Perlisten Audio D15s Subwoofer Review

Perlisten’s D15s Subwoofer has. This 15-inch sub stands ready to anchor your home theater.

Perlisten Audio stormed out of the gate a few years ago and, within a few months, became a global sensation in the high-end speaker market. The press was filled with rave reviews, and the reaction at audio shows was uplifting. Perlisten has received numerous awards right here at Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity. The dealer network they’ve assembled is impressive, and in less than a decade, the company is known across several continents for providing some of the best sounding speakers available, regardless of price. In the past, we’ve typically reviewed their subwoofers as part of a system, but this time we are going to run this single THX Dominus-certified subwoofer through a series of difficult tests in the same 4,800 cubic foot room that has seen over 200 subwoofers in the last 29 years of testing. After the testing is done in the home theater system, the D15s will find itself in our high-end two-channel room to be paired with the Diptyque Audio 140 Mark II Planar tower loudspeakers to find out if it can elevate them to a new level.

Perlisten Audio is well known here at Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, with this excellent review of their S7T tower speakers anchored a 5.2 system which included a pair of D212s subwoofers by our Editor-in-Chief Carlo Lo Raso in 2021. Carlo found the overall system from Perlisten to be competitive with many high-end speakers on the market, even when compared to speaker systems far above the Perlisten’s asking price. We are going to take the work Carlo started with the D212s subwoofers and delve deep into a dedicated subwoofer review.

Perlisten Audio may be less than a decade in existence, but its pedigree reaches into audio history. Co-founder Dan Roemer’s experience goes back to applying new methods of measuring and modeling acoustical and mechanical systems for a wide range of well-respected audio companies in his earlier days in the audio industry. He is often seen at audio shows and is always willing to discuss his designs with audiophiles for hours at a time. His enthusiasm for audio is contagious, and his willingness to put Perlisten products into comparison tests against far more expensive products demonstrates his confidence in the company and its products.

Partner Lars Johansen is equally dedicated to audio, with experience at JBL, Harman Kardon, Klipsch, Jamo, and a 10-year management tenure at Harman International. Mr. Johansen was also a partner and president at M&K Sound for several years, and his prowess at manufacturing world-class loudspeakers and subwoofers is known and respected across the globe.

The third senior member and partner of the Perlisten team is Erik Wiederholtz. Mr. Wiederholtz earned a Bachelor’s degree in EET and master level courses in Acoustics, specializing in FEA modeling and modeling of micro-acoustic transducers, and traditional dynamic speakers.

Erik’s audio career experience has been augmented by his extensive research on digital microphones with MEMS technology, utilizing speech recognition for IoT, hearing aids, hearables, headphones, earphones, and tabletop speakers.

The team at Perlisten takes their designs quite seriously, with each having a set design goal that is conceived, developed, and finally manufactured to that goal with each product. In the case of the D15s subwoofer, the end game was what would feel like unlimited bass power, extension, and quality that would achieve THX Dominus certification (more on this later in the review) without dominating the room with sheer size. At Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, we consider this to be a worthy aspiration.

The D15s is a straightforward front-firing, acoustic suspension, single-box subwoofer system. While that may sound like a simple design, it is, in reality, a complex system that took years to research and build.

The amplifier is capable of delivering 2,000 watts of peak power into the stout 15-inch driver, which is capable of moving almost three inches peak to peak. The driver employs carbon fiber composite diaphragms, multiple aluminum shorting rings, massive magnets, multi-layer Nomex spiders, and lightweight aluminum voice coil wire that can deliver linear bass in a large room. Its THX Dominus rating demonstrates that the D15s is powerful enough to deliver linear bass in rooms up to 6,500 cubic feet and at distances up to 20 feet away.

The amp and driver are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ regarding the technology packed into this 4.7 cubic foot box. A 32-bit ARM Cortex M4 and Texas Instruments DSP provide the brains of the D15s, adding a 10-band parametric equalizer for manual fine tuning of the bass while providing complete protection for the subwoofer package as a whole. Put simply, it is virtually impossible for the Perlisten D15s to make a bad sound. The DSP will stop any untoward issues before they can be heard.

The included app allows adjustment of EQ, phase, polarity, and volume, and is an integral part of the package as a whole, especially for high-end two-channel systems that do not employ room correction features such as Dirac Live or Audyssey XT-32. We will be testing the Perlisten D15s in both a home theater system using a Marantz AV-10 processor’s Audyssey XT-32 to smooth out the bass and in a dedicated high-end two-channel system in which the built-in parametric EQ will be engaged in place of room correction.

Part 1

Federal Express arrived at our Stellantis dealership with the Perlisten D15s tied down securely on a pallet. It was a simple task to put the box in the back of a Ram truck for final delivery to our home. The subwoofer itself was wrapped in a cloth sock, with 2.5 inches of dense foam embraced around every corner and panel, and then double-boxed. The packing material is first-rate, and the D15s were delivered to us in perfect condition (if you have to have your retailer ship directly to your home, Perlisten’s packaging will make sure you get your system without issues).

The first room for auditioning was our 25 x 24 x 8.5-foot theater room, a worthy test for any single-box subwoofer. The test system included a Marantz AV-10 preamp/processor and AMP-10 power amplifier, Panasonic UB9000 universal player, Definitive Technology DM70 towers as the front left and right speakers, DM60 towers for the left and right rear speakers, and a DM30 center channel speaker.

The D15s was positioned in the same corner we have used for over a quarter-century of testing subwoofers, in the back left corner of the room. Audyssey XT-32 was run with the crossover set at 80 Hz on all five channels. Dynamic EQ and volume were left in the off position, with the system set for flat. Everything was now set to put the THX Dominus rating to the listening test.

Home Theater listening sessions

The scene leading to the desert test of the atomic bomb has this consistent deep bass pulsing effect that the D15s pounded out with a visceral, clean, floor/wall shaking prowess that felt more like multiple subwoofers were being employed rather than a single, relatively room-friendly size. Then: THE SHOCKWAVE. There is a 90-second countdown to the first nuclear weapon exploding. During this, the decision was made for almost total silence up to and for about a minute after the explosion. We see the grandeur and terror of the capability of the device as the flames head over two miles straight up. Then the shockwave hits, and the Perlisten brings home the thunder with aplomb. The floor felt as if it was rolling with the blast, and it kept on for quite a few seconds. This level of bass intensity, along with the length of time of the deep bass reproduction required, is rare in any movie. This scene is meant to scare the viewer, and thanks to Perlisten, we were terrified. Getting back to my rational side, it became apparent that Perlisten not only developed the D15s to deliver powerful and deep bass, but also to continue shaking the room for extended periods without attenuation. The THX Dominus certification is no empty award. This four cubic foot beast can deliver!

The aural assault commences when Sam enters the digital world with this intense thud of infrasonic bass that typically bottoms out even the most potent subwoofer. It was deliberately recorded at an extremely high level into the performance to let the audience know we were now in a different world. The D15s NAILED this scene with a rolling pulse wave that was awe-inspiring. It did so without a whimper and showed again that the THX Dominus rating is assurance that one can try to beat the Perlisten into submission, only to see this 15-inch powerhouse smiling and asking for more.

Once on the grid, the Perlisten bass and tactile machine continued to bring all of Sam’s challenges to life in a way a single 15-inch subwoofer should not be able to do. The battle disc scene requires both power and a deft touch to bring realism from a fantasy world. The leading edges of each percussive hit from the fight scenes in which Sam is battling increasingly lethal foes were handled with clarity, followed by the immediate palpable feeling in one’s chest. The motorcycle battles were intense, with rich, roiling bass delivered with no apparent distortion or an ugly sound at any level. The Perlisten D15s proved itself to be a state-of-the-art movie reproducer. It will handle even large rooms, and I must admit, it makes me wonder what a pair of the D215s would do in this same room. We might need to increase our homeowner’s insurance to include subwoofer-induced earthquakes!

Part 2

After almost six weeks of running the Perlisten D15s in our 4,800 cubic foot theater room, it was time to put it into our high-end, two-channel listening room. This room has concrete floors and walls, with a special tile on the floors covered with thick area rugs. The walls have 2×6 studs filled with insulation, and the ceiling is heavy acoustic tiles. It’s a carefully designed room that had as its goal a benign loading for sine waves. In our almost 30 years here, this room has delivered the type of linearity in response curves that astonished some of the best speaker designers on the planet. Our typical response curve, in room, from good tower speakers is +/- 4 dB from 63 to 10,000 Hz with no room correction.

It was into this room that we placed the D15s into the following system: The pre-amp was the Michi P5 with its dual subwoofer outputs (balanced XLR) driving the Perlisten. The rest of the system was a Michi Q5 CD transport / DAC, a Michi S5 500 WPC power amplifier, a pair of Diptyque Audio 140 Mark II planar loudspeakers, and Clarus Cables shoring up power sources, interconnects, and speaker cables. Without the subwoofer, the Diptyque towers are solid to 30 Hz and were our Floor-Standing Loudspeaker of the Year for 2024. They have exceptionally high-quality bass that requires, from a subwoofer, the ability to turn on a dime in terms of quickness.

After all components were set into the system, the Perlisten D15s was calibrated to the Diptyques using the Dayton Omnimic system by running a sweep, which made for easy level matching. The excellent parametric EQ from the D15s helped to tame a peak in the 30 Hz range, and we were now getting a flat response to well below 15 Hz. The low-pass filter on the Perlisten App was set to 35 Hz. This is well matched with the Diptyque towers as their response starts to tail off at about 35 Hz.

Good old-fashioned stereo

It was the second track (What a Shame about Me) and seventh track (Cousin Dupree) that opened one’s ears to how special the D15s was in terms of elevating the performance of the Diptyque towers. The kick drum has a synthesized extension which yields a powerful 20 Hz center thwack that the Diptyques on their own can deliver, but with limited authority. The D15s turned this bass augmentation into pure bliss. It was deep, taut, and completely within the same fast response that the planar Diptyques were bringing to the house while adding extension and power that elevated the “almost super speaker” quality of the Diptyque 140 Mark IIs to an absolute super speaker level of performance. In the 18 months of ownership of the Diptyque planar speakers, which retail for $17,000 per pair, I have often looked longingly at the $50,000 per pair reference speakers with their 22 Hz floor. That extra half octave of bass was calling to me with promises of no compromises. The Perlisten D15S has removed that longing and replaced it with unlimited clean, deep bass that improved the experience at every level. In addition to the added extension, the rest of the performance was also elevated. The feeling of listening to loudspeakers was further diminished in favor of listening to the performance without limit. What was a lovely listening session for a pair of some of the best values in a high-end loudspeaker pair at $17,000 evolved into a sublime experience of a wall of sound with even greater depth, width, and height for a speaker system that will require an investment of $23,000.

When the “Guitar of the Gods” intro from “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” soars into the room, the subtle sub-harmonics which are present in the recording are extracted by the D15s with aplomb, again adding to that feeling that one is at the performance rather than merely listening to a disc. This entire 2.5-hour ‘great gig in our room’ was taken to a new level with the addition of the Perlisten D15s subwoofer. As we will find in the measurements section of this review, this modest-sized 15-inch subwoofer added over two octaves of extension to the main speakers. It’s the type of bass we music lovers crave, adding extension without a hint of boom. At no point in listening to multiple CDs or tracks from Quboz did the Perlisten detract from the performance. It only added the bass extension, power, texture, and sheer excitement when it was called for by the engineers who made the recording.

What is THX Dominus, and why should I care?

THX Dominus is the next step in the certification from THX in terms of objective performance in a loudspeaker (a subwoofer is a loudspeaker, something we tend to forget). In objective terms, a THX Dominus certification means the speaker in question can deliver SPL levels of up to 120 dB in rooms of up to 6,500 cubic feet. This is more than double the 3,000 cubic foot requirement that THX Ultra has, and it demands that a subwoofer has some serious firepower. The fact that Perlisten was able to achieve Dominus status with a single 15-inch driver is remarkable. The listening sessions bring the subjectivity of good sound to the objectivity of good science built into this subwoofer. Being the greedy bass soul that I am, the thought of “what would a pair of D215s do in our theater room if a single D15s is bringing home such power?” Each D215s brings dual 15-inch drivers to the party, and the thought of having a quad pack of these drivers trying to dismantle our theater room is a fun concept, to say the least!

Measurements and Analysis

A subwoofer’s job is to get deep while retaining linearity at the type of listening levels we all desire. As the Perlisten D15s was tested as both a large room (4,800 cubic feet in our case) home theater subwoofer and as a bass augmentation system in our high-end two-channel listening room, the decision was made to run two separate response curves, one for each room.

The first curve was at 105 dB in our theater room with the subwoofer placed 14 feet from the listening position. This was run after applying the Audyssey XT-32 software system from our Marantz AV10 processor. The response was strong to 13 Hz, where it hit the 6 dB down point. This is an excellent curve at a high SPL. The subwoofer itself was capable of more output than this, and it was not stressed in the least.

The second curve was taken in the two-channel listening room at a 100 dB level, which is more in line with most two-channel listening. This room is somewhat easier to load than our theater room. The response curve here was nothing short of sensational! We realized a +/- 3.5 dB curve from 8 Hz to 70 Hz after moving the low pass crossover from the 35 Hz as used with the Diptyque 140 Mark IIs to a setting of 70 Hz, which should cover the vast majority of speakers to which one might want to add a subwoofer with as much power and depth as the D15s.

Both measurements back up the performance of the Perlisten D15s as an edge-of-the-art bass producing machine.

The Perlisten Audio D15s Subwoofer sports THX Dominus certification and delivers on its promise as a great sub while handily embarrassing more expensive products.

Perlisten and I were introduced at the 2022 Capital Audio Fest in Rockville, Maryland. Carlo Lo Raso (aka the Editor-in-Chief) made a point of bringing me to their room with a pair of their S7T towers playing some intense organ music. The room was shuddering with the intensity of the bass, which caused me to look for the subwoofer(s). There were no subwoofers, and the subjective feeling I got was that these towers were going lower than their specifications suggested.

I immediately wanted to put one of their subwoofers through the paces in our systems and rooms in which over 200 subwoofers have been tortured over the last 28 years. It took almost 2.5 years for this reviewer to get a Perlisten subwoofer here. It was more than worth the wait. A Perlisten subwoofer will never be the least expensive unit for the specifications provided. This is largely because Perlisten conservatively specifies its products. What one cannot see in the specs is the reality that a Perlisten subwoofer can exceed the posted specs consistently and over the long haul. The level of quality needs to be experienced to fully understand it. The Perlisten D15s more than lives up to its promise as a great subwoofer. It combines superior objective measurements with that elusive subjective listening satisfaction, which places it in the realm of state-of-the-art.

The Perlisten D15s is not just a purchase; it is an investment in the best one can get and warrants our highest recommendation.