Напольная акустика — German Physiks Loreley MK III

The Loreley MK III is a large omnidirectional tower from German Physiks, built, like every model the firm makes, around its DDD driver. It is designed to bring much of the larger Gaudi's concert-hall scale to a smaller cabinet and lower price, and it uses the same four-DDD array as the Gaudi. It is intended for bi-amplification with an active crossover.

Key specs that matter

Each speaker uses four DDD drivers on one axis, two 12 in woofers and four 10 in passive radiators. Frequency response extends from 21 Hz to 24 kHz, sensitivity is 89.8 dB and impedance is 4 ohms. The listed amplifier range is 4 W to 200 W. Maximum sound pressure reaches 120 dB, and the bass section exceeds 110 dB at 18 Hz. The DSP-X digital crossover is supplied with the speaker.

Engineering and use context

Each DDD has a very thin carbon fibre cone mounted vertically so that it radiates through 360 degrees. It operates in pistonic, bending-wave and modal modes, covering a wide range without a midrange crossover point. Stacking four DDDs raises output and power handling while keeping omnidirectional radiation. Bi-amplification means one power amplifier drives the DDD array and another drives the woofers, with the signal split at line level by the German Physiks DSP-X digital crossover. This removes the passive crossover from between amplifier and drivers. The bass is housed in two large independent enclosures, one on top of the other, standing between a top and a bottom plate. They are not screwed or rigidly joined, but held by interlocking collars, which reduces resonances and makes the column harder to topple. Each enclosure carries a 12 in inverted dome woofer with a maximum excursion of 3 in, driven by large rare-earth magnets. An ultra-wide underhung voice coil and triple magnet structure reduce power compression. German Physiks states that distortion is typically a tenth of that of conventional 18 in subwoofers at comparable levels. Every DDD driver is hand-built in six hours, pre-aged for 96 hours at high level and supplied as a matched pair.

Pairing

The Loreley MK III needs two stereo power amplifiers or four monoblocks, one channel for the DDD array and one for the woofers of each speaker. Its high output capability and omnidirectional radiation suit large rooms of 40 m2 and above.

Alternatives

German Physiks' Emperor MK II is another multi-DDD model of the range, with four DDD drivers, four 6 in and two 12 in woofers.