LEAK - Stereo 230 Integrated Amplifier

LEAK’s larger integrated: 75 watts per channel into 8 ohms, an ES9038Q2M DAC, HDMI ARC for television audio and a moving-magnet phono stage.

The Stereo 230 was built to sit above the Stereo 130 rather than to replace it — both remain in production, and LEAK frames the 230 as adding “more power, more functionality and more substance” to the model that revived the brand in 2020.

Power rises to 75 watts per channel into 8 ohms, or 115 into 4 ohms, from a Class AB output stage. The converter steps up to the ESS Sabre32 Reference ES9038Q2M, which doubles the USB ceiling to 768kHz PCM and adds DSD512. The addition that changes what the amplifier can do, though, is HDMI ARC: a television can be run straight into it, so a two-channel system can handle the screen as well as the record player. Note that this is ARC rather than eARC, so it carries stereo and compressed surround from the TV, not lossless multichannel formats.

Vinyl is properly catered for with a low-noise moving-magnet phono input at the standard 47k ohms and 100pF, and headphone listening gets a dedicated current-feedback amplifier rated for loads from 16 to 600 ohms — a genuinely wide range that covers both modern low-impedance headphones and the old 600-ohm studio classics.

The heritage the styling invokes is real. Harold Leak founded H. J. Leak & Co. in London in 1934; the “Point One” amplifiers took their name from distortion below 0.1%; the TL/12 became a BBC standard in 1951; the valve Stereo 20 followed in 1958 and the transistor Stereo 30 in 1963, and it is the Stereo 30 whose fascia these modern amplifiers imitate. Leak sold the company to Rank in 1969. International Audio Group revived the name in 2020. The 230 comes in silver aluminium or real walnut veneer, and unlike the 130 both finishes share one set of external dimensions.

Features

• 75W per channel into 8Ω, 115W into 4Ω, Class AB
• ESS Sabre32 Reference ES9038Q2M DAC — USB to 768kHz PCM and DSD512
• HDMI ARC input for television audio
• Low-noise moving-magnet phono stage, 47kΩ // 100pF
• Dedicated current-feedback headphone amplifier, 16–600Ω load range
• Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX
• Optical, coaxial and USB Type-B digital inputs, plus optical and coaxial outputs
• 12V trigger input and output for system integration
• Preamp output for use with an external power amplifier
• Silver aluminium or real walnut veneer enclosure
• LEAK system remote handset supplied

Specifications

• Type: Stereo integrated amplifier with DAC, phono stage, HDMI ARC and Bluetooth
• Power Output: 2 x 75W (8Ω) / 2 x 115W (4Ω), Class AB
• THD: Less than 0.003% (1kHz at 30W into 8Ω). DAC section less than 0.002%
• Frequency Response: Power amplifier 20Hz–20kHz (±0.3dB); preamplifier 20Hz–20kHz (±0.1dB)
• Signal to Noise Ratio: Power amplifier greater than 109dB; line preamp greater than 110dB; phono MM greater than 75dB; DAC greater than 115dB (all A-weighted)
• DAC: ESS Sabre32 Reference ES9038Q2M, 32-bit
• Input Sampling Rates: Optical and coaxial 44.1kHz–192kHz; USB to 768kHz PCM, DSD64, DSD128, DSD256, DSD512
• Input Sensitivity: 550mV (line, volume at maximum); 4.8mV (phono MM, volume at maximum)
• Input Impedance: 10kΩ (line); 47kΩ // 100pF (phono MM)
• Phono Stage: Moving magnet only, low-noise design
• Headphone Output: Dedicated current-feedback amplifier, 6.3″ (1/4″) front-panel jack. Output impedance 4.7Ω; load range 16–600Ω
• Preamp Output Level: 2.3V maximum
• Bluetooth: Version 5.0 with aptX. LEAK lists aptX Low Latency; Stereophile’s manufacturer sheet lists aptX HD
• HDMI: HDMI ARC input x1. This is ARC, not eARC
• Analog Inputs: RCA line x2 (AUX1, AUX2); RCA phono MM x1
• Analog Outputs: RCA preamp out x1; headphone x1
• Digital Inputs: Optical TOSlink x1, RCA coaxial x1, USB Type-B x1, HDMI ARC x1
• Digital Outputs: Optical TOSlink x1, RCA coaxial x1
• Speaker Outputs: One stereo pair of binding posts. No A/B switching
• Trigger: 12V input x1 and 12V output x1
• Mains Input: 100–120V, 50/60Hz (North American version). A separate 220–240V build exists for other markets; the unit is not switchable
• Finishes: Walnut real wood veneer, or Silver aluminium
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 12.91″ x 5.79″ x 16.30″ (328 x 147 x 414 mm), both finishes
• Weight: Walnut 28.0 lbs (12.7 kg); Silver 24.5 lbs (11.1 kg)
• Carton Size: 20.24″ x 16.85″ x 8.27″ (514 x 428 x 210 mm)
• In the Box: Amplifier, IEC power cord, remote handset, user manual. The Bluetooth antenna ships with the silver version only
• Note: LEAK publishes no damping factor, channel separation or power consumption figure. Bluetooth aptX is a lossy codec, so wireless playback is not bit-perfect