LEAK STEREO 230 > Stereophile Review
Sometimes I think expensive components—I'll let you decide what constitutes expensive—should come with a big red sticker on the box that reads "WARNING! This product will probably not meet your expectations!" That's because when you spend a lot of money on something, you expect that something to have no flaws and to sound nigh perfect. Why else would you have paid so much? As you gaze at it, touch it, and listen to it, it constantly reassures you that you made the right decision by picking it over all the other, less pricey candidates. It has to be unambiguously better than any component of its nature that has passed through your system, or else, what was the point in all that upgrading?
The LEAK STEREO 230 combines old-world features—a phono stage, headphone jack, and tone controls—bunked alongside new-world ones that were half a century into the future when the model first came out. These include hi-rez streaming up to 32/768 PCM, native DSD512, and full MQA decoding. Digital processing is handled by a 32-bit ES9038Q2M Sabre Reference DAC chip using proprietary circuitry said to make the most of ESS Technology's Hyperstream II architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator to eliminate noise and improve high dynamic range. The 230 is also "Roon Tested".
Conclusions
The class-AB Leak provided a sense of color, ease, purity, and expressiveness I don't normally associate with class-AB topology. Maybe with class-A? Maybe with tubes?
Any nitpicks? Bend my arm, and I might concede that the 230's highs might not have been as airy or extended as those from some of the more expensive gear I've heard, but the Leak brings so much to the table—quality sound, sturdy build quality, functional versatility, a 3-year warranty—that I feel a bit cheap nitpicking. I didn't hear a $1500 product; I heard a well-designed product regardless of price. The Stereo 230 exceeded my expectations. But you probably expected me to say that.
- Robert Schryer, Stereophile December 22, 2023