Audiophilepure

https://www.stereophile.com/content/perlisten-s7t-loudspeaker

When the S7t’s arrived, I was glad to have help setting them up—definitely not a one-person job. Three masked men—Steve Jain of Fidelity Imports, his son Ethan, and a friend—made quick work of assembling and positioning the S7t’s, which came in a spectacular Gloss Ebony finish. The substantial-looking rectangular cabinet bears what at first glance appears to be five drivers mounted to a thick, meticulously sculpted front panel. On the rear is a glamorous polished brass panel with two massive pairs of multiway binding posts fitted with jumper plates. Below that is a perforated rectangular metal grille that is echoed on the side panels; they function as the vent when the S7t is used in its standard, bass-reflex mode. A 27.5lb steel plate attached to the base supports four adjustable outrigger feet. Spikes are optional.

When you look closer, you see that the S7t has seven drivers, not five. Four of those—two on bottom, two up top—are 7″ (180mm) woofers. Between them is a carefully contoured waveguide—an acoustic lens—that is roughly the same size as the woofers. Its central element is the 28mm (1.1″) beryllium-dome tweeter. Closer examination reveals two additional 28mm domes embedded at the top and bottom edges of the lens so that their perforated covers preserve the lens’s contour; these domes are made from “thin-ply” carbon. Perlisten calls this central assembly the Directivity Pattern Control (DPC) waveguide. This feature is central—literally and figuratively—to Perlisten’s Signature and Reference speakers.

https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2021/8/24/qlybat1myvyh5qj9q18s2x5wnuktbm

I hope that was not too flowery. But, my prose is too limited to describe the essence of what’s going on with these speakers.

This amazing musical honesty was experienced in repertoire played by solo artists, rock bands like Led Zeppelin, fusion masters Steely Dan, and the above mentioned large orchestral works.

My wife, Jan, called them ‘thrilling’, ‘exciting’. She’s not easily impressed. But, as we discussed, it’s much more than thrilling and exciting. Sure, if listening to the Debussy Préludes on one of the magnificent systems I listed above, maybe I’d experience the same. But, I don’t think so. These past three months have been musically very special. And, possibly unique.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/kudos-audio-cardea-c20-loudspeaker

Wired to the crossover using the company’s own KS-1 speaker cable – yours for £30 per mono metre – are drive units developed in co-operation with Norwegian SEAS. These comprise a custom version of the SEAS Crescendo K2 29mm tweeter, and a 180mm mid/bass unit with a coated paper cone, and as open a chassis as possible. Both drivers and crossover are designed in accordance with Gilligan’s ‘keep it simple’ philosophy.

With its rated 88dB sensitivity and 8ohm nominal impedance, the C20 is hardly the trickiest of loads for an amplifier, and at 20kg apiece the speakers are manageable for most of us. They come with their ‘floating’ plinth – onto which the downward-facing reflex port vents – ready attached, so it’s just a matter of screwing in the high-quality spikes provided, levelling and positioning them, and connecting them up.