Leak Stereo 230 integrated amplifier combines vintage style with more power and upgraded DAC

By
published

New step-up amp promises "virtuosic performance"

Leak Stereo 230 integrated amplifier combines vintage style with more power and upgraded DAC
(Image credit: Leak)

Legendary British hi-fi brand Leak, which returned in 2020 after a 40-year hiatus, has unveiled its newest retro masterpiece.

Billed as a "step-up" from 2020's Stereo 130, the new Stereo 230 integrated amplifier delivers a boost in power (2 x 75W per channel vs 2 x 45W), upgraded circuitry for digital and analogue sources, plus an enhanced DAC stage that caters to smartphones, PCs, Macs and network streamers.

Despite all the cutting-edge internals, the Leak Stereo 230 rocks the same vintage aesthetic as the Stereo 130, which itself is a descendant of the classic Stereo 30 amplifier of the 1960s. (Fun fact: rock genius Jimi Hendrix kept a Stereo 30 in his London pad and regularly cranked it up to full volume when listening to his record collection).

Both the 130 and 230 sport Leak's signature bass and treble tone controls, but the newer 230 is 14cm deeper due to its beefier circuitry and extra power output. The new kid on the block also benefits from a top-spec, 32-bit DAC chipset from ESS Sabre, along with proprietary circuitry that aims to reduce noise and boost dynamic range.

Leak Stereo 230

(Image credit: Leak)

Bluetooth 5 with support for aptX and AAC codecs should please streamers. There's also hi-res audio support up to 32-bit/768kHz (PCM) and 22.58MHz (DSD), not to mention support for MQA, the hi-res format used by Tidal's HiFi Plus tier.

A built-in MM phono stage welcomes turntables with open arms, while a range of digital (HDMI ARC, optical, USB-B) and analogue (RCA, headphone out) connections ensure that the 230 plays nice with everything from CD players to TVs.

We've yet to hear the Stereo 230 in action but Leak reckons it delivers "virtuosic performance". The first batch of Leak Stereo 230 amps will be available from January 2023 priced at £1249 / $1699 / $2699 with the walnut enclosure (£1099 / $1499 / $2399 without).

MORE:

The brand has a new DAC too, and it's not too expensive

What is a headphone amplifier and why do you need one?

These are the best portable music players

Tom Bailey

Tom is a journalist, copywriter and content designer based in the UK. He has written articles for T3, ShortList, The Sun, The Mail on Sunday, The Daily Telegraph, Elle Deco, The Sunday Times, Men's Health, Mr Porter, Oracle and many more (including What Hi-Fi?). His specialities include mobile technology, electric vehicles and video streaming.

4 Comments Comment from the forums
  • spicyramentt
    I say this all the time and I will say it again, unless you are a budget brand or budget product, you have no excuse if your product has no sub out. A product of this price has usb in, hdmi arc, but no sub out. Mind you they have a pre out for daisy chaining, but no dedicated sub out.
    Reply
  • nopiano
    spicyramentt said:
    I say this all the time and I will say it again, unless you are a budget brand or budget product, you have no excuse if your product has no sub out. A product of this price has usb in, hdmi arc, but no sub out. Mind you they have a pre out for daisy chaining, but no dedicated sub out.
    That’s one thing I’ve never looked for in almost fifty years of buying Hifi. Perhaps the majority of potential Leak customers would choose floorstanders and not want subs?
    Reply
  • Gray
    nopiano said:
    That’s one thing I’ve never looked for in almost fifty years of buying Hifi.
    Same here 👍
    Reply
  • spicyramentt
    Well how many Leak customers are going to plug this into a TV with HDMI or into a PC via USB? I'm pretty sure the Leak crowd of old would prefer to use turntables and wax cylinders. But i'm sure potential new Leak customers would appreciate the option to add bass that can go below 60 hz.

    There are a lot of questions you can ask, I mean, I've only been doing the audio hobby around 10 years, and im sure back when you got into it powered subs were an inconceivable thought then, just like the idea of a video cable supplying a signal to audio equipment, or plugging in a fancy compooter to your amp as a source, or providing an audio source via light beamed through glass cables, but again here we are living in the future, and yet a simple sub out... nope, that's inconceivable. Now im not saying you have to defile your deliberate ears and use the sub out, gracious no, but for the rest of us who appreciates the finer things in life (and would spend this kind of money for a hobby), it would be a nice thing to have, IF we wanted to use it.

    I say thank goodness, those asian engineers out there in asialand like SMSL/VMV and Fiio who figured out how to add in a sub out for us younguns' in everything from their budget to high end offerings. I guess that is where the old brands use nostalgia to prey on a particular crowd and the newer brands try to grow their market share by asking what the new generation of customers would like.

    Note:
    As i re-read my comment I realize now there is a certain amount of snark in it and I do apologise for that, but when another commenter can say something like

    "That’s one thing I’ve never looked for in almost fifty years of buying Hifi. Perhaps the majority of potential Leak customers would choose floorstanders and not want subs? "
    It comes across to me as elitist and rubs me the wrong way.

    As we mention floor standings, I have floorstanding speakers that are not lowpassed, and when i add a sub to the mix, there is a whole world of bass floorstandings will never be able to reach unless you spend way too much money. And here i can have that for very little comparatively by adding a simple dedicated, powered sub (or two). And when i do a lowpass on my floorstanding, they are able to focus on what they do best and leave the really low bass to my subs letting the floorstandings perform even better.
    Reply