The LEAK Stereo 130 at a glance
The LEAK Stereo 130 Integrated Amplifier is the amplifier at the heart of the revived LEAK range. It carries the name of a historic British hi-fi marque founded by Harold Leak in 1934, and its styling nods openly to the mid-century classics that made LEAK famous. Today LEAK is part of IAG, sharing acoustic design lineage with sister brands, and the Stereo 130 is where that heritage meets a genuinely modern feature set.
This is a fully featured integrated amplifier, which means it drives passive loudspeakers directly and gives you a generous set of inputs so a full system can be built around one tidy component. It is a Class AB design rated at 2 x 45W into 8 ohms, with a real DAC, a phono stage and a headphone amplifier built in.
Design and technology
Visually the Stereo 130 is unmistakable. The wraparound wood side panels, the illuminated front, the vintage typography and the choice of Walnut, Grey or Black finishes all recall LEAK's earlier era while the internals are firmly contemporary.
The built-in ESS Sabre DAC
At the digital core is an ESS Sabre ES9018K2M 32-bit DAC. It handles PCM up to 384kHz and DSD256, so high resolution files and streams are decoded natively. You get an asynchronous USB-B input for a computer, two optical inputs, one coaxial input and an HDMI ARC input. That HDMI ARC connection is worth highlighting, because it lets the Stereo 130 take audio directly from a compatible television, making it a natural hub for music and TV sound in one room.
Phono, Bluetooth and headphones
A moving magnet (MM) phono stage is built in, so a turntable fitted with an MM cartridge connects directly without an external phono preamp. Bluetooth with aptX brings wireless playback from a phone or tablet, and a dedicated headphone amplifier serves late night private listening. Line inputs remain for any analog source you wish to add.
Control and flexibility
The Stereo 130 offers bass and treble tone controls for gentle tailoring to a room or a recording, plus a DIRECT mode that bypasses the tone stage for the shortest, purest signal path. There is also a subwoofer output and an RCA pre-out, which means you can add a powered subwoofer or feed a separate power amplifier down the line.
Sound and performance character
The Stereo 130 is voiced for musical, engaging listening rather than clinical dissection. The 2 x 45W Class AB output is well suited to real world rooms and to speakers of moderate to average sensitivity, delivering a clean, articulate presentation with a natural sense of tone. The ESS Sabre DAC gives digital sources a smooth, detailed quality, while DIRECT mode is there when you want the most transparent path from source to speakers.
Where it sits in the LEAK range
Within the current LEAK lineup the Stereo 130 is the more accessible of the two integrated amplifiers. If you anticipate driving larger or more demanding loudspeakers, or you simply want more headroom, the LEAK Stereo 230 steps up to 2 x 75W into 8 ohms and uses the higher ES9038Q2M DAC. Both share the same design language and family character, so the choice comes down to how much power you need and how far you want to take the digital section. For many rooms and speaker pairings the Stereo 130 is all the amplifier required.
Building a system around the Stereo 130
Loudspeakers
Because the Stereo 130 is an integrated amplifier, it needs passive loudspeakers to complete the system. Two natural companions from within the LEAK family are the LEAK Sandwich 150 Bookshelf Loudspeakers and the LEAK Sandwich 250 Standmount Loudspeakers. Both revive LEAK's celebrated aluminum foamcore Sandwich cone, so they share the amplifier's heritage and styling. The Sandwich 150 is a two-way design that suits smaller spaces and near wall placement, while the Sandwich 250 is a three-way that asks for a little more room to breathe and rewards it with fuller scale.
Cables
To connect them, the Audioquest Rocket 33 Full Range is a sensible single wire choice, and if your speakers offer separate high and low frequency terminals the Audioquest Rocket 33 BiWire version is available for a biwire connection.
Sources
For disc playback, the LEAK CDT CD Transport is the matching partner, and it is important to note that the CDT has no built-in DAC. That is not a problem here, because you simply feed its digital output into one of the Stereo 130's digital inputs and let the amplifier's ESS Sabre DAC do the decoding. For network and streaming service listening, the LEAK TruStream Network Streamer adds Roon Ready playback, Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify Connect and AirPlay 2. The TruStream has its own ES9038Q2M DAC and balanced and RCA analog outputs, so it can connect to the Stereo 130's line inputs and slot in as a complete digital front end.
How it compares to other integrated options
The Stereo 130 is a distinctive proposition thanks to its heritage styling, HDMI ARC and all in one source flexibility. If your priorities differ, AEA carries several alternatives with their own design goals. The Audiolab 6000A MKII is a similarly compact integrated with a modern minimalist look. The Yamaha R-N800A is a network receiver that builds streaming directly into the amplifier. The Advance Paris X-i75 leans toward a classic French styled integrated presentation, and the Yamaha A-S801 is a traditional integrated with its own DAC. For a desktop or headphone centered setup, the Matrix Audio mini-i Pro 4 combines streaming, DAC and headphone amplification in one small unit. Each suits a different listener and use case, so the right choice depends on the look and feature set you want rather than one being superior to another.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the LEAK Stereo 130 in brief?
The LEAK Stereo 130 Integrated Amplifier is the amplifier at the heart of the revived LEAK range. It carries the name of a historic British hi-fi marque founded by Harold Leak in 1934, and its styling nods openly to the mid-century classics that made LEAK famous. Today LEAK is part of IAG, sharing acoustic design lineage with sister brands, and the Stereo 130 is where that heritage meets a genuinely modern feature set.
How is the LEAK Stereo 130 designed and built?
Visually the Stereo 130 is unmistakable. The wraparound wood side panels, the illuminated front, the vintage typography and the choice of Walnut, Grey or Black finishes all recall LEAK's earlier era while the internals are firmly contemporary.
What does the LEAK Stereo 130 sound like?
The Stereo 130 is voiced for musical, engaging listening rather than clinical dissection. The 2 x 45W Class AB output is well suited to real world rooms and to speakers of moderate to average sensitivity, delivering a clean, articulate presentation with a natural sense of tone. The ESS Sabre DAC gives digital sources a smooth, detailed quality, while DIRECT mode is there when you want the most transparent path from source to speakers.
Where does the LEAK Stereo 130 sit in the range?
Within the current LEAK lineup the Stereo 130 is the more accessible of the two integrated amplifiers. If you anticipate driving larger or more demanding loudspeakers, or you simply want more headroom, the LEAK Stereo 230 steps up to 2 x 75W into 8 ohms and uses the higher ES9038Q2M DAC. Both share the same design language and family character, so the choice comes down to how much power you need and how far you want to take the digital section.
Come and listen
All Elite Audio is an authorized LEAK dealer with a showroom in Timonium, Maryland. Demo units rotate and not every model is set up at all times, so we invite you to contact AEA to arrange a listen and hear how the Stereo 130 performs with the speakers and sources that interest you.