms for over a year. We just took them down. Why? They suck ass and no one bought them. All of us here are enthusiasts, none of us liked them at all. But you know what sold a ton for almost the same price, and many of us bought ourselves? The Sonus faber Lumina V. Excellent speaker for under three grand, but again doesn’t roll with the $11k+ Olympica Nova also by them or the R7T, etc… “You get what you pay for” is still true as well as least to enough of an extent to matter so long as the product was found to be genuinely competitive and compelling at said price point.
The Elysians are the same price as the R7t ($10k a pair) and I haven't found any measurements of the former's off-axis performance, while the off-axis performance of the Perlistens are world class. Given the designs the Perlistens are also likely to play better in a greater variety of rooms. They have the sensitivity, power handling, and size to fill a large space (as do the Elysians), but the driver arrangement will allow them to cohere at a much closer range.
It’s interesting how you compare different speakers when you don’t have them to do A to B. There is no way our brains remember audio to compare. I heard the S7t in an acoustic treated room at a specialist HiFi store and did and A to B with B&W 800 D3 and Sonus Faber Amati Tradition which both costs more then double of the Perlisten and it was way better then both IMHO. I fail to understand how you compare speakers without having them.
Nice review Ron, but sometimes one needs to be mindful about things that are said. "Playing nothing but dead silence in between those instruments" - in a complex classical piece with cellos, violins , horns all happeniong at the same time. Seriously ?? You can hear that silence in the space between the instruments ? Well I'll be ..... you have the ears of God. Us mere mortals have to be content with what we're blessed with.
I'm guessing he means he's not hearing any artifacts or distortion between notes. There are plenty of slower, quieter passages in classical music with a few instruments playing.
To all of the cost poo poo patrol - if you want a Ferrari, you have to pay the Ferrari price. Now, if you think your Corvette is a Ferrari - well that’s neat. Great review bro!
Thanks for taking the time to post this comparison, it will help everyone make a tough decision and save quite a bit of money - if there hearing is not on the same level as yours. I’m hoping you will review the Martin Logan XT F200 and SVS’ S new top of line towers - to see how they compare to your memories of the Perlisten speakers. Please keep up the GREAT work, Sir!
I would love for you to compare these with the new Arendal 1528 Tower 8's.
Thanks, Ron. This is the review these speakers deserve and you delivered it up like no other.
Very useful vid, makes me feel going for the R line or the "cheap" line does not reduce the quality of the audio. If I ever decide to change from my ATC's, Perlisten R line would be on the short list for sure.
Nice review. These speakers would be a dream to own. Maybe one day.. for now I am happy with my Klipsch rf7iii setup
Your RF7iii under DSP has the same capability.
Right
You had convinced me to sell by kidney and half liver for R7t ...thanks man ♂️ thanks 🙏👍❤❤
Lmfao 🤣🤣🤣
Hey Ron, love what you're doing with the Channel, refreshingly honest. I've recently been curious about Open Baffle Speakers and I know you are a big fan and knowledgeable about that type of sound quality. Could the Perlisten sound change your preference over Baffle speakers?
Hi Ron.
I am considering the R7t and the Revel f226be for my home theater, which I use actually more for music listening. I have watched your review on the Revels several times and am in agreement with your findings. They play it safe, but lack some things I'm looking for like more detail and less flat of a presentation. Do you thing the R7t is the better speaker? I don't have the opportunity to hear them to decide for myself.
Thanks for your time.
Great review Ron. Thank you.👍😊
Similarly priced Focal and Revel are off my list. All that remains are Legacy, Paradigm, and Perlisten. The first 2 have active offerings I'm looking at. But for timbre matched 7.4.4 atmos home theater would you audition just these 3 brands? I have four 18" subs. Need 4 surround speakers and its $14k just for Perlisten S series surrounds. Would 4 of the R series surrounds blend with LCR of the S series well?
Yes. The R series is voiced very similarly. I actually prefer the R series to the S.
I just completed the same comparison. Yes they sound at lot a like but only when used with relatively modest amps. First I used a JBL SDR-38 and found almost the same observations as this test does. Then I shifted to a very high-end amp setup, AVM MA8.3 monos and SD8.3 pre/dac. With the AVMs the S7 is far superior to the R7 !
Ron, how do these compare to the Concept 500’s?
Are the concept 500’s 90% to the sound of these?
Thanks brother and god bless.
Wish you’d review the bowers 805 d4
Do you need to send these to Danny for cross-over parts update?
Mr. Pete------->
aging hippie
Would you concider compere the perlisten to Arendal 1528?🙏
Excellent review. Thank you and subscribed😊
which speakers would you recommend with a smaller budget that can compete with them? Interested in competitors for R7t
Do a review and comparison of the Perlisten subs to the open baffle subs..
I bought a pair of the R7T floor models and couldn't be happier. They completely fill the room with an upfront sound at low volume. Completely nailed it.
Do you mind me asking the size of your room and partnering gear. This is the model I am considering. Thanks
Hi Ron. I'm new to your channel. Your reviews are absolutely amazing. Great job.
Welcome aboard!
Run Forrest! Nice review
When you have to use measuring equipment to see differences that you can't even hear or can barely hear what is the point of that?! Am I missing something?!
How are the r7t compared to paradigm?
I auditioned both of these with my own music A&B them one track at a time.
St7 are slightly more transparent in delivering details in mids and highs, the main difference is in dynamics. St7 being superior. I consider them both high end Home Theater speakers, and very good hi-fi speakers, but not world class hi-fi soeakers. In their price range Paradigm Persona 5&7f are substantially better in soundstage imaging, and delivery of details in the recording, but no where near the dynamic slam of the Perlistens. The Focal Sopra 2&3 are also superior.
Now if you're into HT and Hard/Metal concert level Rock, these are unbeatable.
I’m in the market for this and I’m considering LCRs of Revel 328be/ Paradigm Person 5F/ Wharfdale Elysian/ b&W 804s. All within the same price range of the Perlisten. Can’t go wrong with any…the question is which sound signature do I like!?
IMO a good speaker is a good speaker .
If it lacks dynamics- it’s not a good speaker and it will Compromise both HT and 2ch listening .
It is really strange that you mention details and resolution lacking in these speakers .
I have compered them to many higher priced hi fi speakers and they either compete or surpass .
All the best
@@Novilicious
I’m also looking at the Wharfedale Elysians, and they’re quite a bit cheaper than the top of the line Perlistens. My observation is around $5k per speaker is the sweet spot: you can pay more but the returns diminish significantly after that point.
@@Novilicious Paradigm Persona 5F are my preference for two channel audio with my music (mostly acoustic and live). Th Revel 328be are my least favorite on the choices you present. Best to you on your pursuit.
@@healthynutster I was thinking the same thing!
Excellent, detailed review
I couldn't afford the towers but I'm curious about their bookshelf speakers
Great review
This is interesting, at the Florida Audio Expo I thought the Perlisten room sounded a bit hot up top but I attributed it to the room and also the volume being too high. I wonder if they also had the S series in there.
Dude. This review was flawless.
Oi what are you doing here this isn't cheap audio! ;-)
Nigh perfect. Granted this is just my opinion just as Ron’s is his. If you have the coin I can tell you that the S7T really is worth it over the R7T. Now that being said. The R7T might be one of the best silver medalist/little brother speakers ever if not the singular best itself. It is killer value. Absolutely.
@@RennieAsh I still watch my buddy’s videos. This video was perfection with the opinions and data.
When you compare speakers from memory it’s a flaw.
@@gabis1963 I figured he took notes but if you're going to be that nitpicky, technically any human opinion is inherently flawed.
Love the new aesthetic w the new lighting and black background. Is this in your new man cave?
Nope, just changed up the background a little.
Do these come with grilles?
How do they compare against Revel?
I haven’t heard a revel that is even close to the perlistens yet.
@@Newrecordday2013 wow
I’m with Ron. I work in the industry and I’ve heard almost everything. I heard the Perlisten S7Ts with their subs at a show and bought them over everything else my employer carries even though we didn’t after a couple months of preparing my wallet lol. Including the Revels. That’s how amazing they were. First thing to do completely “wow!” me in a long time. Also I do actually think they are worth it over the R7T myself. However kudos to the R series for being the closet performing little brother for the most savings possibly ever.
Percentage wise is this more for music or movies or is it 50/50 balanced for both of these type of content? I have a tv42 ipal subwoofer as my main subwoofer right now.
Ron so the hard question these or the Wilson Sabrina?
Danley Sound Labs.
I'm very curious. What speakers offer similar performance at a fraction of the cost?? =D
Danley Sound Labs. Better performance, half the cost. Look at the SM-series. They will also veneer or paint to suite your taste.
Ron, I'm never going to spend that kind of money so, I have no reason to stay and watch. But, Thank you for the work.
Thanks for stopping by Jon! appreciate it!
So,.. overall miniscule difference between R serries and S series?
also .. I love the 4 towers and your cinematography shot across the frame like this .. black background.. Really good stuff, Ron.
This company has shaken up the industry. Both of these offerings are for a select group of customers as they are priced in the B&W 800 Series realm.
They are unlucky because this is turning out to be the golden age of the speaker.
The Elysian 4 costs the same as R7t and looks amazing in walnut. It looks like it costs $30k and is considered a bargain. The 805 D4 is apparently nearly as good as the Perlisten which is high praise for the 805 but also high praise for the Perlistens. B&W launched its 700 series which is also overpriced but sounds pretty comparable to the 805.
Q Acoustics launched the Concept 50 and addressed some of the Concept 500's issues in a package that costs half as much.
Sonus Faber's Lumina II is apparently a stellar standmount. The Focal Aria 906 is overpriced in the States but free in other countries and is excellent. The Buchardt Mk 2 is also an amazing standmount.
Then we have the Pro-ject Speaker Box 6 S2 which is a shocking value. Polk has an amazing offering in the R series.
Then we have Arendal and I'd love to see a comparison of the R7T vs the 1723 THX Tower.
Perlistens sit at the top of all these and deserve all the praise and their lofty price - I just hope they get the market share they deserve.
The Polks should be booted off the list. Extremely overrated and forgettable. Sold maybe one pair whereas Sonus faber Lumina Vs are practically sprinting out the door like crazed zombies and for good reason.
@@lukerestlessstudios The Polks have had positive reviews from everyone.
The Luminas seem to be excellent speakers. I haven't heard them side-by-side but I have a feeling you believe the Lumina V is far better than the Pork R700.
Is that correct?
@@techsamurai11 Precisely. The Polks have such reviews because those reviews are bought. They aren’t anything special and frankly neither is almost anything Polk makes. It’s a Best Buy speaker for a reason.
@@lukerestlessstudios It’s hard to believe that everyone who has reviewed the R series including the R700, R600, and R200 simply were providing false information. The way they’ve been reviewed reminds me of old B&W speakers and unsurprisingly I discovered that there’s a connection now between Polk and B&W through Price United. I would not be surprised if the R700 was made to match the old B&W 703 at half the price.
@@techsamurai11 not false information just over hype and fanfare, marketing if you will. They are better than previous Polks and if that’s what you are coming from you’ll be impressed. However if you leave the local Best Buy, go to a hi-go shop and listen to genuine hi-fi brands like Sonus faber, Totem Acoustic, Q Acoustic, Monitor Audio, etc… all of them outclass the Polk at their own price point, and in my opinion the Sonus fabers for example outright devastate them and not just in sound but in design, attractiveness, material quality, and build quality.
Compare them to the all new Steinway Lyngdorf Model A Open Baffle Speakers now this will really blow your mind 😇🙂😉
How do they compare with the Magico A3 or Focal Kanta No.3, Canton reference 3, or Dynaudio Contour 60i?
I've got the perlisten s7i and focal kanta 2, the perlisten sound so damn real life. But I do enjoy the berrylium tweeter that focal does. Focal for super wide sound stage. The perlisten for depth of sound stage. In my opinion
is the bass and mid driver the same?
This is gonna be a bit odd to ask, but how far was the jump to the S7T vs. the Polk L800 which you tested sometime back? That's basically the bracket/range of my next upgrade.
If I may being that I’ve heard both extensively, the Polk should not even be in this conversation. The S7T is special, and I say that as someone who’s heard almost everything being talked about here. Including hearing $55,000 Sonus fabers almost everyday. Now that said I do find Polks to be very overrated speakers in general, and I really can’t stand them, so read whatever bias into that you will. For example in the under $3k price tier the Polk R700 gets absolutely devastated by the Sonus faber Lumina V, like it’s so bad you almost feel bad laughing.
@@lukerestlessstudios LMAO you posted the same garbage about Polk on another video just yesterday.
@@peternemeth4947 yeah because it’s true. I don’t like seeing people deceived even if unintentionally into spending their hard earned money on inferior products. There are vastly superior speakers available for those looking to spend less than $3k. Sonus faber, Totem Acoustic, Tekton, Buchardt, Monitor Audio, Q Acoustics, and more. The fact the Polk gets almost $2,500 for a product that looks like, feels like, and sounds like it was made out of recycled water bottles is just absurd. The ont thing I’ll give it is that it is better than previous Polks, but it is inferior to almost everything else at its price point in more ways than one. I do this for a living. Not one of my company’s employees all of which are hi-fi enthusiasts themselves liked or recommended the Polk after it was put out in our showrooms, and they didn’t sell almost at all, our clients were not interested. Monitor Audio, a little bit of Totem Acoustic, and especially Sonus faber have been doing very well at those price points with our clients however and for good reason. Those are great value products. Look, I love Ron and his channel and the other guys on here too. Talking about hi-fi and stuff and trying to provide good reviews is great, and 9/10 guys like him are right on the money. Sometimes though even if rarely they just don’t have the whole story or they haven’t seen the whole picture because they aren’t surrounded by all of these products at the same time everyday. They get stuff in, review it, and have to try to go on memory for comparisons more often than not, and we have research showing that our memory for nuances in audio exactly like what we get with different speakers is not exactly superb. I’m not claiming to be better than any of these gentlemen on TH-cam, I think they are awesome. But, I do get to side by side A to B this stuff almost everyday or whenever I want, and that’s when you really find out what’s good for said price or purpose/application.
@@lukerestlessstudios I agree, I can't stand the sound (no mids) of polks either..
Every NRD day is a good day.
The comment's beg the question what speakers at a fraction of their price do you think rival them
What are the speakers that rival at a fraction of the price??
This particular system reminds me a lot of what I am hearing with the R7T’s. X-LS Review | Sound Clips with Commentary th-cam.com/video/-LvuYjlsMH0/w-d-xo.html
Danley Sound Labs. SM-series
Are those the SB Acoustic satori woofers? They look identical
It’s the same brand and woofers. Probably minimally changed.
Particularly wondered to have an big boy stereo pre as well as power 😊
Loved it from the companion ❤❤❤❤
True love for music lovers from elac never miss one 😂😂😂
Great review. I would like for reviewers to talk a bit about height reproduction. In my opinion, this is a factor that separates good from great in speakers.
Totally agree. I found the S series too bright. The R series is more neutral and natural.
Most people don't prefer accurate bass because they don't get to hear live acoustic bass in a large space. Boom always wins the 5-minute Best Buy shootout.
It’s crazy… For a second I thought those were SVS Ultra Towers in the video thumbnail.
What gave it away, the gorgeous wood veneer?😮
@@techsamurai11 LOL
I can't help but to pronounce the name: Pearl-Istan as if it was a country.
Good review but all and I mean all true high end systems need subs with high pass and or active crossovers.
I’ve heard more than once that the difference between the two are tiny from a listening standpoint.
Can you Review! the Cerwin Vega! XLS 215 ?
The older 215s are better, XLS is basically a PA speaker
Those speakers are crap, the only thing they do Well is to play extreamly loud, but what good does it mean if the speakers sound like dogshit
Crap?
Just depends on what attributes you value, ie., where you are on your particular audio journey.
I've been at this since the 70's... I clearly remembering I valued power, dynamics over everything else.
I bought a pair of Cerwin Vega D-5 (12" 3-way, still own them today... although they've been stacked in storage in the garage for about 35yrs).
Set up right, they served me well.
@@FOH3663 older cw might have been better but both cls and xls series sounds like crap, sure if you value to play really loud and don’t care about sound quality sure they do their job, but for me it would be fun for 5 minutes and then i would get tired on them, i just don’t value high spl in speakers that don’t have good sound quality, but in terms of the speakers that video is about is much more intresting, they play very loud and still does not sacrifice sound quality to get there, but it comes at a higher price, but i rather pay that then live with crappy sounding speaker with no details or any good sq
@@andreasmoller9798
All valid points.
It's a juggling act of priorities addressing one's audio goals.
Realistic imaging, realistic output, realistic tonal balance, realistic dynamics.
It's no secret most place tonal balance at the top... for good reason.
However it's worth noting high output/high sensitivity designs aren't a one trick pony...
It's my experience such designs are strong performers at lower levels, late night levels.
With the Equal Loudness Contours being what they are, the resulting spectral change can truly shine mated to a robust, elevated bass, dynamic, scooped response type design.
Just pointing out, ... loudspeakers with high-sensitivity/high-output, that attribute is not simply for high SPL playback, at low levels such a platform can be fantastic.
The price of the Perlistens puts them out of reach for most people. For me, the biggest takeaway from this video is that’s it’s possible to get comparable performance for a fraction of the price and that’s where the issue of value comes in. Yes, they’re good and well made, but there are many less expensive options with comparable performance (the Wharfedale Elysians, for one)
And then Andrew Robinson goes and says the Polk R700s are 90% as good as the Elysians for a mere $2k a pair. So where do you draw the line? When is it worth spending more money?
@@hobblyjig
It depends on how close to the state of the art you want to go. Robinson said the Elysians were as good as anything he’d ever had, and the Polks were 90% as good (though I would have preferred a volume matched side by side comparison to verify this rather than rely on audio memory)
I’ve worked in the hi-fi industry for years. Diminishing returns is definitely a thing. However a $2,000 Polk does not even get to look at an R7T let alone sit in the same room as it. My employer had Polk R700 on display in three diffeeent showrooms for over a year. We just took them down. Why? They suck ass and no one bought them. All of us here are enthusiasts, none of us liked them at all. But you know what sold a ton for almost the same price, and many of us bought ourselves? The Sonus faber Lumina V. Excellent speaker for under three grand, but again doesn’t roll with the $11k+ Olympica Nova also by them or the R7T, etc… “You get what you pay for” is still true as well as least to enough of an extent to matter so long as the product was found to be genuinely competitive and compelling at said price point.
The Elysians are the same price as the R7t ($10k a pair) and I haven't found any measurements of the former's off-axis performance, while the off-axis performance of the Perlistens are world class. Given the designs the Perlistens are also likely to play better in a greater variety of rooms. They have the sensitivity, power handling, and size to fill a large space (as do the Elysians), but the driver arrangement will allow them to cohere at a much closer range.
@@hobblyjigr11 metas
It’s interesting how you compare different speakers when you don’t have them to do A to B.
There is no way our brains remember audio to compare.
I heard the S7t in an acoustic treated room at a specialist HiFi store and did and A to B with B&W 800 D3 and Sonus Faber Amati Tradition which both costs more then double of the Perlisten and it was way better then both IMHO.
I fail to understand how you compare speakers without having them.
I'd get way more enjoyment from a couple of jet skis.
"Who in their right mind would actually buy these?"...
If only I could afford them. ✋
more importantly..HOW do you buy these? Ive seen no online distribution and have never seen them on demo here in dallas.
Dealers. Lookup dealers on their website.
I just can't do it I cannot spend that kind of money for something that's built in China. 🥺
The R7T costs you less perlisten
Sweet. Speakers for 2 percent of the 2 percent’ers
Nice review Ron, but sometimes one needs to be mindful about things that are said. "Playing nothing but dead silence in between those instruments" - in a complex classical piece with cellos, violins , horns all happeniong at the same time. Seriously ?? You can hear that silence in the space between the instruments ? Well I'll be ..... you have the ears of God.
Us mere mortals have to be content with what we're blessed with.
I'm guessing he means he's not hearing any artifacts or distortion between notes. There are plenty of slower, quieter passages in classical music with a few instruments playing.
To all of the cost poo poo patrol - if you want a Ferrari, you have to pay the Ferrari price. Now, if you think your Corvette is a Ferrari - well that’s neat. Great review bro!
Except the C8 Z06 is better than most Ferraris. C8R too at the track. Do you want performance and looks or rarity and a nameplate?
Expensive but nothing else
If you have more $ pls go ahead.