Perlisten left a tremendous impression on us when we reviewed their flagship tower S7t speakers earlier this year. It was a speaker that pushed passive loudspeaker technology forward in a big way. It had a huge dynamic range, near-perfect on-axis response, outstanding directivity control, subwoofer-level bass extension, and a cool, futuristic look. One of its only potential problems was that it was a fairly large loudspeaker, and what if you wanted that technology without the size or weight? Enter the Perlisten S4b.

We had seen what Perlisten could do in a large tower speaker, but how well would their technology lend itself to a much smaller form factor? That was the question that prompted me to inquire about the possibility of reviewing a pair of the S4b bookshelf speakers. Sure, it isn’t likely to have the dynamic range of the S7t speakers, nor the subsonic bass extension, but it’s a speaker that doesn’t become a logistical challenge for those who don’t have several able-bodied adults handy if the speakers need to be moved. It also doesn’t have the presence of the S7t for those who don’t want the speakers to be such an imposing visual element of the room. The S7t is a lot of speaker, and there are certainly those out there who are interested in Perlisten’s design technology but don’t need that much speaker. The S4b looks to be an answer to that, but how much of the S7t’s sound is left when it is squeezed into a bookshelf speaker form factor? Let’s take a deep dive to find out…