Abstract: A pressure wave device for the treatment of a human or animal body having a pneumatic drive for generating a pressure wave for coupling into the human or animal body, having at least one compressor for generating source gas and having a handpiece into which the source gas can be introduced and by means of which a pressure wave is generated, and having a pressure regulating device for adjusting a pressure wave generating pressure for generating the pressure wave, where the at least one compressor for generating source gas is adjustable in steps to at least two power levels, and the pressure regulating device regulates the pressure wave generating pressure (PD_i) by adjusting the source gas pressure (Ps_i) at each power level, such that each power level is thereby preferably determined by a range of pressure wave generating pressure values and frequencies of the activation of the pressure waves, and the selection of a power level is preferably carried out using a table in which the respective ranges of pressure