The PQS-202

The PQS-202 MK II is a 3-way design based on our earlier PQS-201 model with the addition of a sub-woofer. It is designed for use in high-end 2-channel systems and also as the front loudspeakers in high quality home theater systems.

Fast High Quality Bass
The PQS-202 MK II sub-woofer uses the same 12-inch driver as our prestige Loreley model to produce deep, clean and fast bass down to 35Hz.

Easy to Position
The PQS-202 MK II may be positioned against the wall. This minimizes its intrusion into the room and makes it ideal for smaller listening rooms as well as home theatre systems.

German Physiks’ Revolutionary DDD Driver
Like all German Physiks loudspeakers, the key to the exceptional performance delivered by the PQS-202 MK II is its carbon fiber DDD driver. Here, this wide-bandwidth omnidirectional driver covers the range from 250Hz up to 24kHz. This extremely wide range is achieved by the use of pistonic, bending wave and modal radiation: Most loudspeakers use drivers that are purely pistonic. The same DDD driver is used on all German Physiks loudspeakers, from our entry level Unlimited MK II, to our top of the range, $300,000 Gaudi MK II.  The DDD driver gives the same very important advantages to all German Physiks designs and is what sets them apart from the competition. These are:

1. Exceptionally coherent and natural sound: The extremely wide operating range of the DDD driver provides an exceptionally coherent and natural sound. This is very difficult to achieve when this frequency range is split over two or more different types of driver, which are in physically different positions on the cabinet.

This wide operating range also eliminates the crossover point in the mid-range that loudspeakers using conventional pistonic drivers must have. Our hearing is most sensitive in the mid-range and avoiding the level and phase errors that crossovers can create from this region further improves transparency.

2. Realistic stereo images more like the concert hall experience: When you listen to music in a concert hall, you are in an enveloping sound field where much of the sound is reflected off a surface before it reaches your ears. These reflections play an important part in the creation of the stereo image that you perceive. Because the DDD driver is omnidirectional, it radiates all frequencies evenly around it and so creates a similar enveloping sound field in the listener’s room. This way the PQS-202 MK II is able to recreate a more natural rendition of the original stereo image. This has excellent depth and focus, but without the overly sharp image definition that some hi-fi loudspeakers produce and which you will rarely if ever hear at a live performance.

3. Stereo imaging enjoyable in almost all positions in the room: Conventional loudspeakers tend to produce stereo images that can only be best enjoyed from one position in the room, the “sweet-spot,” and then usually by only one person. Move away from the “sweet-spot” and both the stereo image and tonal balance become progressively degraded. This is because conventional pistonic drivers tend to concentrate their radiation into a beam that narrows with increasing frequency.

By contrast, the DDD driver’s omnidirectional radiation pattern enables PQS-202 MK II to produce excellent stereo images that can be enjoyed from a wide range of listening positions in the room, while also maintaining a more even tonal balance — much like you would experience at a live performance. This gives more flexibility in where you sit and allows several people to enjoy a good sound simultaneously, so you can share your music with others. Because you are not restricted to a small “sweet-spot” in order to hear the best sound, the PQS-202 MK II provides a more relaxed listening experience. This is especially noticeable when you listen for long periods.

4. Exceptional dynamics: The DDD driver’s very low moving mass provides an excellent impulse response, allowing it to recreate both the attack of the music and resolve low level detail very accurately. The resultant transparency is maintained even on complex high-level passages. For example, cymbals have an authentic initial smash and the ebb and flow of the subtle overtones that follow is clear and unmasked. This ability is essential in order to faithfully reproduce the delicate nuances of a performance and make it sound like music, rather than just good hi-fi. Once you have become accustomed to the more natural presentation provided by our DDD driver, it can be difficult to go back to listening to a conventional design. This is something we often hear from our customers and it has also been commented on in reviews.

5. Accurate portrayal of musical instruments’ tonal characteristics: The DDD driver is phase linear across its operating range, ensuring that the tonal character of each musical instrument is reproduced with great accuracy. This together with the excellent dynamic response enables the PQS-202 MK II to reproduce percussion with startling reality. Voices have a clarity and purity that can be breath taking, with all the elements that comprise the vocal sound correctly located in space and with no undue emphasis. The hardness you often hear with conventional tweeters is eliminated and you get a greater sense of hearing a live musician rather than a recorded one.

More information on the DDD driver, its development and advantages may be found on the Technology page of the German Physiks web site at http://bit.ly/1jLZekr.

Low Resonance Cabinet
To minimize resonances the PQS-202 MK II’s cabinet is constructed from heavy MDF panels with additional internal bracing to increase rigidity. Any residual resonances are minimized by applying Hawaphon®, a special damping material, to the inside of each panel. Hawaphon® is a polymer sheet containing a matrix of small cells filled with very fine steel shot and was originally developed as an anti-surveillance measure for use in military and government buildings. It adds mass to the panel to reduce the resonant frequency and the ability of the shot in each cell to move against each other provides a very effective way of converting vibration energy into heat. Hawaphon® achieves a broadband attenuation of structure-borne sound of more than 50dB.

To damp resonances of the air within the cabinet, the whole of the inside of the cabinet is lined with a thick layer of high-density felt.

Adjustable High Frequency Output
Jumpers on the loudspeaker’s rear panel enable the high frequency output level to be adjusted in 4 steps: -2dB, Flat, +2dB and +4dB. This allows the user to easily compensate for the variations in the absorption of high frequencies that occur due to different types of furnishings and room construction.

Hand Finished Cabinets for Ultimate Quality
Because the look of our products is as important as the sound, all our cabinets are built and finished by skilled cabinetmakers for the best possible furniture grade finish.

The PQS-202 MK II is available in black or white high-polish polyester; a wide range of high quality veneers in both satin and high gloss lacquer and satin and high gloss automotive paint finishes.

A high gloss carbon fiber finish is also available by special order. Here the cabinet’s heavy MDF panels are reinforced with multiple layers of bi-directional, resin impregnated carbon fibre, applied using techniques originally developed for the aircraft industry. This is then coated with a multi-layer lacquer and hand finished to a luxuriously high lustre. As well as looking extremely attractive, the carbon fiber adds an additional degree of stiffness to the cabinet.

More details of the finishes available may be found on the main German Physiks web site at http://bit.ly/1lj7U5x.

For product images and the latest version of the user manual, please follow this link to the German Physiks Download Page.

PQS 202 Mk II Specifications