Perlisten’s THX Dominus In-Ceiling Speakers Great Sound for EVERY Seat!

[jinjuku]

It was one of the worst. We've reviewed worse but at much lower costs. We try to pick good products that will review well to avoid the drama and waste of our time on mediocre products.

Can you find us next level in ceiling that doesn't cost $1300 for the low end . That's a hard pass for many.

 

[TLS Guy]

Is there a typical band range for the 'presense' speakers if we were to look at say 100 movie tracks with Atmos and apply a mean to them?

That is a good question. I think it all depends on how much you want to spend to have absolute fidelity for helicopters bullets and explosions. That is an area of audio I am not prepared to devote huge expense and resources to.

What I want is an accurate ambient field.

Those Mark Audio drivers fit the bill. They don't break up until around 9K, and therefore will have good dispersion up to that point as you can see in my data. After that region yes, dispersion narrows and there is beaming as you would expect. However, tweeters also start to beam close and above these frequencies.

So in an ambient filed I doubt there is much content above those drivers break up range.

All I can tell you, is that I have never localized to one of those drivers, on any content. I have found that using those speakers with the Dolby upmixer and BD Atmos discs especially the ambient field is highly realistic. So they are doing the job at reasonable cost and are correctly loaded by the back box. I can assure you that they make excellent ceiling Atmos speakers, they have never given any offense or drawn unwanted attention to themselves. In fact it has been totally install and forget.

 

[gene]

Can you find us next level in ceiling that doesn't cost $1300 for the low end . That's a hard pass for many.

Paradigm Elite in-ceiling speakers with angle baffles are excellent and I use them in my family room w great success.

 

[TLS Guy]

Paradigm Elite in-ceiling speakers with angle baffles are excellent and I use them in my family room w great success.

They cost $650 or $750 each depending on the model. So for four speakers that would be $2600 or $3000 for a set four. I would never put that kind of cash into ceiling speakers. In addition they do not have a back box. So I could not even install them in this room without making them. For reasons of fire code and just fire safety I have come to the conclusion no speakers should be in wall or in ceiling without back boxes and fire codes should be followed. I know that if I had put those in during construction I would not have been granted a certificate of occupancy by the city of Eagan. They went over my center through wall installation with a fine tooth comb, and I had to go to great lengths to satisfy them.

My downstairs in wall speakers are all enclosed, and not only that, they are in a "false wall", with the fire wall and barrier behind the installation.

I have thought for some time in home audio, HT and yes, this forum, we have run roughshod of best practice and safety in terms of fire codes.

In any event as I have said, those speakers I installed do just the job I want. They produce a very realistic ambient field and are quite good enough for Hollywood's effects.
Talking of which I note they mix in way that they seem scared to send much power to speakers other then the front stage and sub. I think they are scared of getting complaints of blown speakers. I have really good and competent surrounds and rear backs, but they rarely get driven. In fact the only one that does really drive them is the Laplander circular drumming in the first movement of Aho's first symphony. That puts heavy demands all round the system. Yet, the reviews all panned the disc as unplayable. Well it is playable here and really impressive.

 

[gene]

They cost $650 or $750 each depending on the model. So for four speakers that would be $2600 or $3000 for a set four. I would never put that kind of cash into ceiling speakers. In addition they do not have a back box. So I could not even install them in this room without making them. For reasons of fire code and just fire safety I have come to the conclusion no speakers should be in wall or in ceiling without back boxes and fire codes should be followed. I know that if I had put those in during construction I would not have been granted a certificate of occupancy by the city of Eagan. They went over my center through wall installation with a fine tooth comb, and I had to go to great lengths to satisfy them.

My downstairs in wall speakers are all enclosed, and not only that, they are in a "false wall", with the fire wall and barrier behind the installation.

I have thought for some time in home audio, HT and yes, this forum, we have run roughshod of best practice and safety in terms of fire codes.

In any event as I have said, those speakers I installed do just the job I want. They produce a very realistic ambient field and are quite good enough for Hollywood's effects.
Talking of which I note they mix in way that they seem scared to send much power to speakers other then the front stage and sub. I think they are scared of getting complaints of blown speakers. I have really good and competent surrounds and rear backs, but they rarely get driven. In fact the only one that does really drive them is the Laplander circular drumming in the first movement of Aho's first symphony. That puts heavy demands all round the system. Yet, the reviews all panned the disc as unplayable. Well it is playable here and really impressive.

The Paradigm in-ceiling speakers are far superior to that subpar Mark Sota driver which is dynamically and bandwidth limited by comparison. They are worth every penny based on my listening tests and measurements I pulled on them. A backbox can be retrofit if needed. However, IF you don't care about sound isolation and the speakers are located indoors and bass managed, they work just fine free-air. I am constantly blown away by how good the Paradigm Elite flushmount products are and didn't expect that level of performance.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Is there a typical band range for the 'presense' speakers if we were to look at say 100 movie tracks with Atmos and apply a mean to them?

I believe all speakers are full range in reproducing Atmos tracks. Meaning none of them are frequency limited except by the user and you could run full range speakers on the ceiling but who’s doing that? Lol

 

[jinjuku]

I believe all speakers are full range in reproducing Atmos tracks. Meaning none of them are frequency limited except by the user and you could run full range speakers on the ceiling but who’s doing that? Lol

I am

 

[TLS Guy]

The Paradigm in-ceiling speakers are far superior to that subpar Mark Sota driver which is dynamically and bandwidth limited by comparison. They are worth every penny based on my listening tests and measurements I pulled on them. A backbox can be retrofit if needed. However, IF you don't care about sound isolation and the speakers are located indoors and bass managed, they work just fine free-air. I am constantly blown away by how good the Paradigm Elite flushmount products are and didn't expect that level of performance.

I suppose after fabricating the boxes and other odds and ends the outlay for those four Atmos speakers was probably around $450, For the program I play almost all the time, their performance is more then adequate. I have never heard the least indication of overload driving them from 100 watt per channel Quad 405-2s.

I was just listening to a broadcast from St. John's College Cambridge this afternoon via the BBC and the SQ was incredibly good, with a realistic ambient field. I would know very quickly if those speakers were detracting from the overall sound field, and that does not appear to be the case.

 

[gene]

I believe all speakers are full range in reproducing Atmos tracks. Meaning none of them are frequency limited except by the user and you could run full range speakers on the ceiling but who’s doing that? Lol

Correct and lately we've been finding Atmos tracks with fullrange sound going to the heights. It's NOT just for effects. If you have Dirac ART, there is also benefit to height channels that can effectively play down to 80Hz with low distortion.

 

[gene]

I suppose after fabricating the boxes and other odds and ends the outlay for those four Atmos speakers was probably around $450, For the program I play almost all the time, their performance is more then adequate. I have never heard the least indication of overload driving them from 100 watt per channel Quad 405-2s.

I was just listening to a broadcast from St. John's College Cambridge this afternoon via the BBC and the SQ was incredibly good, with a realistic ambient field. I would know very quickly if those speakers were detracting from the overall sound field, and that does not appear to be the case.

It sounds like you listen to mostly Orchestral music and in that case, those Mark Sota drivers may work just fine as you noted.

 

[Danzilla31]

The Paradigm in-ceiling speakers are far superior to that subpar Mark Sota driver which is dynamically and bandwidth limited by comparison. They are worth every penny based on my listening tests and measurements I pulled on them. A backbox can be retrofit if needed. However, IF you don't care about sound isolation and the speakers are located indoors and bass managed, they work just fine free-air. I am constantly blown away by how good the Paradigm Elite flushmount products are and didn't expect that level of performance.

@gene I owned the Paradigm Elite in ceiling and in wall speakers I was very impressed with that line as well.

I did end up going with the Focal 300lcr5's and have really enjoyed those as my new in ceiling speakers.

 

[Danzilla31]

Correct and lately we've been finding Atmos tracks with fullrange sound going to the heights. It's NOT just for effects. If you have Dirac ART, there is also benefit to height channels that can effectively play down to 80Hz with low distortion.

That settles it you need RBH to custom install some on wall SV-831SW's onto your ceiling right frickin now

 

[Trebdp83]

There’s a reason studios mixing atmos tracks use matching speakers all the way around. These aren’t the limited mono surround signal days of old. “Objects” moving around the room should be moved using speakers of matching capabilities. Many cannot accommodate large speakers on their ceiling for one reason or another but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get as close to their mains as they can when configuring for Atmos. Just don’t overspend on the damn things.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Correct and lately we've been finding Atmos tracks with fullrange sound going to the heights. It's NOT just for effects. If you have Dirac ART, there is also benefit to height channels that can effectively play down to 80Hz with low distortion.

Gene, have you talked to Shane Rich about making some bigger badder full-range in-ceiling ATMOS speakers to match your SVTRS?

I mean they got the overkill SVTRS Mains, the overkill 21” Sub, so the next thing’s gotta be the overkill ATMOS?

 

[Mr._Clark]

There’s a reason studios mixing atmos tracks use matching speakers all the way around. These aren’t the limited mono surround signal days of old. “Objects” moving around the room should be moved using speakers of matching capabilities. Many cannot accommodate large speakers on their ceiling for one reason or another but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get as close to their mains as they can when configuring for Atmos. Just don’t overspend on the damn things.
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Gee, I wonder what the WAF is for those systems?

If someone is able to get one of these into their family room and remain married, it would merit induction into the Audioholics Hall of Fame.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Correct and lately we've been finding Atmos tracks with fullrange sound going to the heights. It's NOT just for effects. If you have Dirac ART, there is also benefit to height channels that can effectively play down to 80Hz with low distortion.

I think it could be beneficial for height/top speakers to even play lower. Maybe not too. One reason I thing that’s true is there is an atmos demo that I’ve use where a mixer uses his voice as an object and basically does speaker ID while panning around the room. When he goes to my RSL c34e’s his voice gets tubbier. Those speakers are crossed higher than my bed layer and I’m sure that’s why they sound that way. I’ve never noticed in regular content, but it’s annoying in the demo.
Here’s a link for his second one. It’s a lot of fun as he’s using a recording of a Porsche on a racetrack and changes object size etc.

If you go here, the Atmos file is in the description. Since YT doesn’t support Atmos you have to download it to a thumb drive and play it back in your BD player.
The other video is where he only uses his voice. Both are a lot of fun.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Gee, I wonder what the WAF is for those systems?

If someone is able to get one of these into their family room and remain married, it would merit induction into the Audioholics Hall of Fame.

Those mixing rooms are definitely on the extreme side. But I’ve seen rooms with IN ceiling speakers. WAF was reported to be ok, although it was probably pushed to the edge lol. Personally I like the high tech look, but used IN ceiling for my installation.

 

[Movie2099]

Those Perlisten's are nice looking. But, I think I will just stick with putting 6 RBH-831's in my ceiling for my ATMOS. Those should work pretty good.

 

[Danzilla31]

Those Perlisten's are nice looking. But, I think I will just stick with putting 6 RBH-831's in my ceiling for my ATMOS. Those should work pretty good.

YOU BEAST!!!!!!

 

[Danzilla31]

Those mixing rooms are definitely on the extreme side. But I’ve seen rooms with IN ceiling speakers. WAF was reported to be ok, although it was probably pushed to the edge lol. Personally I like the high tech look, but used IN ceiling for my installation.

I used in ceilings as well I would rather go with one of the rooms we saw pictured above but with 9 foot ceilings and working around the projector it just worked better to go in ceilings.

The ones I use already have a 30 degree angle and the midrange and tweeter swivel so they can aim at the listening position. For in ceilings they do a great job for panning and imaging the sound across the room with the other speakers. An atmos track where you have something crawling or flying or moving around the room sounds amazing