Procella vs Ascendo vs Alcons vs JBL vs Perlisten

[dazkyl]

Hi folks,

I am new to the forums and I believe this is the place to make some questions when it comes to speakers and subwoofers.

I am building my first home theater strictly for movies only.
I am from Malta so I am limited to what brands I can get, however there are still some good brands I can get my hands on.

I like the sound character of the commercial cinema. Natural and not harsh especially when I bump up the volume. Speaker looks are not necessary. I don't really care how a speaker looks as long as it does the job super well for movies.

Processor is the Trinnov Altitude 16 and Amplifier is the Trinnov Amplitude 16.
Room dimensions are around 518L x 420W x 304 H.
1 row of seating only.

Perlisten is the least favorite from the above. Reason being is that they are too nice and I believe part of the money paid goes for their finish and their THX Dominus certification.
Also I believe it's more of a HiFi brand with music/movies in mind rather then movies only.

I am looking forward for suggestions, feedbacks and also opinions especially from people who measured these brands and also heard them.
Unfortunately I do not have the opportunity to hear them in person. But I am also sure that all of these brands are top notch.

Thanks and looking forward.
Dylan

 

[shadyJ]

While there may be some installers who have experience with all of these brands, I doubt you will find anyone who measured them in any comparative capacity. I have a lot of experience with Perlisten but have only heard Procella in passing. I wouldn't trust anyone who thinks they know the sound character of all of these brands without having done a direct A/B comparison. I expect all the mentioned brands to be very good. I think it's worth checking to see if Grimani Systems or RTJ Audio can be had in your area as well.

Regarding Perlisten vs the others, I would guess they wouldn't quite match the dynamic range of huge speakers with compression drivers and pro-audio woofers, but in a room of your size, I think it will more than suffice for THX Reference listening. I doubt that Procella, Ascendo, JBL, or Alcon would have as accurate of a response or as even directivity. However, since you are almost certainly using Trinnov's auto EQ, that doesn't make as much difference. That being said, one advantage that Perlisten has is the performance data is a known quantity. I don't see any measured performance data for the other brands anywhere at all except for a smattering of data for JBL.

 

[dazkyl]

While there may be some installers who have experience with all of these brands, I doubt you will find anyone who measured them in any comparative capacity. I have a lot of experience with Perlisten but have only heard Procella in passing. I wouldn't trust anyone who thinks they know the sound character of all of these brands without having done a direct A/B comparison. I expect all the mentioned brands to be very good. I think it's worth checking to see if Grimani Systems or RTJ Audio can be had in your area as well.

Regarding Perlisten vs the others, I would guess they wouldn't quite match the dynamic range of huge speakers with compression drivers and pro-audio woofers, but in a room of your size, I think it will more than suffice for THX Reference listening. I doubt that Procella, Ascendo, JBL, or Alcon would have as accurate of a response or as even directivity. However, since you are almost certainly using Trinnov's auto EQ, that doesn't make as much difference. That being said, one advantage that Perlisten has is the performance data is a known quantity. I don't see any measured performance data for the other brands anywhere at all except for a smattering of data for JBL.

Hi Shady. Unfortunately I tried getting JTR to Malta, however the shipping cost + duty + taxes are too much. And JTR are also by order and 3-4months waiting time.

How did you like the Perlistens for movies? What benefits to they have with their with their drivers over the Procella, Alcons and Ascendo?

 

[TLS Guy]

Hi Shady. Unfortunately I tried getting JTR to Malta, however the shipping cost + duty + taxes are too much. And JTR are also by order and 3-4months waiting time.

How did you like the Perlistens for movies? What benefits to they have with their with their drivers over the Procella, Alcons and Ascendo?

It sounds as if you are trying to set up a high end system. It is nonsense that you choose speakers depending on program. Good speakers will play whatever you want without favor.

I would take a good look at Sigberg Audio in Norway. They are producing a line of superb active speakers, with DSP. The measure very well, and produce huge spl. They are also small. The speakers use coaxial mid/HF drivers sourced from Italy. Using active speakers allow you just to purchase an AVP and not worry about having to choose and buy power amps.

If you want a top line system active speakers are the way to proceed in my view. That approach allows for a big increase in sound quality.

 

[dazkyl]

It sounds as if you are trying to set up a high end system. It is nonsense that you choose speakers depending on program. Good speakers will play whatever you want without favor.

I would take a good look at Sigberg Audio in Norway. They are producing a line of superb active speakers, with DSP. The measure very well, and produce huge spl. They are also small. The speakers use coaxial mid/HF drivers sourced from Italy. Using active speakers allow you just to purchase an AVP and not worry about having to choose and buy power amps.

If you want a top line system active speakers are the way to proceed in my view. That approach allows for a big increase in sound quality.

So should I remove the Ascendo Passive Monitors? As I was also looking at them.

 

[TLS Guy]

So should I remove the Ascendo Passive Monitors? As I was also looking at them.

I would give Sigberg a much more serious look than those Ascendo Monitors.

 

[shadyJ]

Hi Shady. Unfortunately I tried getting JTR to Malta, however the shipping cost + duty + taxes are too much. And JTR are also by order and 3-4months waiting time.

How did you like the Perlistens for movies? What benefits to they have with their with their drivers over the Procella, Alcons and Ascendo?

Perlistens are great for movies and music alike. The benefit of the Perlistens is that their drivers are far more controlled. They are so well-controlled that they have a ruler flat response as a passive loudspeaker. They are more transparent about their loudspeaker performance than almost any other manufacturer on Earth. I doubt that those other manufacturers' drivers have anywhere near the linearity of the Perlistens. It's true that will be negated a bit when you use powerful equalization like Trinnov, but it still has benefits. No auto EQ system can reconcile uneven directivity, as one example. That being said, those other manufacturers may well have a dynamic range advantage that is more appropriate for a very large room. However, any of the Perlisten speakers that are certified for THX Dominus are capable of achieving THX Reference levels at a 20-foot listening distance (610cm) from the speaker within a 6,500 cubic foot room (184 cubic meters). It looks like your listening situation would fall within those parameters.

If it were me, I would swing for the Perlistens over those other brands because I know with certainty what Perlistens can do, but I can only speculate about the other brands.

 

[shadyJ]

I would give Sigberg a much more serious look than those Ascendo Monitors.

Sigberg's Manta speakers look killer for dynamic range, but the OP should definitely inquire with Sigberg whether even the Mantas can supply the kind of SPL he is looking for. I would guess they can, but Thorbjorn over at Sigberg would be candid about his speakers' limitations and could tell him for sure.

 

[lovinthehd]

Can you provide more info about the room, seating location in the room, speaker locations etc? Only considering boxed speakers or in-walls or ? On dims alone it's a fairly small room so seems many speakers could work well.

 

[dazkyl]

Can you provide more info about the room, seating location in the room, speaker locations etc? Only considering boxed speakers or in-walls or ? On dims alone it's a fairly small room so seems many speakers could work well.

Seating location would be around 9ft from fronts. I am considering towers or onwalls. No inwalls.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Processor is the Trinnov Altitude 16 and Amplifier is the Trinnov Amplitude 16.
Room dimensions are around 518L x 420W x 304 H.

518cm (17FT) x 420cm (13.8FT) x 304cm (10FT) ceiling is a very average size room in the US. It's smaller than my previous living room of 20FT x 18FT x 10FT ceiling.

My current room is 792.5 cm x 670.6 cm x 426.7 cm ceiling.

Based on my experience practically ANY modern speaker will play loud enough in your 518x420x304 room.

THX Dominus rating is up to 20FT or 609.6 distance from seat to speakers, which is a lot bigger than your room. So, of course, the Perlisten will work extremely well in your room.

 

[fmw]

So should I remove the Ascendo Passive Monitors? As I was also looking at them.

You should buy what sounds best to you. If you can't listen to them prior to buying then pick whatever moves you for whatever reason and move on. Or choose based on published specifications. It is meaningless to choose something that fits someone else's preference. Your preference is all that matters.

 

[Sigberg Audio]

Hello, thanks for recommending the Sigberg Audio Mantas. If I understand the room dimensions correctly (20-25m2), the Mantas will get extremely loud in this space and with only 9ft listening distance. Even the SBS.1 will be plenty.

At 2m (12ft) listening distance, a pair of SBS.1 will do about ~116dB without audible compression. The Mantas will do ~122dB. I suspect you will prefer to not be in the room at that level.