Note that this is a discontinued product. You may want to visit the brand's page here to browse their newer products.
What reviewers think
Bloggers and YouTubers have tried this product—so we've summarized their strongest opinions below. Links to full reviews follow.
All
R2ic
reviews
Manufacturer details
- Enclosure Alignment: 2-way infinite baffle, optional rear enclosure
- Driver compliment: DPC Array: 28mm silk dome tweeter, Woofers: 165mm Alum frame, HPF pulp
- Sensitivity: 86.0dB / 2.83v / 1.0m
- Impedance: 6Ω nominal
- Response Linearity: 100 - 10kHz +/-1.5dB window
- Frequency Response: 44 - 27kHz (-6dB), 31 - 32kHz (-10dB)
- Typical In Room bass extension: 32Hz (-6dB), 22Hz (-10dB)
- Overall Dimensions: 343.3 diam x 153.1mm depth (13.5" diam x 6.0" depth)
- Recommended cutout: 305mm diameter (12" diameter)
- Weight: 11.8lbs. (5.4kg)
- Recommended Amplifier Power: 50 - 150W (with 80Hz HPF), 50 - 100W (full range)
- SPL capability @1m: 109.5dB peak, 109.0dB peak <3% 2nd, 3rd Harmonics
- Certification: THX Ultra
An open back speaker for shallow depth installations where sound isolation is not a design criteria. Better coverage for even response in any application from Home Theater to better coverage in your kitchen with no compromises! A great solution for high end Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and Auro-3D applications.
The R2ic is a simplified 2-way version of the R3ic, featuring an innovative new waveguide array controlling Mid/High frequencies, centered by our 28mm silk dome tweeter. Optimized for in-ceiling applications where a 30 degree reference axis is desired as well as larger listening window in the direction towards the listening space. Extremely versatile – Can be used as L,C,R, surround, height, or wide channel speaker.
Once again, all transducers ...
Brand highlights
Taking a step back to look at reviewers' thoughts of the brand's entire lineup—not just this product—what stands out most is the following:
- The DPC (Directivity Pattern Control) array, with its computer-modeled waveguide and specific driver arrangement, delivers exceptional soundstage cohesion and image placement, creating a more immersive listening experience.
- The brand employs a multi-driver design with carefully chosen materials, such as beryllium and thin-ply carbon diaphragms, to achieve ultra-low distortion and precise sound reproduction.
- Perlisten products are designed for seamless integration, achieving true timbre matching across their range of in-room, in-wall, and in-ceiling speakers, ideal for creating comprehensive audio/video systems.
- They are the first to achieve THX Certified Dominus status, indicating these speakers offer high output with low distortion, and can fill large rooms without compromising sonic quality.
Select products
R5T
- Positioning: The entry-level model in the R-Series lineup.
- Description: Offers a great balance of performance and affordability, featuring the DPC-Array technology for precise sound control. Uses 165mm woofers made from HPF pulp, providing a rich bass experience, similar to the R7T but with fewer woofers, making it ideal for smaller rooms and tighter budgets.
R7T
- Positioning: A mid-range model in the R-Series, offering advanced features at a competitive price.
- Description: Features DPC-Array and long-excursion woofers, delivering low distortion and excellent directivity. Shares many technologies with the S-Series, like the S5T, but at a more accessible price point.
S5T
- Positioning: A high-performance model in the S-Series, designed for slightly smaller rooms.
- Description: Features advanced DPC-Array and thin-ply carbon diaphragm woofers, offering nearly the same SPL and sensitivity as the S7T. Provides a full-range performance similar to the flagship S7T but in a more compact form.
S7T
- Positioning: The flagship model in the S-Series, representing the pinnacle of Perlisten's audio technology.
- Description: Features DPC-Array and beryllium dome tweeters, delivering exceptional accuracy and dynamic range. Offers the most sophisticated sound experience in the lineup.
Our take on the brand
Look inside the brand
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
As for as tech breakthroughs, we have our patented DPC array: a tweeter inside two midranges. This improves sensitivity and dynamics through such light drivers (3g or less).
Across our entire line, you’re getting 3D soundstaging, detail, dynamics, and low distortion. Most noticeable to the listener is the way sound propagates throughout the room: we focus on a wide dispersion left and right, and slightly limit it top to bottom to minimize first reflections on the floor and ceiling. This makes the speakers easier to place.
As you move up price in our line, the extent to which we do this passive beamforming on the vertical axis descends into a lower and lower frequency.
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
Perlistens are generally not difficult to run. Take the S7t for example: High 80s, low 90s sensitivity. That can run with anything. But, because Perlistens can play so loud, they do like a lot of power to fully show off.
Two brands we generally pair Perlisten with: On the upper end is Audioflight from Italy. On the budget friendly end, Primare. But they've been paired with so much—we haven't come across a pairing they don't work with unless it's a 3W triode tube amp due to insufficient power.
What if you spend more?
Who says in-ceiling speakers are always a compromise? The S3ic is the perfect in-ceiling match for any S-Series Home Theater, where sacrifices to the perfect audio experiences are unacceptable, and perfection is the only path forward. Patent pending design, with directivity control derived from our patent pending DPC, creating a frequency response that matches and sounds like a world class speaker.
Featuring the same Beryllium tweeter, Textreme TPCD midrange and TPCD 7" woofer as our in-walls and highly regarded in-room speakers. This enables a flat frequency response angled for 30-degree main listening window with off axis and power response to match our in-wall S-Series speakers for flawless timber matching needed for true immersive audio.
A solid 4mm thick aluminum back box for consistent sound with limited sound transmission into other rooms. This ability to be used not only for in-ceiling surround but in-ceiling LCR or in-wall wide speakers and THX Certified Dominus for surrounds. Better coverage for even response across more seats with no compromises!
The perfect solution for high end Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and Auro-3D applications. Featuring an innovative new waveguide array controlling Mid/High frequencies, centered by our finest 28mm Beryllium dome tweeter and 28mm TPCD ultra-lightweight dome mid. Optimized for in-ceiling applications where a 30 degree reference axis is desired as well as larger a listening window in the direction towards the listening space.
Extremely versatile – Can be used as L,C,R, surround, height, or wide channel speaker. Once again, All transducers are developed ground up by our engineers sharing largely from with S-Series, formed from decades of research, culminating in this worlds class design.
Utilizing advanced Cosmos acoustical modeling, the result is one of the most technologically advanced in-ceiling loudspeakers available. This new tweeter/waveguide DPC-Array delivers amazing accuracy, smoothness, and directivity control to handle the critical vocal range and delicate treble. The S3ic also benefits from our unique and proprietary timbre matching technique across the entire S-Series.
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Product Strengths
- A DPC array includes a 1.1-inch Beryllium dome tweeter and a 1.1-inch Textreme TPCD ultra-lightweight dome midrange driver, helping match the timbre of other S-Series speakers
- The first in-ceiling model able to achieve THX Certified Dominus, especially one designed for the largest private theaters of up to 6,500 cubic feet
- Promises staggeringly good frequency response across a wide listening area for great sound
- Has a flat surface when installed, leading to less diffraction and reflections
- Has a back box that's four millimeters thick and bituminously damped, to reduce sound leakage
Product Considerations
- The flagship and most expensive offering in the Perlisten in-ceiling speaker line
- Using in-ceiling speakers for bed-layer channels is not ideal and should generally be discouraged
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Offers a more ideal frequency response in the listening position, compared to typical in-ceiling speakers
- Offers sonic advantages due to less diffraction and reflections, compared to on-ceiling speakers
Takeaway: The S3ic is a technologically advanced in-ceiling speaker that delivers excellent sound quality and broad coverage. It is a great choice for creating a high-performance home theater experience.
Video review
Our take on the brand
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Compact in size, the Insight Series P4i defies traditional categorization. Sharing the design elements of its larger Insight Series sibling, it is hard to believe the musical and cinematic performance and dynamic quality of this small in-wall loudspeaker. The Insight Series P4i includes a planar magnetic driver – and four robust 3”x5” woofers for low distortion, high-resolution sound, and a superior dynamic range. The result is excellent, uniform horizontal dispersion throughout its operating range, providing superb off-axis coverage in both in-wall and in-ceiling applications.
Product Strengths
- Truly outstanding sound quality, delivering a near-electrostatic, audiophile listening experience in a disappearing, in-wall package
- Uses planar magnetic thin-film drivers (PMD) which can be highly detailed with excellent transient response
- PMDs are quite reliable because the spread-out "voice grid" is great at dissipating heat
- PMDs are super-easy for an amplifier to drive, as they are "an almost perfectly resistive load"
Product Considerations
- Horizontal center channel use of the Insight P4i requires stud modifications due to its size
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- The Insight series squeezes most of the sound quality of the Wisdom Audio Sage Series into a less imposing, less costly package
Takeaway: The Wisdom Audio Insight P4i speakers provide excellent sound quality in an in-wall design, and are a great way to get high-end audio without large, free-standing speakers. They could be worth buying for those who want the best possible sound without compromising on interior design.
Video review
Our take on the brand
What competes at this price?
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Tool-less design with the Easy Quick Install (EQI) system allows for quick and easy installation
- Flax cone drivers offer light, stiff cones with good natural damping
- The design allows for both horizontal and vertical installation by rotating the high-frequency/mid-range pod
- Delivers impressive dynamics, a clean, neutral balance, and articulate dialogue handling
- Easy to drive with an amplifier
Product Considerations
- The Easy Quick Install (EQI) system may not work in all situations due to space constraints behind the wall
- The open-back design can make the speaker's balance dependent on the installation environment, potentially requiring EQ adjustments
- Adding the included black acoustic cloth to the grille darkens the overall color shade, which is not ideal for color matching applications
- If a clamp breaks on the tool-less design, it is not easily replaceable
- Requires more horizontal spacing than speakers with traditional dogears, requiring installers to be more careful about between-stud placement
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs Focal Kanta No. 2: The Kanta No. 2 has a weightier midrange, superlative upper frequencies, more depth, wider soundstage, and improved imaging, though the 300IWLCR6's sound quality is satisfying
- Vs PSB W-LCR: The PSB exhibits a very slight nasal characteristic, which is not noticed on the Focal LCRs
- Vs Martin Logan Axis: The Martin Logan Axis has impressive imaging and upper-end frequency output due to its folded ribbon tweeter, which is very different from the Focals' inverted dome aluminum and magnesium tweeter
Takeaway: The Focal 300IWLCR6 in-wall loudspeaker is easy to install and delivers great sound for music and movies, especially when paired with a good subwoofer. The speaker can be easily installed, and it can fit into various home theater setups.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Uses Focal's flagship Beryllium tweeter and 'W' cones also found in the Utopia range
- Wall speakers feature adjustable drivers to angle the sound towards the listening position
- Ceiling speakers have Focal's patented 'Easy Quick Install' system for tool-free installation
- Can be integrated with up to 6 subwoofers using only one channel of amplification, to suit the room size
- Magnetic, ready-to-paint speaker grilles allow for visual integration
Product Considerations
- In-wall speakers are less than 10cm deep, which may affect performance for some users
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Form factor is the same as Focal 300 Series, making upgrades easier
Takeaway: The Focal 1000 Series offers advanced technology and flexible design for creating a high-quality, customizable home audio system. Its discreet design and ease of installation make it a great option for those seeking a blend of performance and aesthetics.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Retains the neutrality, realism, and musicality associated with the M&K Sound design in a discreet enclosure
- The front three IW150 models perfectly match each other in terms of tonality and are utterly transparent
- Capable of a pleasingly open sound that fills the room with wonderful detail and clarity
- The transient response of these speakers is incredible, viscerally delivering the scares as the soundtrack suddenly goes from relative silence to very loud
Product Considerations
- Slightly lacking at the low-end, designed to be used with a subwoofer
- Placement can be non-trivial and orientation moreso because of the multi-woofer/tweeter design, resulting in a weird dispersion that will sound different depending on which side of the speaker one is on
- Putting them in the wall might change its sonic integrity
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- IW150 is an in-wall version of the M&K Sound S150
Takeaway: The IW150 delivers the detail, clarity, and transience of a professional studio monitor from a discreet, in-wall enclosure. If one is looking for in-wall speakers that vanish into their decor, then these are worth an audition.
Video review
Our take on the brand
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Creates a soundstage that sits low in the room, almost ear level
- Has a superb midrange with the weight and punch of a true high-end speaker
- Reproduces vocals and instrumentation with an organic quality
- Reduces sound transmission into neighboring rooms due to the integrated enclosure
Product Considerations
- The enclosure could cause installation issues if there's plumbing or venting in the speaker locations
- The speaker grilles have a slightly thicker profile with no sloping transition into the ceiling
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs Martin Logan: PSBs have a more substantial midrange due to the enclosure
- Vs Triad: Very similar in design as both have a back box
Takeaway: The PSB C-LCR is an impressive in-ceiling speaker that sounds like a high-end stand-mount monitor and images spectacularly—creating an almost ear-level soundstage. Consider PSB's CustomSound lineup for a concealed installed speaker system.
Video review
Our take on the brand
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