B.audio Alpha Integrated Amplifier

The preamp stage of the Alpha One is based on fully symmetrical construction and the wide implementation of surface-mounted components. Paraphrasing B.audio literature, “It operates in a 100% balanced mode and is distinguished by the absence of coupling capacitors. The 100% balanced topology guarantees an absolute immunity to noise sources in analog signal processing. Operating outside the signal path, multi-pole servo-circuits are used to provide a constant continuous reference to the active elements of the circuit, thus insuring the preservation of the audio signal.” Volume control is an all-analog affair and operates via a 64-step, relay-driven resistor network, (–80 to +0 dB). The mechanical “click” as each resistor is activated or bypassed will be a satisfying throwback for many audiophiles. Personally, I still like swinging a chunky volume knob, but with today’s smart apps/devices and remote controls, that’s mostly a thing of the past.

Behind Alpha One’s outward simplicity are a wealth of menu-driven settings and a plethora of configuration features visible from the small display. Among them a handy mode which allows automatic source-detection scanning, as well as streamer module activation and configuration, standby delay, variable bypass (home cinema), balance, subsonic filter, and an entire acoustic-correction suite.

The amplifier section is based on B.audio’s top-tier Reference power amps. Running two pairs of high-current bipolar transistors, the passively cooled dual-mono design outputs 120Wpc into 8 ohms (200Wpc into 4 ohms). Together with its high current reserve, Alpha One can drive demanding low-sensitivity loudspeakers with ease. Plus, its in-house refined topology was designed to drastically reduce dynamic distortion. Optimizing the use of local feedback at the most critical stages, it benefits from the advantages of a Class AB output stage, while maintaining excellent linearity of operation. I should note also that it was a cool-running design given the confines of the low-profile chassis.

Setup was straight forward. Although the Alpha One doesn’t offer a bespoke control app, it recommends the mconnect HD Player download. mconnect for iOS and Android uses the UPnP protocol and also allows connection to the streaming platforms Qobuz or Tidal. It’s also compatible with gapless playback. Alpha One is AirPlay compliant and Roon Ready. It operated smoothly and was easily navigable after a brief period of familiarization. Given that I’m no whiz in the streaming/networking world, if you’re “config-averse” like me, be sure to confirm that the streaming service you’re subscribing to is properly outputting the highest resolution its capable of. mconnect will only support the resolution it “sees.”

Built into Alpha One’s 64-bit DSP is an extensive equalizer and speaker/room measurement application. Designed to ameliorate the most noxious issues in room behavior—commonly a treble peak or excessive room gain—the “corrector” features a parametric equalizer with independently configurable filters; high- and low-shelf, peak, notch, bandpass, high- and low-pass. Each filter can be activated or deactivated. However, to carry out the room measurements, a computer is required. B.audio points the user to the REW (roomeqwizard.com) software. Also needed is a USB microphone such as a UMIK MiniDSP (recognized directly by this software) or something similar. Measurements are conducted via a signal sweep of audible frequencies and are sent to your computer. Based on those measurements, the user then selects and fine tunes the appropriate filter in the amp’s menu settings. Too much DIY? A simpler alternative is to use the response curve of your loudspeakers as a good starting point for defining the corrections to be used and further refine from there.

Integrated amplifiers have been a focus of mine for years. My systems tend to run smaller and inhabit smaller rooms. Limited space does not favor big racks of separate components, so single chassis “do everything” components have been the norm. I have never felt shortchanged by this arrangement. My current references, the tube/hybrid Aesthetics Mimas and the MBL Cadenza C51, have been mainstays over the years.

Overall, Alpha One found itself in good company with these superb integrated amps. In sonic performance, it was tonally spot-on-neutral, dynamically lively and assertive across the spectrum, with finely focused image clarity. As it is also noise- and grain-free, I felt there was an elevated sense of smoothness and liquidity to the presentation. And a warmth and bloom factor that seemed to cast a pleasing rose complexion onto the music. There was a fidelity to timbre and texture that brought to the fore the physical and harmonic identities of acoustic instruments, especially resonating instruments like guitar, cello, and bass violin. The Alpha One wrings out harmonic detail like water from a sponge.

Let me preface the forthcoming remarks with a word about power ratings. Beyond the specified 120Wpc amplifier output, Alpha One also presented an impression of power that goes beyond mere numerical ratings. Truthfully, I can’t tell 100W from 200W at the drop of a hat—most people can’t. But I can tell whether a loudspeaker when pushed hard is playing to its capability or has hit the limits the amp is imposing on it. Have the low frequencies lost grip and control? Is the tweeter singing as it should? These observations illuminate a lot about an amplifier’s character—distortion levels, compression issues, and headroom, to name a few. The Alpha One drove my persnickety low-sensitivity ATC compacts with brio and conviction. On large-scale orchestral material like Beethoven’s Ninth or Holst’s The Planets or, for sheer majesty, Pictures at an Exhibition, Alpha One navigated dynamic episodes from macro to micro and engaged the most complex and musically layered passages like it was on protein supplements. Using kettle drums and bass violins as examples, the delicate balance it captured between low-end grip and pitch accuracy was thrilling in its verisimilitude. It also effortlessly lifted the performance of the AMT tweeter of the Audiovector QR 3SE (review forthcoming) as if on a pillow of air.

Vocals sounded uniformly excellent with the resident rosy bloom and blush that I spoke of earlier. For example, I listened to both the original Springsteen version of “American Skin (41 Shots)” as well as singer/songwriter Jen Chapin’s cover (yes, the daughter of the late Harry Chapin). The versions couldn’t be more different but no less powerful. It was as if each artist was singing in character, embodying a bereft father and mother—the impassioned fury of the throaty Springsteen vocal versus the quieter resolve and melancholy of Chapin’s reading. In both instances, I felt the Alpha One captured not just the music but the raw emotion beneath the singers’ voices.

I’ve realized over the years that I become, perhaps subliminally, a different listener when an amp of high transparency and resolution drives my system. Almost unconsciously, I begin leaning closer to noteworthy acoustic recordings—music that challenges a component’s resolution to its limits. One such recording is an oldie, the All-Star Percussion Ensemble arranged and conducted by Harold Faberman. Recorded in 1982, this 1992 reissued LP was mastered by the inimitable and sorely missed Doug Sax. Excerpts range from Beethoven to Bizet and Berlioz with Pachelbel’s beloved Canon tossed in. It’s a menagerie of metal and wood and skin percussion instruments ranging from bell tree to glockenspiel, snare, marimba, tympani, wood blocks, and suspended cymbals. Essentially a torture test for transients. With the B.audio in control dynamic swings were vast, transients delicate but crisply pointed, while decays and sustains into the acoustic venue were naturalistic in duration.

Alpha One had an almost uncanny facility at revealing subtle differences in tonal color and contrast between identical recordings released in other formats. The most recent example that I can point to is Getz/Gilberto, Impex Records One-Step reissue on 45rpm (reviewed in this issue). As much high-quality digital as I listen to, this Impex reissue was a lesson in how, under certain circumstances, vinyl can reign supreme. I compared the Impex to the version on high-resolution Tidal streaming and the Verve Records CD re-released in the 90s. Same recording, but with the Alpha One in the chain it was no contest between the Impex vinyl and the streaming and CD formats. Density, dimensionality, depth relationships between musicians bloomed across a wider soundstage. And perhaps best of all, the influence of finer micro-gradations and volume interplay were heightened—the sum of which created a liveliness factor and an impression of being “in-studio” and witnessing the moment-to-moment creative work of the musicians.

B.audio is a young company by high-end standards, but the Alpha One performed like an old pro. I consider its TAS debut nothing short of exemplary—an appraisal validated by the news that TAS’s sister publication hifi+ awarded the B.Amp Mono its Product of the Year award for Amplification over $20,000 in 2023. For me, Alpha One checked all the boxes, sonics, features, power, plus a compact footprint that makes it welcome in space-challenged listening rooms like mine. Under the guidance of the Bermann brothers, B.audio is a name that I will long remember. I know that I’ll never forget the time I spent with Alpha One. Enthusiastically recommended.

Specs & Pricing

Power output: 120Wpc into 8 ohms, 200Wpc into 4 ohms
Inputs: Two RCA, one configurable as bypass; one XLR balanced
Outputs: XLR pre-out
D/A conversion: Multibit sigma-delta
Formats: PCM up to 384kHz/DXD/DoP/native DSD up to DSD 256
Acoustic correction: 64-bit DSP, 8x parametric filters with automatic gain adjustment
Dimensions: 17.7″ x 4″ x 15.5″
Weight: 34 lbs.
Price: $18,000 Silver or Black (custom colors available at extra cost)

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