advertisement


Leak Stereo 20. Value?

Yeah they're both unusually clean looking examples, especially the top one, and would certainly be worth a premium price. The vast majority I've seen have not been in the same league.
 
The thing with Leaks (and Tannoys, LS3/5As, 301s etc) is pretty much all the good ones were exported to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong etc decades ago where they are really coveted. Too much of the stuff left in the UK now tends to be dragged out of skips and botch-rebuilt by idiots on the cheap. They are fabulous amps, but they need to be treated right.
 
I see a real love for the Leak ST20 here. I would love to hear one in my own system for myself (despite already owning a fantastic Croft pre/power).

I also have a pair of BBC Chartwell loudspeakers - of the 8 Ohm variety - like Tony is with his Leak I am thinking of selling that pair of speakers on in due course... actually is there anyone here that might have a glimmer of interest in these b4 I run them through the eBay mill ... ?
 
Considering the bonkers prices of a lot of current hi-fi (which is often inferior) the Leak ST20 has to be considered a bargain when used in an appropriate setting.

My dark grey example was comprehensively overhauled and fettled by one of the experts on this forum, with just sensible and reversible mods like adding a mains switch and blocking off the octal socket.

The thing that gets me is that even with it’s very high sensitivity, the ST20 is such a quiet amp with hardly any background noise a lot like a solid-state amp. This really helps to get the most out of acoustic recordings where the subtle details are clearly audible. Via my 15 Ohm Falcon LS3/5a shoeboxes and Khozmo passive it just sounds sublime and I don’t think I could replicate what it does for less than twice the price. A lovely thing to have sat between the speakers on a cold Autumn evening!
 
One last thought on monetary value, ones with all Mullard valves might fetch more though there's no way of knowing how well the valves are performing prior to purchase.
I bought one such amp and the 84s and 34 looked great but where well past their best. I replaced them with Genelex re-issue.
Just bought a pair of 12s from a chap who described Leaks as pretty much valve agnostic, which was a term I understood and rather liked !
 


advertisement


Back
Top