Leak Stereo 20

[Nagraboy]

My Croft 25 is the zero gain one, my mate’s 25R has the usual gain level but both had ground loops with different Leak 20s and also his TL12+ monos. There must be something Glenn does to the 25 to alter them beyond gain.

My speakers are also pretty high sensitivity (around 102dB). I do think a Leak 20 would work well providing I can get the preamp sorted correctly. My only source is vinyl these days so not too bothered about accommodating a DAC or other source.

 

[Alex S]

Gosh, the English Acoustics S20 now starts at £7K. The S20 is sonically competitive with a lot of 7 grand amps I’ve heard but that doesn’t mean I’d want to pay that much for one.

 

[paulfromcamden]

Gosh, the English Acoustics S20 now starts at £7K.

£7,700 if you want a custom colour. I guess these things aren't cheap to build if you're making them to order in the UK.

Does make a properly sorted ST20 look like a bargain though.

 

[Alex S]

Brasso, which is finer than t-cut, can be used to bring a fantastic shine to tired painted surfaces, I’ve used it on countless bike frames. Might be worth trying on a hidden section?

As a new owner, I’m naturally reading through this thread and this comment struck me.

I am a museum conservator and also teacher. We have examined Brasso extensively. Under a microscope the abrasives are generally fine but there are much larger rogue particles. It also contains ammonia. It’s not going anywhere near my S20! Renaissance wax, referred to in another post, should be fine.

 

[Alex S]

Agreed Paul. Certainly makes the Radford Revivals look good from my distant, not having seen or listened to either, position.

 

[Alex S]

I find it interesting that it is the Japanese collectors that want original finishes, sometimes above all else. If I'm expert in anything it is in the conservation of Japanese lacquer (and Chinese and Western japanned equivalents). To my knowledge there is no word for 'conservation' in the museum sense in the Japanese language. Indeed, there is a cultural as well as aesthetic tradition in Japan that a lacquer object is restored by lacquer masters, adding their own very visible 'improvements'. A bit like Jez. It's seen as a part of the object's journey. In the West, in the museum context at least, we make every possible effort to preserve original finishes although what goes on in dodgy restoration lock-ups is anyone's guess.

 

[paulfromcamden]

@Alex S I think that's an astute observation. I guess both of those things, keeping the original finish and having a lacquer object restored by a master who will add to the object, make sense if the starting point is (for want of a better word) respect for the object.

 

[Alex S]

Yes. I'm happy with either approach. I am competent with genuine lacquer but use it very rarely.

I didn't sweep the floor for 10 years, make the tea for the next 10, prepare the ground layers for the next 10 and work on the surface decoration and polishing for the next 20, so I'm not a lacquer master.

 

[Tony L]

In the guitar and art world the aim is to do as little as is possible. A vintage Strat or Les Paul is hugely devalued if anyone has attempted to fill in or touch-up dings or scratches and the value is absolutely destroyed if it has been refinished or is missing original pickups or parts.

With artworks the primary aim is to remove earlier restoration attempts, e.g. varnish from oil paintings etc. Again touching-up is very much frowned upon and tends to be removed with serious conservation. Clean and original is the goal unless there is very serious damage. Same exists in the world of record collecting, e.g. if anyone has attempted to doctor a grading with say a black marker pen on a rubbed matt black sleeve that is viewed as fraud and it knocks the record down a couple of grades, sellotape, names on sleeves etc is even more detrimental. Real value-killers. Gluing unstuck flip-sleeves back is fine, as is removing stickers, using a light putty eraser to remove minor sleeve dirt as it is totally invisible/non-destructive, but anything beyond that is viewed as dishonest.

The Japanese approach seems very honest, a dropped pot is restored with obvious joints showing clearly it is a damaged pot that has been fixed rather than thrown away. A rusty and chipped Leak TL12.1 is left to tell its story rather than being cosmetically restored. It is only restored to original function. I have a lot of respect for this, but I am also totally obsessive so say a dust bug mark on a 301 triggers the hell out of me. The result is I tend to search very long and hard for genuinely good condition examples of the items I want that need nothing more than restoring to core functionality. I have no audio kit that has had any cosmetic restoration beyond cleaning unless you count the replacement grilles on my JR149s. Everything else has just been cleaned and sympathetically restored to full function.

 

[Alex S]

I am qualified to work on metal, wood, paint and lacquer but have no real inclination to do so on hifi equipment, vintage or modern. I blow dust off with compressed air (probably not the Leak) or use a microfibre cloth.

I’d advise others do the same unless they know what they’re doing and actually know what chemicals and abrasives are in any given product.

I hope this isn’t patronising but it is easy to screw things up. Especially since the human eye is remarkably sensitive to surface change but it can take a while for the brain to force your hand to stop moving or for that chemical to evaporate.

 

[Joe Hutch]

I am a minimal cleaning bloke, with one exception, a Stax headphone energiser that I bought secondhand many years ago, which reeked of cigarette smoke. On advice from somewhere or other, I liberally doused it in WD40, polished, and repeated several times until the smell went away. Still works fine, though the earspeakers that came with are long gone.

 

[S-Man]

Sorry to be pedantic chaps, but a zero gain preamp would get you zero sound!
I think you mean unity gain.

On the subject of ground loops: these old amps usually connect the signal ground to mains earth. If you have a preamp (or source) that does the same, then when you connect the two together you get a ground loop.
A "ground lift" circuit can avoid this but you need to know what you're doing to avoid safety risks.

 

[lexi]

Farecla make grades of rubbing compound from medium to very fine. I have used them on car paintwork and GRP boats. No ammonia.

 

[GT]

Farecla make grades of rubbing compound from medium to very fine. I have used them on car paintwork and GRP boats. No ammonia.

Good luck with that on modern car paintwork! Without an machine polisher you won't cut into anything by hand...

 

[lexi]

Farecla G3 will cut small areas easy.........you ain't trying hard enough! Or you are polishing the lacquer!

 

[GT]

Farecla G3 will cut small areas easy.........you ain't trying hard enough! Or you are polishing the lacquer!

I have been working on cars and paint finishers for 50 years. All my cars have lacquer finishes (clear over base) and these lacquers are extremely hard. I took one of my cars to a friend who owns a car body shop and he told me you need a machine polisher to cut into the new lacquers.

 

[Darren]

........ A rusty and chipped Leak TL12.1 is left to tell its story rather than being cosmetically restored. It is only restored to original function. I have a lot of respect for this, but I am also totally obsessive so say a dust bug mark on a 301 triggers the hell out of me. The result is I tend to search very long and hard for genuinely good condition examples of the items I want that need nothing more than restoring to core functionality. I have no audio kit that has had any cosmetic restoration beyond cleaning unless you count the replacement grilles on my JR149s. Everything else has just been cleaned and sympathetically restored to full function.

I love vintage kit, but my budget is limited and mint is often beyond my means. I always get serviced items ( or have them subsequently serviced) But I've found cosmetically challenged items to be a boon. I can use them without fear of ruining a previously perfect finish. If I scratch something its just one more scratch.

 

[lexi]

I have been working on cars and paint finishers for 50 years. All my cars have lacquer finishes (clear over base) and these lacquers are extremely hard. I took one of my cars to a friend who owns a car body shop and he told me you need a machine polisher to cut into the new lacquers.

Tony doesn't have a car, so I doubt any of this will interest him.

 

[Alex S]

Can owners confirm that the Leak is indeed pretty easy on the valves. This thing will do 3000+ hours a year and I’ve just found out what a full set of NOS Mullards costs!

 

[Tony L]

Tony doesn't have a car, so I doubt any of this will interest him.

I would never use anything aggressive or abrasive on a piece of audio kit, i.e. never go near T-Cut or anything like that. The only thing I have taken from the auto industry is wax, I have a can of this Simoniz stuff that I used on my TL12 Plus once I’d thoroughly cleaned them with Servisol Foam Cleanser 30. My logic being it should offer some protection for the old paint. I’ve just done my huge vintage Tektronix scope too as that’s in a location that catches the sun on the few days it shines in Greater Manchester so hopefully should offer a little protection. Obviously not an archival process and arguably a layer a future historian would have to remove, but as a way of applying a protective shine to ageing paint that shouldn’t do much harm.

PS For plastic and rubber stuff Auto Glym Vinyl & Rubber Care is very good and offers some UV protection at a fraction of the price of 303 Protectant.