📌Considering the LEAK speakers? Find them here bit.ly/3x8kJLT 🔌Watch our REVIEW to get caught up on today’s UNPLUGGED! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OirHxi5VFeM.html 🔌Catch up on all the latest UNPLUGGED episodes here bit.ly/43NnDkT 😀Thank you for watching! If you enjoyed this video, please hit the 👍Like button! 🙏 Please stay on topic and be respectful. 🚫No links, self-promotion, or personal info.
*Good morning, everybody! Thank you for watching! We really do appreciate you. If you haven't already done so, please hit the like button. It really helps!*
@@LexusAllTerrain1 Perhaps you missed the change to our format. Catch up on all the episodes here: bit.ly/43NnDkT You'll find me here every Friday morning.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews I understand, I seen most , however I don't recall her explanation or planning on her upcoming absence in her commentary after your reviews...sorry!
Re "bookshelf" speakers: the term became popular in the 60s and 70s when American manufacturers such as AR and KLH released sealed-box models which were, in fact, designed to be placed against a wall. In fact, these were often placed horizontally on actual bookshelves!
I think the Vintage/Nostalgia trend goes beyond stereo speakers. In a world of smart speakers, smartphones, and headphone...I sort of feel the entire Hi-Fi industry only exists today because of nostalgia. Despite most of my stereo and home theater being purchased in the past five years...visitors to my house still call it a "old stereo system". Lets face it we're a niche community...and I'm OK with that.
@KristiWright You're very welcome just remember... You can please some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time! 😂🤣
The interaction between you two is AWESOME!! Also thx for saying the amp,wattage etc to push said speakers. And i enjoyed your answer to those who ask questions 🎉excellent touch
I have had an excellent experience with Cerwin Vega speakers. Cerwin Vega 2024 line up looks excellent and yet there is only one RU-vid channel that reviewed their new speakers. Please try they're budget speakers that don't cost an arm and leg. Please
Andrew is very right about the Heresy being on stands, i purchased the KLH model 5 stands after reading reviews of several experts saying they needed to be off the ground and it was not good at all ,lost some bottom end and the speaker became to lean,i think that sometimes us audiophiles have a tendency to tweek things that where well designed in the first place.
Thank you both. Yet another beautifully made and informative video. By the way, I can’t get over how your room looks like. I’m torn between the Linton and the Leaks looks. They look beautiful to me.
Hey Andrew & Kristi -- thanks for opening with my question. And just to reiterate my reply to Mr. Comeau, I like the look. I was only curious about the screw protrusions because it's not something I'd seen a lot of in modern speaker designs. There was never any intention to imply that somehow they'd make the speakers "suck" or anything of that sort. Which is why I referenced the style decision. Thanks for another great episode!
I gave a pair of 40 year old KIRKSATER 130 speakers in perfect condition to my son that were rebuilt, the sound is remarkable from them for being that old I got them when I was 24 they were a 3 way with beryllium tweeter I still love to listen to them and I also gave him the original receiver I had that was a Onkyo TX85.very nostalgic to listen to, it takes me back to my Trans Am days
I appreciate the thorough response to my amplifier question. Did Kristi ever say if she liked the Leaks, which she deferred talking about at the beginning of the video? If so, I missed it.
I Listened to them at a seller's home they are indeed special. I hesitated and lost them. Another great speaker I should have bought was a pair of Mirage M3SI. Even better than the KEFs.
I have the Model 5s and am curious to try a Mofi. One thing I’m not a fan of with the 5 is I need to put them near the front wall for bass reinforcement. Otherwise they are pretty good. Really I bought them because my wife likes the looks and sound. But she doesn’t even listen to them so 🤷♂️
100% accurate on the longevity of the L100. I recently purchased a new pair of L100 classics. I was curious on what’s inside the cabinet and I began to unscrew the main woofer. I noticed immediately that one screw was not coming out and it just spun. Once i removed the driver I noticed the front baffle is made of particle board. It’s compacted cardboard. On the screw that just spun, there is a piece of baffle that just disintegrated. The piece that was missing was just cardboard and it disintegrated in my hands. Now I’m stuck with this giant speaker that will not last a lifetime. JBL just a money grab.
I got the Q Acoustics 3050i for £350 instead and some monitor audio golds gs in my other room which I change over often. Much cheaper and very perfect for my ear. Im running cyrus products and myryad M240 power and T 40 pre .
The takeaway from the last few weeks for me is how great the Arcam A25 is at its sub $1500 price. Andrew says he likes the sound (tone) more(if I heard him correctly) than the Yamaha rn2000 at almost 1/3 the price. It seems to power every speaker reasonably well. I'm wondering how long we are going to have to listen to this channel before we find something at this price level that he likes more? I think it really says a lot when there is no tone controls and no room correction or other crazy features and he just has to listen with how it comes and says....it's great! Too bad it has those weird racing stripes. 😂
If you don't need additional features and you can live with the black and yellow color scheme, the A25 is my go-to recommendation to folks looking for a solid integrated amplifier under $1500. I would say, sound-wise, it's my go-to pick up to maybe even $2-2,500 so long as you a) want an integrated solution and b) can get by with less. But the matching streamer is not good which is a shame because no other components match the A25 visually.
Really enjoyed this. I notice a lot more videos of open baffle designs on RU-vid. I know they are a more esoteric style speaker but do you have any plans to review some?
I started selling audio in the 70s, and there were two kinds of speakers: bookshelf and floorstanding. If it wasn't designed to go on the floor, it was a bookshelf. I had some BIC speakers that were 25" tall that were called bookshelf. I sat those babies right on the floor, and devised a way to tilt them back about 10 degrees. Worked great!
I love klispch heresey and similar designed speakers. It has pa style horns. I wish it had piezzo style tweeters. I'll love to see a modern version of the sony ss850, olympus mach 3, Technics SB-2200 Speakers, Sansui SP series, Ess Labs speakers, frazier mark and model series and olympus x200.
You definitely missed the Revival Audio Atalante 5 - beautiful speakers, vintage inspired. I heard them once and they are something special. Also Pylon Audio Jade as vintage inspired speakers are excellent value for money.
I’m thinking about raising up my JBL L100 classic 75th anniversary on a pair of stands like the Lintons go on… maybe I’ll build a cheap pair out of 2x4’s n plywood before I go spending money on nice stands and see how they sound first. I have the factory stands but it I put the speakers in my main rig, there is a couch in the way on the right channel 🤬. A good experiment I guess.
A pleasant Friday Andrew and Kristi. More great discussion. Along the line of the stand mount vs small floor stander, a suggested speaker review I think your viewers would enjoy is the PMC prodigy5 with its compact dimensions and front ported transmission line providing great bass with placement flexibility as in close to the wall. It seems to have made the review rounds where it got many positive reviews so I would be surprised if you guys hadn't been approached for a review. Has MoFi provided any future ETA with regards to the SoucePoint 888? Really looking forward to the reviews of that speaker and on my list for a possible future upgrade. Very interested for Sunday's review. Thanks again and keep up the great work.
The vintage and 'industrial' look of the Leak is outstanding. I need to listen first, but the Leak sandwich and 230 Amp will definitely be a good 'fit' in my man-cave esthetic. While they may no longer be made in GB, you cannot knock 'British Sound'!
@robinsonbrand Where I live, I can not 'test drive' the Leak. My small system is some older 600 B&W's and the Rotel A11 and CD11 Tribute. I'm thinking of just ordering the Leak Sandwich 250 and 230 Amp and CD for a 16×20 mancave...mostly classic rock, prog, classical, jazz....Looking for your thumbs up recommendation...if you would! The system would be set-up on the longer side wall. Love and subscribed to your channel for a few years now. Mike from British Columbia!
@@geographyinaction7814Mike, yah, as a fellow southwest coast BC resident, the modern dearth of brick and mortar “purveyors of audio kit” is a huge drag.
Anybody that is worried about amplification and doesn’t mind separates, you can get the Monolith 2x, 200W/ch(300wpc 4ohm), insanely low distortion power amp for about 1200$. Couple that with a nice cheap transparent DAC with a preamp stage for volume control(SMSL SU-6 is insanely high performing for like 150$), and never worry about your electronics ever again if you want colorless sound. If you want EQ, then get a miniDSP as a preamp instead. Done. There’s no magic involved.
@@misterzero8667 Literally made in America? I guess the SMSL is “Chifi”, but but the DAC chips are the same as whatever brand you have in your head. If made in America is that important to you, then buy a Monolith 2x, a JDS labs Atom 2 DAC, and a Schiit SYS for volume control. Same outcome, but more annoying setup for the sake of a sticker on the case.
@@daniellewandowski4990 I’m an engineer, so I believe in measurement of electronic components. If you have an amplifier that has inaudible signal to noise ratio, inaudible crosstalk, no load dependency, and less than .1% distortion up to 200W, then you are getting purely the signal from the source through your speakers. Period. If you like amps that have a “sound” then you like a colored signal playing through your speakers. That’s fine, I have a Cambridge AXR 100 that makes speakers with scooped mids sound a lot better because it’s a warm sound through the DAC/AMP, but it’s better to start with transparent and add EQ than chase the right “synergy” by matching colored equipment to various speakers. Certainly easier on your wallet.
Yeah agreed. I really wanted to like them as I have a Stereo 230 which looks and sounds fab. White or normal black drivers would have been better. I also think the recessed dust cap is a styling fail. It may have been done for sonic reasons but again, it looks like a white van driver trying to pretend to be high end. I went for Elipson Heritage speakers instead. The cabinet work and general finish isn't nearly as good but the look from the listening position, with white paper drivers, old-school exposed voice coil wires and the treble level knob is far more pleasing to me.
Lovely to have Kristi back -- I agree w Andrew that Peter's initial response makes sense (fixing screws "immeasurable" = can't measure/hear objectively; also can't notice subjectively)
Hi Andre! A couple of months ago we started the Unplugged series - which is more of a conversation! You can catch up on all of those here: bit.ly/43NnDkT
I love the look of these speakers. As these seem very intelligible, are they better for combined home-theater and music compared to most of the other vintage style monitors you discussed? Which comparable speaker do you think would be better for mixed use? Sourcepoint 8/10?
As far as diffraction is concerned, the Leaks and other similar old school speakers have a nasty angular lip and 90 degree angle edges which, based on my understanding, should color the sound. The proof is in the listening, however.
Thank God you clarified your view on amplification, I was afraid you were returning to your pompous days of Mark Levinson , you are the only reviewer I truly trust, and having your wife who , no offense intended, has not seemingly had the “audiophile” bug and whose opinions I feel come from a place that is closer to my own, your channel is invaluable. What I wish you’d do is try the Leak speakers with the Leak 230 amp
@@andrewrobinsonreviews, I must admit that I had a little chuckle when you mentioned that one could keep certain speakers for life, because here in the Tropics, such things tend to attract mould after a relatively short length of time (unless one is running the airconditioning for many hours a day).
@@TheVeganVicarsee here in the US air conditioning runs 24/7 practically everywhere. Some exceptions of course exist, but still. Your case is very particular, but there are also ways of protecting your wooden gear like speakers as well. There are spray cans you can buy with product that help seal the wood and veneer and help it stay dry for a very long time. There are even products that can do the same with drivers, or you can always use a compressed air can to every couple of weeks to not only dust off your drivers, but also help them stay dry.
Loved the conversation about how higher end amplification can get the most out of your speakers. Could you speak to how amps with similar specs (i.e. power, distortion, etc.) could end up sounding so different? For example, why would a McIntosh amp with 200 watts/channel sound better than an Emotiva amp with 200 watts/channel with everything else in the system being the same? No shade to Emotiva, I own their products and love them. :) Thanks!
The beginning of the video ball is down to something that we all know with respect to poisons. For most of them “dose matters”. a little bit isn’t gonna hurt you a lot might. small barely noticeable above surface screws aren’t gonna do much but…
Re: Big "Bookshelves" My current bookshelf speakers which are amazing and do sit on a shelf are Zu DWX 12"x12"x23" and weigh 42 pounds. love of my life is a sturdy one.
The stands we were sent are meant to go with the Linton speakers. Leak did not have the 250 stands available for us at the time of our review. Regardless, I agree with you!
Andrew, could you please review the JBL 4312g? I'm looking for a pair of 'vintage' speakers and this one speaks to me through the power of ME EYEBALLING IT ON MY SCREEN ;)
To me personally, the issue with the screws is pure design. I love the look of the speaker overall, I just think they could’ve done slightly less of them being visible? But that’s personally just my own taste. Nothing more. I think “audiophiles” overthink too many things and just try to find anything to grasp to they can critique sometimes. Just chill and listen to the sound, enjoy the music. I have no issue with power requirement as well, if it actually delivers in terms of sound. (Looking at you EmOtIvA😂). I think it’s a great overall package and great to see another old school brand making a comeback. I feel like this is a great trend, as the market got a bit stale with too many options that are too similar in design and their capabilities. I honestly can’t wait for this type of speaker to come out fully powered ala KEF LS60, or Klipsch Nines. That would be a killer speaker package. If it’s done right of course. Love the conversation and the start of the episode! Especially the use case conversations and about differences in towers, bookshelves and this style speaker that’s basically in between. Thank you for answering my question! 😇 Hope everyone is having a lovely Friday and enjoying the end of the week!
Oooh, now you've gone and done it. A powered LEAK 250 would be incredible! I was actually thinking about how it could be turned into an in-wall but maintain a bit of the walnut edge (not too dissimilar to what Sonus Faber does). A 250 in-wall recessed into a wall of Walnut wood paneling would look sick!
@@andrewrobinsonreviews a somewhat combination of a moody lighting and walnut paneling in a library, and a fireplace in the middle with those speakers in wall as you said to me sounds like a dream room. I’d get lost in there for years….. wow.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews you literally just cost me thousands with that idea. And years of time in planning it. My wife has always wanted a library in the house, so did I. And this is just perfection.
How do we talk about retro vintage style new speakers and not address the elephant in the room? Having grown up in the vintage years speakers in the day had to crank!!! I mean we turned it up to 11, and the speakers had better performed. We rocked back then and speaker placements weren’t a concern, toe in wasn’t a concern, etc etc. A main requirement for where we partied was the system, marantz receivers hooked up to Altec Lansing speakers to name a few. SPL’s were the name of the game back then. Hence the receiver power wars of that era 😜😎.
My Leak Sandwich 600 dated from 1963 have their inside plated with something like an inch thick of bitumen, something I haven't heard into any new speaker. Is it a good thing ? Listening to them shows it is not totally stupid.
I really like the look of the Leak 250 speakers. I am thinking of a pair to replace my Realistic Nova 7b speakers. Would a Realistic SA-2000 or Pioneer SA-8500II amp work well with them? Both amps have been professionally refurbished.
I never thought about how raising the Heresy IV off the ground would change or lessen the bass. I can clearly see what you mean. Similar as to its distance from the wall. Very interesting insight. I have Cornwall I's.... (go ahead and laugh at me) in my listening room and thought about moving to the Heresy IV. I'm guessing mid and top end would be better, but low end would diminish significantly. I LOVE highly efficient speakers, as it opens up options to using peanut size Class A/AB amplification. I did try a Fosi v3 (Class D) with the Cornwall I's with an open mind, but it didn't work so well. The sound was "flatish" and I couldn't listen at very low volumes as the Fozi would amplify the right channel over the left. I went back to my 3.5w+3.5w single ended EL84 tube amp. The Cornwalls I's LOVE a low amplification tube amp as I'm sure the Cornwall's IV do as well.
The Cornwall IVs sound sublime on our 2-Watt SET amp from Decware, though I will admit, they become even more refined if I give them a few more Watts to chew on.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews I have no doubt that they do! When I use my Marantz 2245 with CW I's... it's next level. I'm going to build a Dynaco ST-35 from a kit soon. Should be a good time. All the best!
'I feel like the forte IV should have been in the comparison' Or/and the Klipsch ChorusII's! 👌 Always good content by Kristi Wright👌 What exactly is your job Andrew? 🤝😊 All the best to you both~
I have a pair of Acoustic Research AR-1's , the ones that Bob Carver created back around 1999. I really have enjoyed their sound as they have a built in 15" woofer powered by a 250 amp Sunfire amplifier in each speaker. Which makes the weight quite a bit for each speaker. Not sure what wood they used. I had all the capacitor's replaced at the recommendation of my repair people I've been using for 20 years. It fixed the distortion I was getting in one of the subwoofers. I've got them up for sale, but most everyone who is interested live outside of Colorado. And I don't want to ship these as that would be quite expensive. I found a pair of Martin Logan Ascent speakers for $800.00 and I'm with you. I really like the sound of the electrostatic speaker. So the AR's ones are up for sale. Does Sansui exist anymore? Been years since I heard any Sansui speakers. Had a pair back on the 70's and I still remember how much I liked their sound. ;0)
I wonder what your opinion would be if you paired the Model 5 with that Mac gear you have now. Also if Heresy IV are raised on stands use a pair of subs. Endgame pair
What about the Magnat transpuls 1500? Some french youtuber named nicoastyle had these speakers but like the Elipson Heritage XLS15 more. They are 3 times the price of the magnat though.
Hi Andrew and Kate. Any chance you have in focus Marantz Model M1 for review soon? Or anything about this device, as it's very hard to find anything except marketing stuff. Any reliable info would be appreciated (trying to build new stereo system with Polk ES60 (probably 2.0) or KEF Q750 (2.1), and now there is this M1 with same price here as Stereo 70S I was considering. Thanks
I see that someone mentioned using a vintage pioneer amp for running the leaks. Bit of a segway but I have my dad’s old pioneer SX-1050, would that be able to power the Polk R700’s or are they a bit more power hungry?
hi guys, hope you're doing well. sorry i'm a little late to the party with my question, i've watched the leak review and this unplugged about 10 times this last week and am increasingly warming up to a slightly crazy idea/dream that i'd love your thoughts on. this is about the upper limit of the kind of price range and speaker size in which i could potentially consider the following ; a 10.1 auro3d home cinema setup powered by marantz cinema 30, 40 or 50 with L,R,C,LR,RR and god channel using leek 250s and the remaining upper layer using 4x 150s initially. is this completely stupid? am i wasting money on speaker parity all around? i like the idea of identical drivers for acoustic continuity of panning/sweeping virtualised 3d audio sources and all round balance, and it might also be useful for adaptability to future speaker configurations, but is this a flawed/misguided consideration and approach? i know you didn't use 4, 6...8 cornwalls for your hybrid music and home theatre setup but obviously thats understandable. my goal is leaning much more heavily towards the home cinema. if the general concept is sound at all, are there other speakers you'd perhaps recommend over the leak? obv. klipsch would have purpose built home cinema solutions for example but seemingly not in a heritage quality or style in this ballpark budget. i would be so grateful for your input!
It's not a stupid question. As electronics age, it may be necessary to clean the insides and even replace capacitors and other parts that can or could fade with use or time. It is important to consider if you're on the market for an older piece, even one that may only be 10 years old, let alone one pushing 40-50 years old.
Diffraction from deeply recessed front baffles not mitigated by any of several methods or tweeters adjacent to surface mounted thick framed mid/bass drivers, or even non-beveled grille frames - regardless of method of attachment - is definitely measurable and usually audible.
I don’t necessarily like the looks of the Mission 770’s, but every review I’ve seen raves about the sound quality. I’m on a restrictive budget and think the 770’s are overpriced for me for a two-way speaker.
@@Norman-bone13 I agree. British gear is WAY overpriced. The Exposure 2510 might sound good but it's a 75 wpc power amp with a phono stage and a volume control and here in AU it costs $3,300.00. A speaker repair acquaintance of mine was working on a pair of Proac and he mused "I don't know where all the money goes in these" and I think that applies to a lot of Brit gear at the moment.
Andrew, I grew up on Altec model 15's and Klipsch LaScalas. Honestly, I sold my LaScalas when I moved to 1100 Sq ft of condo. The only thing that sounds remotely good to me are my Heresy IIs and my Cerwin-Vega SL-15s. Sure, I probably have presbycusis and I grew up when everything was horn loaded, but IMHO, I agree with your LaScala II review. BTW, your review of the Yamaha RX-V6A convinced me to buy two of them to replace their aging cousins, my Yamaha RX-A740s. My least efficient speaker is 94 dB@ 1 watt/1 meter, the Cerwin Vega sl15s and my Cerwin Vega SL-45C. I was looking for nicer, I'm aware of the log10 rule. Thanks to Yamaha for YPAO.
