Why LEAK, and Why Now
LEAK is one of the truly historic names in British hi-fi. Founded by Harold Leak in 1934, the brand earned its reputation with the classic Stereo 20 amplifier and the original Sandwich loudspeaker, whose aluminum foamcore cone was a genuine landmark in cone design. Today LEAK is revived under IAG, the group that also stewards Wharfedale, Quad, Mission and Audiolab, and the current range shares its acoustic design lineage with those sister brands. What you get is a lovely combination: mid-century styling that recalls those classic pieces, wrapped around thoroughly modern engineering. This guide walks you through the whole range and shows you how the pieces fit together into a complete system.
Start With the Heart: The Stereo Integrated Amplifiers
Every LEAK system begins with an amplifier, and LEAK keeps this simple with two integrated amplifiers that share a design philosophy while serving different needs.
LEAK Stereo 130
The LEAK Stereo 130 is the natural starting point. It delivers 2 x 45W and packs an impressive amount of capability into one warmly styled chassis. Inside you will find an ESS Sabre ES9018K2M DAC, a moving magnet phono stage for a turntable, Bluetooth for casual listening, HDMI ARC so it can handle the sound from your television, and a dedicated headphone amplifier for private listening. For many rooms and many listeners, this single unit is all the electronics a system needs.
LEAK Stereo 230
The LEAK Stereo 230 is the more powerful sibling in the same range. It offers 2 x 75W into 8 ohms and steps up to the higher ES9038Q2M DAC, while retaining the same welcome mix of moving magnet phono, Bluetooth, HDMI ARC and a headphone amplifier. If you have a larger room, more demanding speakers, or simply want extra headroom to spare, the Stereo 230 legitimately gives you more within the same family. Both amplifiers share the same design goals, so the choice comes down to the power and DAC headroom your room and speakers call for.
Choosing Your Sources
LEAK gives you two beautifully matched ways to feed music into your amplifier, and it is important to understand how each one connects.
LEAK CDT CD Transport
The LEAK CDT is a dedicated CD transport, which means it reads the disc and passes the digital signal onward. It has no built-in DAC of its own, so it is designed to work with the DAC inside a Stereo 130 or Stereo 230, or with an outboard DAC. This is a deliberate design choice: it lets the CDT concentrate on reading discs cleanly while the conversion is handled by the ESS Sabre DAC in your amplifier. If your library lives on physical discs, the CDT is the elegant, style matched way to play it.
LEAK TruStream Network Streamer
The LEAK TruStream is the modern streaming heart of a LEAK system. Unlike the CDT, it has its own ES9038Q2M DAC on board, along with balanced and RCA analog outputs. It is Roon Ready and supports Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify Connect and AirPlay 2, so it brings essentially the whole world of streaming into your setup. Because it does its own digital to analog conversion, the TruStream can connect straight into your amplifier as a finished analog source.
The Loudspeakers: Reviving the Sandwich Cone
LEAK's Sandwich loudspeakers revive the celebrated aluminum foamcore Sandwich cone, one of the brand's most important historic innovations. These are passive speakers, which means they require an amplifier to drive them. LEAK offers two.
LEAK Sandwich 150
The LEAK Sandwich 150 is a two-way standmount speaker. Its more compact design goal makes it a graceful fit for smaller and medium rooms, and it pairs naturally with the Stereo 130 for a beautifully balanced, space conscious system.
LEAK Sandwich 250
The LEAK Sandwich 250 is a three-way standmount speaker. The added way gives it a different design goal, aimed at listeners who want fuller scale reproduction. It makes a very natural partner for the extra power of the Stereo 230, particularly in a larger room.
How It All Connects
Building a LEAK system is refreshingly straightforward once you understand the roles of each piece.
- The amplifier is the hub. Choose the Stereo 130 or the more powerful Stereo 230 based on your room and speakers.
- The passive Sandwich speakers connect to the amplifier's speaker terminals. They cannot make sound on their own, so the amplifier drives them directly.
- The CDT connects to the amplifier's digital input so it can use the amplifier's ESS Sabre DAC, since the CDT has no DAC of its own.
- The TruStream connects to the amplifier's analog inputs, using its own onboard DAC and its balanced or RCA outputs.
- A turntable can connect to the moving magnet phono input built into either Stereo amplifier.
Two Complete System Ideas
A Refined Starter System
Pair the Stereo 130 with the two-way Sandwich 150. Add the TruStream for streaming, or the CDT if discs are your priority, and you have a coherent, space conscious system that looks and sounds of a piece.
A Fuller Scale System
Step up to the Stereo 230 with the three-way Sandwich 250 for more power and more scale in a larger room. The TruStream and CDT slot in exactly as before, giving you streaming and disc playback in one style matched stack.
Come Listen
All Elite Audio is an authorized LEAK dealer with a showroom in Timonium, Maryland. Because our demo units rotate and not every model is always set up at a given moment, we encourage you to reach out before you visit. Contact AEA and we will be glad to arrange a listen and help you build the LEAK system that suits your room, your sources and the way you love to listen.