Perlisten X2w On-Wall Speaker; Each

The Perlisten X2w is the compact on-wall in Perlisten's X-Series, built around the same 38mm silk dome tweeter and carbon fiber woofer hardware as its larger siblings, with a single 5.5" woofer under the tweeter and 88dB sensitivity. At 330mm tall and 100mm deep it mounts flat to the wall, so there is no cabinet standing proud of the surface and no stand to place.

Key Features of the Perlisten X2w

• 38mm Silk Dome Tweeter in Waveguide: Same 38mm silk dome tweeter used across the X-Series on-walls, so the X2w keeps a consistent top-end character alongside the larger X3w and X5w in a multichannel system.
• 5.5" Carbon Fiber Woofer: A stiff, light cone with controlled breakup for clean midrange and low distortion.
• 88dB Sensitivity: Efficient for a compact sealed on-wall. 50 to 200 watts recommended.
• 100mm Cabinet Depth: Flat against the wall without dominating the space.
• Satin Black or Satin White: Both finishes ship with matching perforated grills.
• Full Mounting Kit Included: Wall bracket, angle bracket, and grill are in the box.

About Perlisten Audio

Perlisten is a Wisconsin-based speaker company founded by engineers from the pro-audio and home-theater worlds. Controlled horizontal and vertical dispersion is the design goal on every Perlisten speaker rather than a by-product, and the X-Series was held back until it measured the way the rest of the line does. The X-Series brings Perlisten's controlled-dispersion waveguide approach to on-wall and in-ceiling formats, so the same voicing principles that define the S and R Series carry into architectural applications.

A Real Speaker in a Compact Cabinet

Most compact on-walls sacrifice either driver quality or cabinet integrity to hit a price and size target. The X2w carries the same 38mm silk dome tweeter used across the X-Series on-walls and a single 5.5" carbon fiber woofer, packaged into a sealed enclosure tall enough to avoid the thin, boxy midrange that plagues ultra-small on-walls.

Sealed Design for Wall Mounting

The X2w uses a sealed cabinet rather than a ported one. Ports on a wall-mounted speaker are a problem waiting to happen: the port has to point somewhere, and whatever it points at, a nearby wall or the floor or the listener's couch, is going to color the bass. A sealed box rolls off low frequencies gradually and predictably and is far more forgiving about placement. The tradeoff is a little less low-end extension on paper, which is the right tradeoff when the speaker will be paired with a subwoofer in nearly every system that uses it.

Roles in a System

The X2w works as a stereo pair on either side of a display, as surround channels in a 5.1, 7.1 or 7.2.4 array with larger X-Series models in front, or anywhere the speaker should sit against the wall rather than out in the room. Because every X-Series on-wall uses the same 38mm silk dome tweeter, the X2w's top-end character stays consistent with the X3w and X5w for anyone building a complete front-and-surround package around the series.

Build and Installation

The cabinet is 330mm tall, 200mm wide, and 100mm deep, with a weight of 7kg. The included wall bracket handles most flat vertical installs, and the angle bracket lets you toe the speaker slightly toward the listening position when the surround or stereo geometry calls for it. Satin Black and Satin White are both smooth low-sheen finishes.

The grille is a replacement part rather than a fixed piece of the speaker. A Satin White cabinet ships with a white grille and a Satin Black one with black, but either can be ordered on its own, so you can mix a black grille onto a white speaker or swap out a grille that has picked up dirt.

How the X-Series On-Walls Are Built

The cabinet is aluminum on the sides and the back, with an injection-molded baffle on the front. Perlisten builds every on-wall X-Series model this way, and the enclosure is sealed, which is why the low end stops cleanly instead of loosening up against a wall.

The grille sitting over the woofer is not a cover. It is part of the waveguide. Perlisten tuned the hole size and hole spacing on every model individually, because the grille changes the impedance the woofer sees and how much the cone can travel, and the crossover has to be designed around it.

The Perlisten logo on the grille is a magnet. Lift it off and reposition it so the badge still reads correctly when the speaker is mounted horizontally.

How to Mount the X-Series

The mounting plate levels and screws to the wall first, then the speaker hooks onto the plate and sits flat against it. Perlisten's animation below runs through the sequence.

The bracket goes up first and gets levelled on its own, so the speaker is level before it is ever lifted into place. It then slides onto four posts and is held with four screws. Plastic caps are in the box to cover those four screw points, matched to the finish, which matters if you run the speakers without grilles.

A fixed 15-degree angle bracket is also included. It tilts in one direction rather than swivelling, so you rotate the bracket itself to aim the speaker: turned one way it toes in, turned another it points up or down for a speaker mounted low or high. If you use it, the angle bracket mounts to the wall first, then the four-post bracket, then the speaker. The pattern is not VESA.

Matching the X-Series With Other Perlisten Speakers

Every X-Series model shares the same tweeter and woofer hardware, so Perlisten designed the line to be mixed. Larger models across the front, smaller ones for surrounds, the X2ic overhead: any combination holds one voice, and Perlisten's measurements across the line show the same response shape from model to model.

The X-Series also voices with the A-Series, which was the starting point for its large waveguide, and with the R-Series, which uses a silk dome of its own. The S-Series is the exception. Its beryllium tweeter is a different top end, so an S-Series front stage is not the one to extend with X-Series surrounds.

Where the X-Series Fits

The X-Series is a near-field design, engineered for a normal viewing setup: a display, seating at a sensible distance, and speakers on the wall around it. In that role it measures like the rest of the Perlisten line, which is the entire point of the series.

A large dedicated theater asks for more speaker. Perlisten's answer there is the Architectural range: R-Series and S-Series in-walls and in-ceilings with bigger drivers and more of them, up to the S7i. We can help you put a front stage together from either family. Get in touch.

Pairing the X2w With a Subwoofer

Perlisten builds the X-Series to run with a subwoofer and recommends crossing over between 80 and 100Hz. Below 100Hz the roll-off is deliberately the same shape on every X-Series model, and Perlisten counts on the room adding 10 to 12dB back below that point, so the handoff to a subwoofer behaves predictably and calibration software has an easy target to work with.

Perlisten R8s

$1,995

The compact sealed subwoofer Perlisten ran as a pair with the X3w at their factory grand opening.

Perlisten D3is

$5,995

An on-wall subwoofer with its own amplifier that shares the X-Series look, shown by Perlisten with the X5w. Now has an optional freestanding base.

See the rest in Perlisten subwoofers.

The Listening Room Difference

We're a third-generation family business with a brick-and-mortar showroom in Chestertown, Maryland, and a reputation built on exceptional service and relentless passion for hifi. Whether you're visiting in person or ordering online, we bring decades of experience, personalized service, and honest guidance to every interaction. We don't just ship boxes. We help build systems, answer your questions like real humans, and make sure every detail of your setup is right, from the cables to the final connection. Our passion is helping you get the most out of your gear, with support that lasts well beyond the sale.

Perlisten X2w Specifications