Leak Stereo 130
Contents
Leak Stereo 130 – 900 Euro
The Leak brand undoubtedly arouses nostalgic feelings. So does the design. Now we could go write a complete history about the Leak Stereo 30, but we’re just not going to do that. That’s not what this article is for.
Our Leak has a fairly traditional casing. There are also models with wood finish; that definitely looks cool! The Leak Stereo 130 is a traditional class A/B amplifier that – on paper – should deliver 2 x 45 watts into 8 ohms and 2 x 65 watts into 4 ohms. The 45 watts into 8 ohms is pretty accurate: we measure that at 0.07% THD. The power into 4 ohms we see peaking around 52 watts (0.15% THD) before it skyrockets. The power supply can’t really handle it, we have the idea. We wouldn’t pair a hard to drive speaker with this Leak.
The reproduction is a tad thin on our Focals. Whether this is due to the power, or the tuning, we do not immediately dare to say. Fact is: there is too little bass to create a complete sound picture. In Hey Now by London Grammar, the bass should really roll… it doesn’t. In All that You can leave Behind by Conjure One we hear the same thing: there is rhythm, but it is a bit thin.
Still, the stereo image is nicely loose and we definitely hear space. The focus is not super sharp, but it is spacious. It’s a bit of a mixture of the Audiolab 6000A and the Rega in that respect. If you like retro and have an easy to drive, somewhat warmly tuned speaker, the Leak is definitely one to try. However, a somewhat hard to drive and fresh tuned speaker is not a match.
Measurements
The measurements of the Leak Stereo 130 feel double. On one hand, we see little distortion (THD+N), but on the other hand, we see that the amplifier does not come close to its stated power in 4 Ohms. We see 45 watts into 8 Ohms, but that power remains at 52 watts into 4 Ohms. This indicates that the power supply does not have much reserve. We also see that the noise spectrum pops up when we go from 1 to 10 watts. In short: we have our doubts about the stability of this amplifier. Do not attach too difficult a speaker! The response curve reminds us of the Arcam: it also slopes towards the bass. However, this Leak also rounds off a bit more in the high range.
Specifications
| Brand and Type | Leak Stereo 130 |
| Inputs digital | Coaxial, 2 x optical, USB, bluetooth |
| Inputs analog | 2 x rca line, 1 x phono |
| Outputs | pre-out and speaker out. |
| Power specs | 45 watts into 8 ohms, 65 watts into 4 ohms |
| Measured power | 44 watts at 0.07% THD+N (8 Ohms), 52 watts at 0.16% THD+N. |
| Dimensions / weight | 30 x 12 x 27 – 7 Kg (silver version) |
| Price | 900 |