Perlisten and Trinnov Go All Out For CEDIA 2024

The annual CEDIA Expo is almost upon us, and the AV industry’s top companies are hard at work preparing to wow attendees with their latest and greatest. Each autumn, the CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association) show gives manufacturers and designers the opportunity to show off custom-install products and services for distributed audio, high-end home theater, and related parts of the industry. Some companies are keeping everything hush-hush before this year’s show, while others have given us a heads-up about what to expect when the doors open in Denver on September 5th. I much prefer the latter approach, as it gives show-goers and members of the press a chance to create a plan of attack in order to get the most out of their time. Perlisten will once again be at this year’s event, and attendees will have the unique opportunity to meet key members of the Perlisten team, all of whom are eager to “share insights into our latest innovations and discuss how we are continuing to push the boundaries of audio technology,” according to the company. (I had the pleasure of interviewing CTO Erik Wiederholtz last year when the brand launched its game-changing Perlisten THX Dominus in-ceiling speakers.) I’m also happy to report that the Perlisten team has let us know exactly what’s in store for this year’s demo system, which looks incredible. The company has teamed up with several other elite brands, including Trinnov, Barco, madVR, and Kaleidescape, to create what’s being hailed as “the most advanced and high-performing immersive home theater demonstration ever presented at CEDIA.” The CEDIA show has featured its fair share of heavy-hitting demos over the years, so that’s a bold statement, but one that these brands will surely be ready to back up.

These companies will be unveiling innovative products and demonstrating “the future of immersive A/V in home theaters, setting a new standard for enthusiasts and professionals alike,” according to a press release from Perlisten. The theater will feature no fewer than 33 channels, anchored by the mighty Perlisten S7t Limited Edition floorstanders reproducing the front left, right, and center channels. That alone should be worth the flight to Denver. The mockups I’ve seen also include ten of Perlisten’s S5i in-wall speakers serving as front wides, three pairs of side surrounds, and rear surrounds. Overhead, there will be six Perlisten S4s speakers reproducing the height channels for Dolby Atmos. 

Finally, the system will feature a whopping 14 of Perlisten’s world-beating D215s push-pull active subwoofers, each featuring dual 15-inch woofers driven by 3000 watts of amplification. As our own James Larson explained in his 2021 review, the Perlisten D215s is simply one of the best subwoofers ever made. (See his article: Perlisten D215s: Is This the Most Accurate Subwoofer on the Planet?) Eight of the D215s subs will be placed along the front wall (behind the projection screen), and the remaining six will be placed along the rear wall. If you’re struggling to keep track of all those channels, the configuration is a dizzying 13.14.6 Perlisten speaker system.

In an age where technology and entertainment merge seamlessly, our immersive home theater demo represents the pinnacle of audio innovation. We are excited to share an audiophile home theater experience with fellow audio professionals and enthusiasts.

Lars Kragh Johansen, Chief Sales Officer at Perlisten Audio

There’s clearly no shortage of brawn in the Perlisten speaker system described above, but it also takes some serious audio brains to make 33 independent sound sources work together in harmony. Audio processing (and presumably, amplification) will be provided by the folks at Trinnov, who will be showcasing the brand’s groundbreaking WaveForming technology. Trinnov describes WaveForming as “an entirely new approach to optimizing low frequencies with unprecedented seat-to-seat bass uniformity, impact, and detail, reinforcing Trinnov’s position as the leader in audio processing technology.” That reportedly translates to a level of performance previously unavailable in small rooms. This new technology recently became available for Trinnov owners in early August of 2024 via the release of software version 4.4.0 for the Trinnov Altitude platform. WaveForming uses a unique active acoustics approach that reportedly eliminates room modes rather than compensating for them. And while not everyone will have the space or budget for 14 Perlisten subwoofers, the folks at Trinnov have developed flexible subwoofer layout options, allowing integrators to deploy WaveForming with as few as four subwoofers, according to the company.

As my colleague Matthew Poes explains in his article Trinnov Reveals Details of WaveForming Redefines Low Frequency Reproduction, Trinnov’s WaveForming technology is a cutting-edge “Multiple Source Multiple Controller” approach, utilizing all speakers in the system to address acoustical challenges. Trinnov leverages properly-positioned subwoofers on the front wall to narrow dispersion, bending the low-frequency radiation and confining it to specific areas. Trinnov also incorporates an additional set of subwoofers on the back wall, designed to capture and cancel the sound waves, preventing the formation of longitudinal modes. 

WaveForming relies on 4 major innovations, including the MSMC approach, arguably the most significant one. MSMC stands for Multiple Sources, Multiple Controllers, and truly differentiates WaveForming from any other low-frequency optimization technology. With other methods, each low-frequency source (usually a subwoofer) is driven and considered individually. WaveForming drives multiple sources individually and combines them together to create a single acoustic source. This single acoustical source forms the appropriate wavefront (Wavefront Synthesis) for the acoustic environment. In practical terms, WaveForming steers bass towards the listening area and away from the most reflecting surfaces (via Acoustic Reshaping) to limit and control the amount of reflections created in the room.

— Trinnov

Trinnov WaveForming technology represents a seismic shift in the world of home theater design and how we approach low frequency mode control. By leveraging advanced algorithms and sophisticated signal processing, this groundbreaking technology offers unparalleled control over low-frequency sound reproduction.

— Matthew Poes of Poes Acoustics

CEDIA Expo 2024 will take place September 5th-7th, 2024 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO, and will be co-located with Commercial Integrator Expo for the second year in a row. The CEDIA Smart Home Technology Conference will take place September 4th-6th, 2024. CEDIA attendees can look forward to interactive sessions, informative presentations, and the opportunity to experience these latest audio advancements firsthand.

The Perlisten/Trinnov system will be located in booth 2938. Make sure to make an appointment for VIP entry. Video content for the system will be refined by madVR video processing before being blasted onto a Seymour screen by a Barco Nerthus projector, delivering up to 32,000 lumens. The theater space will be designed by Italy’s Officina Acustica, which builds interiors for private cinemas, media rooms, screening rooms, mixing/mastering studios, and “any space that requires exquisite interior design and incredible acoustic performance.”

To learn more about Trinnov’s audio technology, make sure to attend CEO Arnaud Laborie’s presentation called “Room Modes Elimination and Low Frequency Extension with Active Acoustics and Subwoofer Placement.” This session is scheduled for Wednesday, September 4th at 9:30am in Room 403.

More information: CEDIA Expo