British hi-fi brand Leak returns with its first product in 40 years
Forty years have come and gone since Leak last launched a hi-fi product, but today the Great British brand is back with an all-new integrated amplifier, the Stereo 130.
The Leak Stereo 130 is a retro-style, classically engineered, mid-to-budget amp fused with all the mod-cons of contemporary hi-fi.
It takes its cues from the Stereo 30, which Leak created in 1963 and claimed to be the first commercially available all-transistor amp. Its new successor carries a similar aesthetic with a real wood walnut enclosure and front panel layout. The resemblance is not just skin deep either. This Stereo 130 carries with it many of the older engineering principles in its circuit design, alongside a set of more modern additions.
The Stereo 130's Class AB power amp has a 200VA toroidal transformer. The preamp section is protected by the use of low-noise power supplies. There are bass and treble tone controls, which can be bypassed if desired.
It supports files of up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM and DSD256 through its USB input, with the digital circuitry designed to maximise detail and expression no matter the format. There are also three S/PDIF inputs (one coaxial and two optical), plus Bluetooth aptX support.
Feeding the digital inputs is a ES9018K2M DAC from the Sabre32 Reference family, which aims to reduce noise and deliver a high dynamic range through the chip's 32-bit HyperStream architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator feature.
On the analogue side, there's a phono stage for moving magnet cartridges, in addition to two line-level analogue inputs. There's also a dedicated headphone amp stage with current-feedback circuitry that aims to get the best possible sound from as many different kinds of headphones as possible.
The revived company's first amplifier to arrive in the 21st century will be available in July, priced at £799 with the walnut enclosure over the aluminium casing, or £699 without (Australian pricing and availability to be announced). A matching CD transport, the Leak CDT (pictured above), will also arrive in July.
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