If in life one is fortunate, true passion will find its way in. Whether it is music, art, cooking, love or any number of activities we participate in, these passions are the reward for the day-in/day-out drudgery and routine we all must persevere.
I am an artist by trade, painting and drawing in particular. I am deeply in love with my wife of eighteen years and play a mediocre level of metal and blues guitar. So by any measure, I am very fortunate to relish in all these limitless endeavors. If all of that is not enough, I am an un-apologetic audiophile. I love all the gear and gizmos that fit into this odd poster puzzle that can only be viewed by the select few who can stare past all the craziness that comes with audiophilia, and form a clear vision for where their audio passion may lead them.
I have formally reviewed multiple amplifiers from Krell, Pass, and Jeff Rowland, individual amps from Vitus, Karan, Coda, not to mention the dozen or so I have lived with though never written about. And these are just the solid-state subjects. Tube amps from Combak Reimyo, Allnic and Art Audio have rounded out my experience with amplifiers. It became clear early on that I needed a great deal of power and control, along with finesse and delicacy in an amplifier in order to satiate my ever-growing appetite for the best this pursuit has to offer.
Shortly before encountering the subjects of this review — the Behold APU Preamp, Behold BPA amplifier, and Behold CDP CD player — I had fallen hard for the Vitus SM-101 mono amplifiers and preamp. Fast, extremely powerful and possessing great air and texture, this combo had set me pointed directly out of the desert and aimed squarely at the palm trees and gentle breezes I imagine the shores of the finish line would look like as it relates to the ultimate destination in audio.
The island of musical paradise lasted about six months only to be a proven a mirage.
APU768 with CD player option
One Saturday afternoon about four years ago, Behold importer Sam Laufer of Laufer Teknik, brought over the APU preamp and the BPA amplifier from Behold for a short loan. After a room correction was run and my Dynaudio Evidence Master speakers (at the time, my reference) were firmly in place, we queued up a cut. I can’t remember now exactly what cut it was, but I clearly recall it took all of 15 seconds to realize I was in deep, deep trouble. I remember the music being familiar but only relatively so. So exalted was the performance, I was nearly brought too tears. There was not one aspect of the sound that went untouched and improved.
Tears nearly flowed not just because the sound was so extraordinary, but because now I had to somehow come up with the asking price, or I would never again get a decent night’s sleep, knowing there was this level of sound out there, and I did not have it!
After striking a fair financial compromise, I had become the second person in the country to have the pleasure of owning the Behold system. This fateful Saturday encounter went further in shaping my perception around audio gear and reproduced music then collectively all that had come before.
Behold Build Quality
Starting with the APU preamplifier, the uber-bold yet simple design boasts three knobs, and a beveled cut-out for the liquid crystal display. An INPUT/MENU knob is off to the left, a control knob for controlling the CD player or other outboard Behold devices such as the music storage system, which I hope to get, soon. On the right of the three by the five-inch display is the oversized VOLUME knob. The action of rotation of these large flat rounded edged knobs is so smooth, they beg to be touched. The input selector and the function knob have a gentle rounded stop feature, kind of like going over a speed bump rather than a hard stop. Putting the system in sleep mode is accomplished by pushing in the knob gently; hold it longer and the system shuts down. This push button feature is used to accomplish system diagnostics as well.
Inputs are purchased a la cart; heck, you can get 15 Toslink inputs if you choose, don’t know why you would, but the option is there. I have 4 single-ended inputs, one XLR digital in, one pair of XLR analog outs, one Toslink input and one SPDF input. Wider than deep, the APU preamplifier will take far less space than it’s technology will provide, that is for sure.
The BPA power amplifier is slaved viaRG-58 cable to the APU and cannot be used with other preamps, though the APU preamplifier can be used with other amplifiers. The CDP transport is connected via a 16-pole cable. The BPA comes, as does all Behold gear, in a metal flight case, and weighs a hundred pounds. Its round ring of LEDs that backlight a large round disc on the face of the amp is a matter of taste. I like it, others might not; there are a couple of fascia options. The LEDs can be dimmed or turned off. The rear of the amp houses those pesky Euro plastic clad little binding posts-buggers! Not a fan. All that remain are a 15-amp power cord socket, a small “on/off” led and connector from the preamp and a fuse socket.
I cannot even pretend to understand all the technology and capacity the behold APU possesses. The APU is capable of incredibly powerful room correction technology via RoomTunes software from Ascendo Audio of Germany, via a laptop on which to install it. Once set up and a correction has been performed, you may make adjustment to either the resultant curve storing each adjustment under user-determinable names, or you may access the Parametric EQ feature that allows for very effective individual frequency curve files to be set up, as well as on the fly adjustments to the signal. For my use, a 2 dB downward adjustment at 3.5k Hz was just the medicine for bright or edgier sounding disks. I could not detect, at any time, the slightest loss of information or tonal deviations whatsoever as these adjustments were made. This is a truly transparent, “outside the signal” design and implementation. What a huge gift it is to be able to enjoy so much of my collection as a result of this powerful tool. While the temptation to massage the sound was often raging at first, I have settled on a curve that just works across the board, and I only visit the laptop on occasion. A digital crossover board is available that from what I have heard is revelatory.
Behold the Music
What does this combo achieve that leaves so many others wanting? Starting with the larger picture, the sound is _ until it sounds like _. What I mean by that is that there is a level of neutrality, in the best sense of the word, which is as source-dependent as I can currently imagine. You may think the bass is soft and reticent while listening to X, then you find track Y has totally transformed the sound to fast tight, textured and forward pounding bass. This dynamic plays out from the bottom to the top.
The treble is as alive with varying tonal shades and dynamics — forget splashy whitening, forget grainy edginess. With the inclusion of the new version of the ionic plasma tweeter on my Lansche 4.1, there is as near perfect transition between the upper mid band and lower treble as I can currently imagine. The treble performance or character again is shaped by what it is being fed. It can sound wrong when called upon; cymbals in particular are revealed to have many differing tones and textures on those good-to-great discs. That variety goes right to the heart of the Behold combination’s great strength.
Small soundstages will remain small, large spaces will positively bloom and light up with delicate lilting reverb be it acoustic or electric. Again, these dimensions are totally source-dependent.
If I had to peg a coloration using the old clock analogy, I would say the Behold could be two minuets past twelve on the side of the cool temp. This is a compulsory observation as a reviewer. No component is dead neutral if off by even a minute or two past dead midnight.
The mid band is capable of astonishing organic beauty that makes the conclusion of the previous paragraph so very hard to assert. Listening to Mighty Sam sing “I’m So Tired” From Give It Up Too Love (AudioQuest), I am struck dumb with wonder as my brain attempts to associate the beguiling naturalness of his vocals with the fact that the sound is being produced by an electronic device. A Lack of grain? You know the effect a great power conditioner can have? The lack of noise reflects that though to a far greater degree. As a result, the sound is sublimely relaxed and liquid while exhibiting steadfast control and grip throughout. Listen to the sax on Trio Jeepy from Brandford Marsailis (CK44199), track one “Housed for Edward” features the sax panned hard left. The Behold places the sax three feet behind and just to the inside of the speaker. The image is so solid and locked in space regardless of the dynamic demands placed on the BPA. The clean organic horn just sings out with no edge or artificial bite. Even at the dynamic peaks, the pure tone remains true. Vocals in particular through the Behold combination are the best I have heard. Are there better? Perhaps, I just have not heard them.
300 watts are not too shabby, but I have had 400, 500, 600 even 700 watts and above amplifiers in here that could not touch the quality of the Behold’s bass performance. Macro dynamic swings are huge when called upon. This is really fun at times, like when Disturbed Asylum finds its way into the CDP’s tray. The title track’s punishing swings in volume force the Lansches to give up well before the amp. When the big Sunny SW15’s are in the system, the mayhem is just overwhelming. I have feared for my hearing and keeping with the title’s theme, my sanity at times with this lethal combination.
Power and control just seem to have no limit. Impact, extension, brute force, you name it, the BPA has it, in spades. With Ramsey Lewis playing “People Make the World Go Round” from a GRP Sampler, the low bass just quivers and pulses with perfect grip and extension. This headroom leaves the impression that if needed, the BPA could go even lower and louder without losing a step.
The elusive micro dynamic shadings of which the BPA is capable, will satisfy to the same extent as the bass, if only in a gentler, less chaotic way. Lifelike is so generic a term, and means many things to many people. But that is what just keeps coming to mind. Lifelike in so many ways, the BPA sounds so alive, especially when pushed a bit. This is no knock on modest level of volume performance, it is just my large room (33x60x13) has a way of sucking the volume out of the room. Giving a nudge to the large volume knob and hold on, the music really swings. “Just Friends” off of Sarah Vaughn and Count Basie’s (XRCD) Send In the Clowns really moves along. Unexaggerated transients keeps the focus on the fundamental note and create a great sense of musicality while the music is cookin’. Listening to Keith Jarett’s Standards Live (ECM), the cymbal work employed covers the entire spectrum from gentle tap to aggressive whack. The ability to hear deeply into the complexity is nothing short of revelatory. Without resorting to spotlighting the detail in any way, the whole of the picture adds up to stunning musical realism.
Soundstage dimensions go again to the level of neutrality, that allows the source material to completely determine the image created. There is no obfuscation, no flattening, or fattening, for that matter. Want a huge orchestra in your home? Pop on David Ostrika playing Hindemith’s Violin Concerto (Classic CompactDisc). The left-to-right/front-to-back performance is stunning. Whether it is an orchestra or the digitally manipulated soundscapes that make up a great deal of my catalog, I can spend hours digging into the inner crevices of my music.
Behold a passionate conclusion
This has been a reasonably easy review to write as I have lived with the BPA/APU for nearly five years. I have heard the system with four high end loudspeakers and have had the benefit of comparing it to the many amplifiers that have been in house. All this experience has solidified my impressions and thus has made them easier than usual to commit to words.
That said, it is not as easy to really relate just how good this gear is. Supreme ease, yet iron fisted control all wrapped in a naturalness that I had never heard before or since.
In the past couple of years, companies like Ypsilon and Soulution serve up gear aimed squarely at the same demographic Behold aims to serve. I have not heard those companies’ offerings, and I certainly do not limit the Behold’s competition to those brands; I’m sure there are many others that make similar claims to the crown.
But until someone from one of the many contestants drops an amp and preamp into my loft that improves the sound in a significant way, never mind that either of the companies named have a room correction capacity, I will continue to tout the Behold as the top of the heap.
I feel a bit emotional concluding this endeavor. Nearly five years in the making, countless thousands of hours musically engaged, my passion for the hobby (it really is more than just a hobby though, isn’t it?) has deepened and broadened thanks to the APU/BPA. It has spread to loved ones and acquaintances who have come through here to give the system a listen. What a great gift to give- the wonderful gift of music. Thank you Mr. Ballmann.
US Importer’s Comment:
We would like to thank Mr. Petan for his insightful, well written and engaging review of the Behold reference amplifier and preamp. Ralf Ballmann of Behold has dedicated himself, completely, to advancing the reproduction of music through science and novel thinking about amplifier design. We are so pleased that Dagogo was open to reviewing the Behold reference equipment and that the review ended up capturing so many of the essential elements that make the Behold gear unique. Our thanks to Messrs. Soo and Petan!
Sam Laufer
Laufer-Teknik
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