$5,000 5 2 Channel Recommended Home Theater System Audioholics Home Theater Forums

Table of Content

• Used Sony Radio Receiver 5.2 Channel Audio Video STR-DH550 Home Theater System
• Sony STR-DH550 5.2 Channel 4K HDMI Home Theater Stereo Receiver
• Perlisten Audio S7t 5.2 Channel Home Theater System Review
• Klipsch Home Theater Systems with 5.2 Channel Speaker System Speaker Systems Without Receiver
• Customer Service
• Perlisten Audio 5.2 Channel Home Theater System

With the 10K and 4K two channel systems, things weren't quite as clear cut; Gene mentioned he wasn't totally enamored with the KEF choice for example which led to the addition of RBH. Of course, there is an alternative system of sorts coming; a 6.5K high WAF multichannel setup is in the pipeline. To appreciate how unique this is to Perlsiten let’s look at the CEA 2034 “floor reflection” of a high-quality speaker with good CEA “spin” curves. As you can see it has no attenuation at all except around the crossover which has a dip that “colors” the reflection.

The curves show two measurements taken at each of the three EQ presets. One measurement is taken at the front-firing driver, while the other was taken at the vent space below the driver in order to capture the full results of the two push/pull drivers working together. Above are the Left and Right channel In-room averages of the R5m speakers compared to the Predicted In-Room Response plot supplied by the manufacturer. The Left and Right averages show very good channel matching from 200 Hz on up.

Used Sony Radio Receiver 5.2 Channel Audio Video STR-DH550 Home Theater System

So, for a loudspeaker to meet that specification it must maintain a very high fidelity of sound at a continuous 85 dB level at the listening position with 105 dB peak levels. Subwoofers need to do 95 dB continuous with 115 dB peaks to meet the spec. Both need to accomplish this task while maintaining low levels of distortion, high dynamic range, and proper on and off-axis performance, among other things. As of this writing, the Perlisten speakers and subs in this review are the only THX Certified Dominus loudspeakers and subwoofers out there in the consumer market. The drivers themselves were completely designed by Perlisten to have a high sensitivity, low mass, low inductance, low distortion with a very long linear motion. Perlisten states that these drivers have a 60 mm peak-to-peak length of linear travel.

So many of these types of on-wall surrounds that I’ve come across have the binding posts near the bottom of the box and with no thought about how to conveniently run the cable behind the enclosure. I wish more manufacturers who make wall-mounted surround speakers would follow Perlisten’s example here. We liked the review system they sent us so much we awarded it our 2021 Product of the Year award and added both the 5.2 system and the S7t tower speakers to our Secrets Recommended Gear list for 2022. A science fiction, time travel story with an incredible and immersive sound design.

Sony STR-DH550 5.2 Channel 4K HDMI Home Theater Stereo Receiver

The low end was very intense and punchy for a stand-mounted MTM-style monitor, placed well out into the room no less. After trying out a variety of tracks, I became convinced that there was actually too much bass or upper bass coming out of these speakers. Even after some repositioning I still felt like the upper bass was a bit too bloated. I’ll usually get a minor bump at that frequency with the right channel in most speakers that come in here but it’s usually not a problem.

The other factor is the sound stage width, or some would say the spaciousness of the sound in mono. Reduced reflections will create a speaker with less envelopment since more direct sound is coming to the ear. On the technical side, the R55Ti, R56Ci, and R55Wi are all of average sensitivity, with ratings between 87 and 88dB with 2.83V at 1 meter. They’re also all specified to be 6 ohm speakers, which taken together with the sensitivity ratings indicate they shouldn’t require massive amplification to deliver big output. Here is the Impedance sweep for the Perlisten R5c Center Channel speaker. Like the R5m, results show much of the speaker’s operating range takes place between 3 to 5 ohms.

Perlisten Audio S7t 5.2 Channel Home Theater System Review

If others had access to the Perlisten IP they could create a speaker with a similar performance, but enough degrees of freedom exist to create something that sounds a little different in your room. The report I got back was the listening tests were not as painful as they might sound, and his positive perception of the speaker had not changed. When I reviewed the Perlisten S7t-based surround sound system last year, it was a system very much of excess. It was an incredible performer in every respect, comprised of the company’s top-of-the-line gear. I wondered though if Perlisten could do a smaller, more approachable system without giving up much in the way of that outright performance. Taken individually, the Perlisten R5m is an excellent stand-mounted speaker.

Movie dialog was also crystal clear from every seat and levels required no additional tweaking from my part post calibration. Two D212 subwoofers are complete and utter overkill for my size of home theater but, be that as it may, I have never had such impressive sounding, detailed, and, when necessary, concussive bass in my home theater, ever. The well-thought-out control app on my phone gave me an excellent amount of flexibility for dialing in each subwoofer to perform its best in the room prior to letting room correction finesse the rest. The two subs were easily getting down flat to at least 15 Hz in room and kept bass evenly distributed amongst all four of our chairs.

Product Specifications of the ELAC Cinema 5.2 Home Theater Speaker System

For $5,000 and some change, it’s clearly possible to build a very impressive 5.2 system. The secret sauce here is the high value EMPTek line, which delivers performance and aesthetics that defies their price point. Add in a pair of good quality subwoofers from SVS and a Denon receiver to make the most of them, and you’ve got the core of an excellent home theater system. Now all you need is a display and some popcorn to enjoy movies and music in all their multi-channel glory. Here is the nearfield response data for the R212s subwoofer provided taken in my room.

This in-room measurement of the Perlisten R5m stand-mount speaker is an 18-point spatial average. A 9-point measurement was made for the right speaker and then repeated for the left speaker. Averaging both speakers is an approach that others have been using and publishing. Using data from both speakers reduces the modal response of the room by averaging the differences in the response of the two speakers from room asymmetries. The technique cannot eliminate them however and, as such, the response below 300Hz remains room dominated.

Klipsch Home Theater Systems with 5.2 Channel Speaker System Speaker Systems Without Receiver

It was obvious that we here at Secrets, along with several other audio journos out there on the internet, were both taken by surprise and impressed with Perlisten’s arrival on the scene last year. Taken by surprise because we’ve all heard lofty marketing claims by new companies introducing products before. Honestly, the “grain of salt” you take with such claims these days, has somewhat morphed to the size of an average boulder. We were impressed because Perlisten wowed us in our review of their S7t-based home theater system and by and large, legitimately made good on their claims.

What Perlisten achieves in this plot is amazing, meeting the two diverging requirements. Go beyond 10-degrees and the speaker is transitioning to attenuate the floor bounce. By 20-degrees it has achieved this, but something is happening around 3 kHz.