1 Pair Only Ex Display
After the outstanding success of our Limited 11 model, which was made in a special production run of only 100 pairs in 2011 and which quickly sold out, we decided to reintroduce the design to our range as a regular product under the name of the Unlimited MK II. The original Unlimited MK II was exactly the same design as the Limited 11, but was offered in a wider choice of colours – white, grey, black and dark brown.
In the intervening years, the performance of the Unlimited design has been progressively improved, most recently by a crossover upgrade based on work done on our top selling Borderland MK IV.
In 2014 we introduced a luxury version, which we call the Unlimited Ultimate. This is finished in high polish polyester, in black, white, red or yellow and when you see it in the flesh you will see that it lives up to its name.
There is also now a version of the Unlimited finished in carbon fibre – appropriately called the Unlimited Carbon.
As nearly all Unlimited orders are now for either the Ultimate or Carbon versions, once we have sold the last of our stock of Unlimited Mk II cabinets, this version of the Unlimited will be discontinued.
The Unlimited is a purist design. It provides the famous German Physiks trademark dynamics, transparency and musicality, but at a new lower price point. It is exceptional value for money and makes the unique enjoyment that German Physiks loudspeakers can provide available to a much bigger audience. The Unlimited uses a single carbon fibre DDD driver and a downward firing 8-inch woofer. It has received a string of superb reviews and numerous awards, which you can find at the bottom of this page and which testify to the excellence of this design.
Top Quality Sound at Lower Cost
The most important objective for this design was that the lower price would be reached without compromising the sound quality and musicality that our loudspeakers are famous for. We have achieved this by designing a simpler cabinet and reducing the number of finish options compared to our other models.
Stylishly Simple Design
Not only is the Unlimited an exceptionally good sounding loudspeaker, it is also our design statement. The design is intended to be both elegant and simple, so that it blends into its surroundings rather than draws attention to itself. We want the listener’s attention to be concentrated entirely on the music. This ability to blend in is enhanced by its very small footprint - just 24 cm x 24 cm (9.5" x 9.5").
Tuneful Bass
One of the first things that will strike you about the Unlimited is the excellent quality of the bass, especially considering the compact size of the cabinet. The bass is deep with real weight, but it is also clear, articulate and in time with the rest of the audio range. It is easy to follow the bass lines and drums have an authentic impact to their transients. The correct bass balance is maintained even when listening at low levels, so you can continue to enjoy your Unlimiteds when you would otherwise have to use headphones.
The DDD Driver
The key to the exceptional performance produced by all German Physiks loudspeakers is our DDD driver. The Unlimited uses the same design of DDD driver as our top of the line Gaudi, which retails for over $300,000 a pair.
The DDD driver in the Unlimited covers the frequency range from 200Hz to 24,000Hz. This avoids the need for a crossover point in the mid-range that conventional 2-way designs must have. The consequent outstanding mid-range clarity combined with the DDD driver’s naturally low distortion, allows the Unlimited to better reproduce the very fine detail in the music that you would expect to hear in a live performance.
Another important factor affecting a loudspeaker’s ability to provide a convincing recreation of a performance is the quality of its stereo imaging. The DDD driver enables the Unlimited to produce well-focused, three-dimensional stereo images that are accurately proportioned and can be almost palpable in their reality. This combined with the DDD driver’s exceptional transparency and its lightning fast transients provide the listener with a performance that is both emotionally involving and musically satisfying.
Goodbye to the Tyranny of the “Sweet Spot”
Because the DDD driver is omnidirectional, the Unlimited’s excellent stereo images can be enjoyed from a wide range of positions in the listening room, rather than from just the small “sweet spot” that many conventional designs produce. This allows several people to enjoy the Unlimited at the same time. It also means that long listening sessions are not fatiguing, as you do not have to worry about staying in a small “sweet spot” in order to enjoy the best sound.
Additional advantages of the DDD driver’s omnidirectional radiation pattern are that it makes the Unlimited less fussy about its position in the room than many conventional designs and it allows the Unlimited to provide an even tonal balance in almost all positions in the room. Loudspeakers that use conventional drivers will only produce the correct tonal balance in a narrow range of positions in the room, due to their tendency to beam at high frequencies.
More information on the DDD driver, its development and advantages may be found on the Technology page of this web site.
Low Resonance Cabinets
Resonances in a loudspeaker cabinet can seriously degrade the sound quality by obscuring detail. To prevent this, the Unlimited’s cabinets are constructed from heavy panels of MDF, with internal re-enforcements fitted at critical points.
As a further anti-resonance measure, a special damping material called Hawaphon® is applied to the inside of each panel. This adds mass to the panel to reduce the resonant frequency and its special internal structure very effectively converts vibration energy into heat. Hawaphon achieves a broadband attenuation of structure-borne sound of more than 50dB: a remarkably high figure. In addition, the special acoustic vinyl material used on the outside of the cabinet provides a further reduction in vibration of up to 17dB.
Finally, 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.
Designed for a Lifetime of Listening Pleasure
We use the same quality of parts in the Unlimited as in our reference products, where we design for a minimum life expectancy of 25 years. For this reason we have selected highly corrosion resistant V4 grade stainless steel for the DDD driver support pillars, terminal mounting plates and all the screws.
We apply the same meticulous care and attention to the manufacture and testing of the Unlimited as we do with all of our other products. After assembly the performance of each loudspeaker is measured. Then it is burnt in for at least 12 hours and measured again. Finally, we carefully match the loudspeakers in each pair.