Perlisten X2w black

Perlisten X2w, sealed aluminum on-wall speaker

Ten centimeters deep, an aluminum cabinet and a tweeter housed in a waveguide. The most compact of the on-wall speakers in the Perlisten X series uses the sealed enclosure and in-house-developed drivers of the American brand’s floorstanding models. Its compact format mounts beside a television. It can serve as a stereo pair on either side of a screen, or as a surround speaker in a multichannel system.

A ten-centimeter-deep aluminum cabinet

The X2w measures 33 cm high, 20 cm wide and 10 cm deep. The sides and rear panel are aluminum. The front is a molded ABS baffle incorporating the tweeter horn. The metal accounts for the speaker’s 7 kg weight, which is substantial for its size. In such a shallow speaker, the cabinet walls are very close to the drivers. An aluminum shell resonates much less than a thin-walled particleboard enclosure, which would tend to color the lower midrange.

Two satin finishes are available, black or white. A protective grille is supplied with the speaker. Perlisten, based in Verona, Wisconsin, designs its drivers in-house and develops its models using the Klippel measurement system. The X series is its range of on-wall and in-ceiling speakers, positioned below the A, R and S series.

A waveguide to keep treble under control near the wall

Treble is handled by a 38 mm silk dome, significantly larger than the 25 mm tweeters found in most speakers of this size. A larger diaphragm can take over from the woofer at a lower frequency. The region where the two drivers share the signal is then farther from the vocal range. The tweeter sits at the back of a waveguide derived from the one used in the A series. This shallow horn controls dispersion in both the horizontal and vertical planes while keeping it wide.

This control is particularly useful in an on-wall speaker. An X2w often ends up just a few centimeters from a television, a room corner or the ceiling. The less treble is directed toward these surfaces, the less early reflections blur the localization of voices and instruments. Horizontal dispersion remains wide enough for listeners on a three-seat sofa to hear the same tonal balance from one end to the other.

Below the tweeter, a 14 cm (5.5-inch) driver reproduces bass and midrange. Its carbon-fiber diaphragm was developed specifically for the X series. Carbon combines low mass with high rigidity, delaying the point at which the cone begins to deform rather than move as a single unit. The cabinet is sealed, with no port. There is therefore no opening for the wall to obstruct, and bass rolls off gradually below 60 Hz. Proximity to the wall also naturally reinforces the low frequencies of a speaker mounted against it.

Mounting plate and 10° angled bracket

Installation begins with the mounting plate, which is screwed to the wall and leveled first. The speaker then slides onto it and is secured by four isolation screws accessible from the front, concealed by the grille once fitted. With 7 kg suspended, a plasterboard partition requires metal expansion anchors or attachment to a stud. Standard wall plugs are sufficient for brick or concrete.

A 10° angled bracket is supplied in addition to the plate. It fits between the wall and the plate to angle the speaker toward the listeners. Perlisten recommends it for the center channel, front wide channels, surround speakers and height speakers. An X2w mounted high on a side wall benefits from being tilted downward. When placed on either side of a screen, it can be angled toward the center of the sofa.

Amplification and pairing with a subwoofer

The nominal impedance of 4 ohms and sensitivity of 88 dB, measured at 2.83 V at 1 m, need to be considered together. Into 4 ohms, 2.83 V corresponds to 2 W. Referenced to 1 W, sensitivity falls to around 85 dB, which is modest. Perlisten recommends between 50 and 200 W per channel. Most home theater amplifiers support 4-ohm loads. Some require the correct impedance to be selected in their menu, while others then limit their power output: it is best to check the amplifier’s specifications before pairing it with five or seven X2w speakers.

With a stated response of 60 Hz to 30 kHz, the X2w leaves the lowest bass octave to a subwoofer for movies. The gradual roll-off of a sealed enclosure makes it easy to integrate with a subwoofer. A crossover frequency set to around 80 Hz in the home theater amplifier, the most common value, hands over to the subwoofer the frequencies the X2w cannot reach. The speaker’s drivers then no longer have to handle very low frequencies and can play louder with less distortion.

The X2w’s place in the X series

The X series includes three on-wall speakers sharing the same 38 mm silk dome and the same family of 14 cm carbon-fiber drivers. The X3w, standing 45 cm tall and weighing 9 kg, places two woofers on either side of the tweeter. The X5w moves to a three-way design with four 14 cm drivers and reaches a sensitivity of 92 dB. Since the timbre remains the same from one model to another, a system can combine X3w or X5w speakers at the front with X2w speakers for surround duties. A voice moving from one speaker to another during a pan then retains the same tonal character. For Dolby Atmos height channels, the series offers an in-ceiling speaker, the X2ic, equipped with a 6.5-inch woofer.

Technical specifications

Overview and acoustic design

• Type: compact 2-way wall-mounted speaker, sealed enclosure (acoustic suspension)
• Tweeter: 38 mm silk dome
  • Integrated into a dedicated waveguide providing controlled, wide horizontal and vertical dispersion
• Woofer: 1 × 13.97 cm, with carbon fibre cone

Performance and amplification

• Sensitivity: 88 dB (2.83 V / 1 m)
• Impedance: 4 Ω
• Frequency response: 60 Hz to 30 kHz
• Recommended amplifier power: 50 to 200 W

Finishes

• Available finishes: satin black, satin white

Included accessories

• Mounting bracket, angle adjustment bracket, protective grille

Dimensions and weight

• Dimensions (H × W × D): 330 × 200 × 100 mm
• Weight: 7 kg