The front panel and rear wall were milled from up to 90mm (3.5”) multi-layer multiplex laminate in order to cope with the enormous forces caused by the four 22cm (9”) bass drivers. The floating midrange/tweeter module is fixed to a unit made of CDF, short for Compact Density Fiberboard. This material is so hard that it can only be machined by CNC milling. It has an internal damping higher than aluminum.

If a loudspeaker is to produce truly deep frequencies, and at a decent sound level, this usually comes at the expense of efficiency. This means that the loudspeaker needs more power from the amplifier. Frank Gobel and his team optimized the cabinet volume for the bass range until they succeeded in reproducing even the lowest frequencies with a high efficiency of just under 90 decibels.

If we move higher in the frequency range, we discover an extremely unusual midrange driver. It is truly a masterpiece of engineering, as carbon particles are applied to the original ceramic membrane in a complex manufacturing process using ultra-high vacuum and high voltage. This process not only requires special and expensive equipment, but an enormous amount of time and maximum precision. Canton obviously has this issue so well under control that the price for the complete Alpha speaker is only marginally higher than the price for a diamond midrange driver alone from other manufacturers. The diamond midrange driver with its triple-folded surround not only performs with extremely low distortion and without breakup, but also follows any signals without being disturbed, even at high levels. An exceptional listening experience.

The dome tweeter also boasts a very interesting and unusual manufacturing process. As with the midrange driver, carbon particles are applied to a membrane that serves as a carrier layer. This complex process is called DLC, which stands for Diamond Like Carbon. It is also used in medical technology and the automotive industry where particularly high demands are placed on hardness, low friction and maximum wear resistance. In conjunction with an extremely lightweight voice coil design, which enables a particularly large linear stroke, distortions are minimized here and extremely good dynamic behavior is ensured.

What awaited us after we had done our homework [setup] made even hardened and experienced testers’ ears grin with delight. We indeed soon realized that the Alpha 1 is by no means a ‘me too’ product, but an exceptionally carefully tuned speaker of the absolute top class. With every sound we heard, it gave us more pleasure.

Right at the start, we treated ourselves to Elgar’s powerful ‘Pomp And Circumstance’. The Alpha 1 leaves nothing to be desired here, reproducing the spectacle bone-dry. It is absolutely honest and does not conceal the fact that the recording as a whole lacks a little charm and smoothness.

Verdi’s ‘Requiem’ often accompanies us during listening sessions. The power and fullness of the chorus is ‘Dies Irae’ was presented by the Canton in a deeply impressive way, disappearing acoustically in a rarely experienced completeness. This way of experiencing music is one of the outstanding strengths of this loudspeaker.

We quickly realized that this was one of the best speakers we had ever heard in our listening room. We heard the repertoire of males voices from Neil Young’s ‘Ohio’ to Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Concert in Central Park’ as well as direct cuts by Charly Antolini with wild, driver-threatening drum abuse, and electronic music, jazz and finally rock music from AC/DC to the legendary ‘Made In Japan’ by Deep Purple. And we were thrilled at how confidently and calmly the timbres, resolution, pressure and joy of playing were combined with a tonal balance and a coherent, voluminous mid-range reproduction. The fact that the Reference Alpha 1 also managed to make itself almost acoustically invisible is proof of the careful cabinet development and crossover tuning in conjunction with exceptionally high-quality drivers.

Michael Lang, Stereo Magazine, August 2025

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