Few new speaker brands have enjoyed the universal acclaim of Perlisten, and after a cursory listen, it’s obvious the critical acclaim heaped on its £7,000 S4b flagship standmount isn’t merely generous encouragement for a fledgling brand from Wisconsin, USA.

Founded by acoustical engineer Daniel Roemer and former M&K Sound president Lars Johansen in 2016, it wasn’t until 2020 that Perlisten Audio’s fully formed production speakers landed with a thump, catering for both the hi-fi and AV sectors. The intervening years were all about a thoroughgoing R&D program, not least to optimise the company’s distinctive DPC (directivity pattern control) driver array, the core standout feature of all its speakers. More on DPC in a while.

Understandably, the seven-driver S7t floorstander (£18k and 56kg) made the biggest media splash at launch but its S4b sibling, sharing much of the tower’s ground breaking tech, is hardly a shrinking violet in the standmount stakes with eyes just as set on the higher-end prize. Size wise, it’s a stout, square-shouldered production that could be regarded as a lighter but no less arresting alternative to the KEF Reference 1 Meta and B&W 805 D4.

There are dedicated heavyweight stands (heavier than the speakers) but, given the S4b’s sub-monster 15.6kg, wall mounting via the four screw hole fixings on the rear panel is a viable option. In the event, I preferred the results with my 24-inch Slate Audio stands; they’re about the same weight as the dedicated jobs but have a much thicker top plate…