Leak Audio Stereo 130 + CDT review

Listening

My KEF LS50’s are reasonably insensitive speakers at 85dB/W, but the Stereo 130 had no problem getting them up to spirited (i.e. ‘loud’) listening levels at 11 o’clock on that motorised volume pot. Any expectations of getting a warm, lush, or ‘vintage’ sound were quickly dispelled soon after pressing ‘play’ on a CD version of Daft Punk’s legendary 2013 album ‘Random Access Memories’. The Class A/B Stereo 130 has a precise, revealing sound that definitely sits on the leaner side of the sonic ledger. Switching between the Stereo 130 and my usual desktop speaker amplifier, the tiny Burson Bang, the LEAK revealed itself to have a more exacting sound but without the bass weight or overall tonal mass of the Bang, despite it being rated for only 28WPC at 8 ohms. For this reason, I found myself preferring to listen to the KEFs with the aid of a Wharfedale Powercube SCP-10 subwoofer crossed-over at around 80Hz. Mark my words: I’m by no means criticising the tone of the Stereo 130 – those who prefer a more neutral and revealing presentation will eat it up in spades, but if you’re looking for a richer, romantic presentation then it’s probably worth auditioning first before buying. 

When it came to headphone listening, somewhat unsurprisingly I reached for my maple Grado Labs GH1 first being a lovely visual match for the walnut Stereo 130 and CDT. The Stereo 130’s 600mW is more than enough to extract a rousing and dynamic performance of The Stroke’s debut album ‘Is This It’ from the 32-ohm drivers of the limited-edition Brooklynites. Unlike the voicing from the speaker outputs, the Stereo 130’s headphone amplifier runs a fraction warmer and lends more richness to the overall sonic experience. 

It felt appropriate to choose a suitably ‘retro’ album switching over to the new Radiance closed-back headphones from Focal (review coming soon!), in this case, my favourite album from The Beatles, ‘Revolver’. The older recording can be a little grating at times, but it was an absolute treacle-y delight with the shiny new Focals hooked-up to the Stereo 130 and CDT. I did find the tone controls useful on this record, adding a fraction more bass and dialing back the treble back a hair at times to find the ‘sweet spot’ in certain tracks, but overall the Stereo 130 really allowed the terrific imaging and tonal chops of the Radiance to shine through. 

My perennial benchmark test for any headphone amplifier is how well it performs with my all-time favourite headphones, the revealing and chameleon-like Sennheiser HD600. It was also time for some vinyl, in this case, Chris Stapleton’s excellent country record ‘From a Room: Volume 1’. The HD600 exhibited surprisingly excellent bass control and extension when paired up with the Stereo 130 – not as surefooted and convincing as the Schiit Asgard 3 when I switched-over to it, but nonetheless enjoyable and classy. The Stereo 130 had more than ample power for the HD600, getting them up to appropriate listening levels at around 10 o’clock, but what was most enjoyable about this pairing was the wonderful tone that the Stereo 130’s headphone section extracted from the mid-range of the classic Sennheisers. Chris Stapleton’s voice is one of the best in the business, and it really was an immersive and realistic listen on this pairing – the timbre was spot-on. 

The hardest-to-drive cans that I had around during my review time with the Stereo 130 was the 37 ohm, 94dB Hifiman Sundara, which can be a little amp picky and require a bit of juice to extract a proper dynamic performance from. The LEAK managed more than adequately to get a decent performance from the Sundara – sure, the bass impact and overall dynamics aren’t as authoritative as running them balanced from my Questyle CMA600i, but if you’re considering the Stereo 130 you’ll be pleased to know that it can play with planars, when asked to. 

Final thoughts

In terms of overall headphone performance, the LEAK Stereo 130 gets my endorsement for being a strong performer with dynamic headphones – both the low and high-impedance varieties. It’s able to power 300-ohm Sennheisers with aplomb, as well as getting a thumping yet nuanced bass performance out of the 38-ohm Audio Technica ATH-WP900. I’d suggest that planar magnetic owners – particularly of the notoriously insensitive variety – will be better served with a discrete, high-powered dedicated headphone amplifier. 

I would also suggest that those of you who’ve invested in a range of balanced cables and interconnects will probably want to stick with a standalone amplifier with XLR or pentaconn connectivity, but then again, you’re probably the kind of person who’d never consider an all-in-one integrated amplifier like the LEAK Stereo 130. 

As well as being an audio reviewer, I’m also a music listener, and I’m also a human – I need to music-listening to be convenient, enjoyable, and bring joy into my house. And if I were to have one single integrated device to channel all my listening needs, you can bet that the LEAK Stereo 130 would tick that box. In fact, the Stereo 130 ticks many, many boxes so well. Its DAC might not have the layering capabilities of something like the Schiit Bifrost 2, its headphone amp might not have the out-and-out power and connectivity of something like the Topping A90, and its speaker performance might not have the brute force of the Schiit Ragnarok 2, but it’s adept in so many ways, all at once. But, the Stereo 130 also has something that almost nothing else has – retro charm. I’ve recommended DACs and headphone amplifiers that alone cost more than the $1,195 LEAK Stereo 130, so I can say that the Stereo 130 is very much worth the asking price for both the functional and emotional elements that it brings to the table. 

How about the CDT, then? Well, this one’s a more specialised proposition. For starters, I can only really see people wanting to choose this as a matching companion for the Stereo 130 rather than as a standalone transport. Its looks and charm are on-par with its Stereo 130 stablemate, and if you’ve made an investment in terms of building a CD collection – or if you are planning to – then it would seem a shame to pair the Stereo 130 with a lifeless black or silver slab of CD-spinning rectangular metal.