audio physic STEP 35 Compact Loudspeaker

Audio Physic STEP 35 compact speakers

Excellent sound is not a question of size, but certainly one of format. And since Audio Physic was founded, the Step have been proving their worth. Over the course of 37 years, Audio Physic tirelessly continued to develop the model.

The great appeal of the loudspeakers among music lovers as well as numerous national and international awards confirm the high class of these converters. With the Step, the most mature Step of all time are now taking the stage, giving the term compact loudspeakers a new dimension.

Rooms do not always have enough space to place floor-standing speakers. Pushed close to the wall or even in a corner, they usually play far below their tonal potential anyway. On the other hand, large speakers are not always advisable in small rooms, since they stimulate room modes at low frequencies - more so than compact loudspeakers - and thus extremely disturbing resonances, which in the worst case can become noticeable as drone effects. In addition, there are many music lovers with a purist approach, they appreciate compact loudspeakers not only because of their small space requirement.

In terms of styling, the Steps remain true to the line of their predecessors, but their inner values have been revised with the same passion that Audio Physic's top models also have. Technologically, the STEP benefit from the knowledge that we gathered during the development of the top models. So they have the exclusive HHC-III tweeter and now in the anniversary model also the exclusive HHCM III mid-woofer.

The oscillating system and chassis basket are radically mechanically decoupled from each other in the hyper-holographic cone chassis. Sound-damaging resonances caused by micro-vibrations are thus combated and effectively reduced. The result is a dramatic gain in precision and attention to detail. The finest beats in a vibrato or the gentle shimmering of a dying harp string are real challenges for every loudspeaker. The Step effortlessly peels the smallest details out of the musical thicket without sounding technically cool. They reproduce complex music material tidily and uncompressed – acoustic magnifying glasses in the best sense of the word.

The special housing shape not only gives the Step a modern, timeless face, it also reduces standing waves inside the loudspeakers. Such endanger a clean middle reproduction in particular. In addition, ceramic foam inside the step reduces harmful resonances. Figuratively speaking, the extremely rigid and open-pored material assumes the function of a maze. The sound that is inevitably radiated from the chassis into the interior of the housing gets lost in the pores, loses massively in strength and can no longer influence the playback. Conventional insulating materials do not come close to achieving this effect.

The slight backward tilt of the body compensates for phase differences between mids and highs. Mid-bass and tweeters are flush with the box front. Diffraction effects, which can lead to a nervous sound, do not occur in the first place.

The revised crossover with its meticulously selected components makes another significant contribution to natural reproduction. The internal wiring and the film capacitors specially manufactured for Audio Physic are also part of the tonal coordination.

The STEP VCT-Vibration Control Terminal connection panel now used in the anniversary model is equipped with the highest-quality WBT nextgen™-PlasmaProtect™ pole terminals. They are connected with special structure-borne noise dampers to the aluminum base plate, which is also coated to dampen resonance. Here, too, micro-vibrations are specifically dampened.

The sum of all these details leads to an astonishing love of detail and homogeneity that will delight demanding audiophiles. Last but not least, thanks to their tonal balance and impressive dynamic capabilities, the Step 35 can also be seamlessly integrated into an Audio Physic surround system as a rear speaker.

Features: 2-way principle

With 2-way loudspeakers, two different loudspeaker chassis share the reproduction spectrum – one (often two in the case of center loudspeakers) low-midrange loudspeaker and a tweeter. Usually the separation occurs between 2000 Hz and 3000 Hz.

HHCT III - Hyper Holographic Cone Tweeter

Our HHCT-III tweeters combine several AUDIO PHYSIC core technologies to ensure absolutely unadulterated and enormously spatial music reproduction.

Ceramic foam bracing

Ceramic foam is a high-tech material that is used in many of our loudspeakers to reinforce the housing. It is significantly more stable than MDF, but consists of 85% air. This increases the effective working volume of the loudspeaker with the same housing size.

Dual basket design

Our unique double basket design suppresses unwanted vibrations where they originate: in the chassis.

Active cone damping

ACTIVE CONE DAMPING is a form of resonance suppression for metal membranes that was first implemented by AUDIO PHYSIC.

Aluminum phase plug

All mid-range drivers from AUDIO PHYSIC have an aluminum phase plug rigidly connected to the magnet system. This complex construction has several advantages.

Bi-wiring/bi-amping optional

Most AUDIO PHYSIC loudspeakers are supplied with a high-quality single-wiring terminal as standard in order to avoid unnecessary metal and cable bridges in normal operation. In most cases, a bi-wiring/bi-amping terminal is available as extra equipment for new orders, subsequent conversion only on request.

CCAC – Ceramic Coated Aluminum Cone

Coating an aluminum cone membrane with a special ceramic creates an extremely light and torsion-resistant speaker membrane which, in conjunction with the ACTIVE CONE DAMPING technology, is practically immune to disruptive partial vibrations.

VCF - Vibration Control Feet optional

Our high-end speaker feet VCF protect sensitive floors and offer a simple but amazingly effective sound improvement for speakers from AUDIO PHYSIC and other manufacturers, hi-fi components of all kinds and even cables.

VCT—Vibration Control Terminal

Unwanted vibrations disrupt the unadulterated signal flow at every point in the transmission chain. Since AUDIO PHYSIC has declared war on sound-damaging vibrations and resonances in any form, the VIBRATION CONTROL TERMINAL (VCT), which is elaborately decoupled from the housing, was developed.

HHCM III—Hyper Holographic Cone Midrange

Our HHCM-III midrange drivers combine several AUDIO PHYSIC core technologies to ensure absolutely unadulterated and enormously spatial music reproduction.

Technical specifications

Height 320mm / 12.6'
Width 175mm / 6.9'
Depth 250mm / 9.8'
Width x Depth 175 x 300mm / 6.9 x 11.8'
Weight 5kg
Recommended amplifier power 10-120 W
Impedance 8 ohms
Frequency response 50Hz - 40kHz
Efficiency 87dB
Tweeter HHCT III
Midrange driver HHCM II