Audiophilepure

Occasionally, when playing sonically darker recordings, I wished things were a hair brighter. I would MUCH rather have a smoother vibe than even the smallest amount of additional air or zing up there as long as the resolution is high, which is definitely the case for U55s. Furthermore, this was only in evidence when I used amps with an overly smooth or rolled off top end such as the Qualiton or the ampsandsound Nautilus. In a universe of options with regard to where the high frequencies should fall, given varying tonalities in amplifiers, source components and recordings, I’ll give the U55s chosen high frequency voicing an A+.

Midrange and the handoff to tweeters and woofers was invisible and seamless. Imaging was gorgeous and captivating. I got solid, floating-in-air, center images which is important to me. I heard lots of depth and space when it was there in a recording. There was a strong sense of a 180 degree arc of instrument placement that extended towards my listening spot and beyond speaker edges.

Like practically all the other elements of the Von Schweikert Ultra 55 performance, I found dynamic portrayal to be top notch, without calling any undue attention to that part of reproduction. VSA lists sensitivity at 89db. Although to my ear, this seems conservative, owing to the 5 watt Nautilus being such a surprise in how it powered the speakers.

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/perlisten-audio-r5t-loudspeaker-and-d15s-subwoofer-review

In all other respects. The R5t’s performance when used in combination with the D15s subwoofer equaled or exceeded its performance au naturel. As noted earlier, I would have liked a little more top-end air, but in no way was the sound closed-in or dull. In fact, it may not even be the best choice for those who prefer a more forgiving, warm presentation. But freed up by the subwoofer from handling the bottom two bass octaves in my listening room, the R5t tower’s transparency, lack of coloration, and ability to throw a wide and convincing soundstage was beyond criticism.

But even that description doesn’t do full justice to the superb dynamic range capability of the Perlisten R5t/D15s combo, which was screamingly evident when I fired up the whole surround sound system (supported by non- Perlisten speakers for the center channel and surrounds). When I dropped the Ultra HD Blu-ray disc of Dune (2021) into the Oppo player, all Hades broke loose. The quiet scenes were effectively rendered, of course, but the opening bass attack of composer Hans Zimmer’s punishing score, the subterranean groans of arriving spaceships, the buzzing of the mosquito-like ornithopters, and the rescue of the spice-mining harvester from a sandworm attack, all of it played back at a higher level than most civilian listeners can tolerate, left me worrying about the structural integrity of my house.