Item #119125

Info: Rebuilt Leak Stereo 20 amp and matching Point One Pre

Asking Price: $1000.00 Category: Amplifiers Date Posted: Mar 02, 2009 05:08:17 PM About Seller: Add to My Hotlist Username: vinyl-nut Ottawa, ON Canada [other classified ads] Canuck Audio Mart: User Feedback   : 7

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Description

I am revising my ad, reducing my price, now I've decided to get serious about selling this beauty off (hence the photos), not an easy decision. This is an excellent example of a Leak Stereo 20 (one small scrape on one of the transformer covers), completely rebuilt, optimized and improved by a talented technician/engineer who is in the audio business, specializing in tubes and trannies, with top-quality components, but with NO modifications to the circuit or original transformers excepting very pricey heat-dissipation resistors to protect the transformers, visible in the photos, so what you are hearing is an original Leak, but done right. The preamp is as-bought, thrown in, not even tested, but in excellent physical condition for those who want to fix it up, has the necesary cable too.

This has been my main amp now for the last year, I used it to drive various Klipsches and a variety of other speakers without a hiccup. Though this is an EL-84-based push-pull tube amp which puts out only about 12 watts, it sounds much more powerful than this, and drove a pair of Quad ESL-63s to quite high volume with good bass, provided simpler works were played (for instance jazz). With Klipsches, it sounds limitless with very punchy and powerful bass. EL-84-based amps are known for their speed, transparency and detail, and this Leak proves it: makes SS sound positively slow. This is your chance to get one of the great Classics, rebuilt and ready to go, with all new tubes, including a matched quartet of Hitachi tubes, made in England for them back in the day, possibly by Mullard (I just know these kick the ass of the previous new JJs I used). Selling as I am moving to insensitive speakers requiring serious grunt.

The small scrape can be seen in the images, as well as evidence of overheating in the circuit board at the protection resistors. Those who know anything about Leak Stereo 20s know this is normal: Leak deliberately designed the protection resistors to overheat and boil away the solder, thus cutting the electrical current to the tranformers, just like a fuse. Beats me why they didn't simply use a fuse. This is the reason this Leak still functions perfectly. These have been removed, and upgraded to very pricey, large capacity heat-dissipation resistors, visible in the photos. Works like a charm, I played Hell out of this amp (I like it LOUD) with nary a problem. The preamp may or may not work, never tested, thrown in to complete the set. This is priced to go. Will deliver within a couple of hours of Ottawa.

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