Verdict
Despite a few oddity , the PSB Alpha intelligence quotient are pair of speakers design for those who want a mere and convenient cyclosis experience in their home . They sound good , are versatile and offer good connectivity for those who want a speaker that can be used across a breadth of sources .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
You may or may not have observe the movement towards convenience ( a watchword you ’ll hear a fate in this review ) in the hi - fi market . Products such as the PSB Alpha IQ are the eccentric essay to change preconceptions around hi - fi , going from off - putt to accessible .
This variety has been driven in part by the smartphone you ’re probably carry in your manpower right now , as well as the vogue of howdy - fi moving towards being a versatile jackfruit of all trades , with the Alpha intelligence quotient featuring a phono input for lazy Susan and HDMI eARC for telecasting .
At some point it stops becoming ‘ hi - fi ’ in the truest sense , and more the form of product you ’d describe as lifestyle , even though that word does n’t do it justice . Regardless , the Alpha IQ has the potential to be the only speaker system you need .
Design
Aesthetically the atomic number 79 trim around the drivers and the finish of the console itself help to lift the PSB Alpha IQ to hurt , minimalist status . conceal somewhere on the front of the speaker are LED lights that ’ll indicate the state the loudspeaker are currently in .
They ( thankfully ) get in colours other than matte white and black , with Dutch Orange , Tangerine Yellow and Midnight dismal option to spruce up up your room .
They ’re modest enough to outfit inside a bookshelf , not too inscrutable that you could n’t affix them on top of speaker stands , and at 7.36 kilo a duo they ’re not so heavy that you could n’t drag them from elbow room to board . count their multi - purpose use – TV , lifestyle verbalizer , positioned in a hi - fi cave – the Alpha intelligence quotient fit the bill in terms of convenience .
The pair is made up of an ‘ active ’ main speaker – this is the primary one that holds the amplifier and where all the connections reside , the other is the lower-ranking verbalizer but both take plugging into the main , while the secondary loudspeaker system has a serve pinhole and USB embrasure for resetting and update the speaker .
There ’s no remote provided with ascendance either through the onboard touch control condition ( playback and loudness ) on the active talker or through the Bluesound app on your smartphone , which again add together to the convenience and simplicity of the Alpha IQ .
Features
The Alpha IQ is powered by the BluOS platform , and in lighting of Sonos ’ late exertion , there ’s reason to consider that BluOS is the most considerate , intuitive streaming app that you could use right now .
For one , there ’s a considerable turn of stream apps incorporate into the interface , from Tidal , Qobuz , Amazon Music HD and others , with support for Connect versions of Spotify and Tidal too . There ’s multi - room control for those with multiple BluOS devices ( the BluOS family extends to NAD Electronics , Cyrus , DALI and more besides ) . BluOS is static , speedy and antiphonal , and depending on the product , it offer decent customisation alternative .
Set - up for the Alpha IQ is n’t the easiest , with all that said . Both on the dwelling and run Wi - Fi it seemed to take an age for BluOS to know the two speakers , and then even longer for the speakers to geminate with each other . A number of resets were required before the speaker unit linked up , which is not idealistic , and has n’t been an offspring I ’ve had with other Bluesound products .
Connectivity , at least of the physical sort , extends to phono out , sub out ( for adding a subwoofer ) , ethernet / LAN , ocular , USB , aux and HDMI eARC for connecting to a TV.HDMI eARCwidens the bandwidth for higher timber stage of audio recording but the Alpha intelligence quotient is only compatible with PCM soundtracks . There ’s no Dolby or DTS support here .
A more or less vex characteristic of the PSB Alpha IQ is its inclination to not recognise a HDMI connection . Connect to a TV and the TV will understand its connected to a speaker , but the Alpha IQ stubbornly remains stuck in its premature connexion – in perfume it does n’t automobile - switch .
So to get audio to and through the utterer , you ’ll need to manually change the stimulant in the ‘ Music ’ segment of the app . you may set up your television remote to go as an IR remote for the speakers or set but give the emphasis on convenience and simplicity , this is an area where it does n’t meet those standard .
Wirelessly there ’s Wi - Fi ( naturally ) along withAirPlay 2for iOS devices andBluetooth aptX - HDstreaming . Though you may see these speakers advertised as having two - style Bluetooth support , which allows a Bluetooth signal to travel in both directions ( i.e. from a mobile phone to the Alpha IQ , or from the verbalizer to another machine ) , it ’s not functioning at the time of penning .
There ’s also voice restraint via Google Assistant , Alexa , and Siri , and for those concerned in usage install , the Alpha intelligence quotient plays nice with Control4 to Crestron , ELAN , RTI and URC systems .
Sound Quality
arm with 180W of power through its 19 mm tweeter and 4 - inch woofer , the PSB Alpha IQ boasts a carrying into action that check of the necessary boxes in being unmortgaged and elaborated , with a considerable amount of power ( for a speaker of its size of it ) in the low end .
There ’s a warmth to is audio that makes for a smooth presentation , though it ’s not the sharpest or most insightful sound . If there ’s a criticism I have it ’s that the levels of clearness and detail are n’t as high as I ’d have expected for the asking price .
Even with that to contend with , there ’s not a dull mo when heed to the Alpha IQ . Where necessary it can output an aggressive , assertive and energetic push with music , and with quieter tracks it can still keep the attention with a good grade of clarity , though I ’d say this is a speaker whose potential is unlocked with higher calibre cartroad in idea than Spotify , for case . Listening to a cut in Tidal orQobuz , the Alpha I.Q. flex its brawniness here by extracing so much more from the cartroad and flexes its muscles more .
With Isfar Sarabski ’s Déjà vu and the high frequency carrying out is described in bright , sharp and open terms with a slight impressiveness detected at times . The passion does mean its not too laconic in communicating the cymbal crashes in the runway but there ’s enough item elicited from the track to make for an entertaining listen . The shifts in tempo from tight to slow are handle well , the PSB is n’t a slouch or sloppy - sounding when it comes to momentum . A listen to Talking Heads ’ bring in Down the House and the PSB startle as it means to carry on with batch of energy and baron that makes for a flowing listen .
It ’s the type of loudspeaker where the more I hear to it , the more I like its approach . It brings a sense of size and scale to tracks , interpreter in the midrange expanse are handled swimmingly , although a little lacking in oomph ; while the basso performance is a positive one for what ’s essentially a heavyset twain of bookshelf speakers .
link ( eventually ) to a TV and it ’s more of the same : a strong sea bass reception that ’s an improvement on most TVs . Dialogue is communicate with clarity and warmth but sounds natural , as well as being position accurately on the cover . It sounds broad , and there ’s a decent sensation of onslaught and snap register to the gunshots in John Wick 4 on Prime Video .
Again , it ’s not the sharpest sounding performance , sound slightly soft in terms of overall detail which seems to be the case with hi - fi lifestyle speaker system such as this that get across a range of intention .
One last note is that wireless and wired performance has been splendid throughout testing . There ’s scantily a single drop in connexion that I can recollect , which is telling considering the speakers are both wireless and not connected through a cable .
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Should you buy it?
Ca n’t figure out how to connect an amplifier to a music streamer , or what cables you need to sneak your system up ? The PSB is made for those who want a simple-minded experience .
The Alpha I.Q. are a lilliputian short in terms of straight-out detail and clarity , but you ’d arguably have to pay much more to get a high calibre of execution .
Final Thoughts
If it ’s gizmo , simplicity , and a speaker for multi - purpose use that you ’re after , then the PSB Alpha IQ rather ideally slots into opinion .
The HDMI , wireless , and phono functionality make it a speaker for many uses around the home plate , the size of it of the cabinet makes it easy to port it from room to room , and then the auditory sensation itself , confident , up-and-coming with good levels of detail and clarity .
It ’s not the sharp or most detailed sound , which seems to be the trend with multi - purpose talker as the likes of theQ Acoustics M40andKlipsch Fivestake a similar attack .
What those efforts lack is the PSB ’s Wi - Fi potentiality , which from a restroom dot of view is idealistic . A pair of speakers such as theTriangle Capellaoffer well sound but that come at a considerably greater mark - up .
They ’re not perfect , but the PSB Alpha IQ are very much the pair of speakers for someone who does n’t require much tussle or strife in their Hawaii - fi home as long as they ’re unforced to devote for it , and I ’d say that it ’s deserving the bump in terms .
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How we test
We test every wireless speaker we review exhaustively over an extended period of time . We use industry standard tests to compare feature properly . We ’ll always tell you what we receive . We never , ever , accept money to critique a product .
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FAQs
The loudspeaker come with a Cuban sandwich output , so you could add a subwoofer of your pick to the speakers .
