Leak Stereo 50 amp?
- Thread starter nubrand
- Start date
petehall347
the brandy coffee man
that amp might not have been used yet .. take a look at the inputs . the new plugs are in the rca sockets and no wire soldered to them yet .
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
Are you kidding me???
Did you grab the preamp and tuner with that Leak? (if there was one) Those came as a set in consoles back then.
BTW, if you find the Wharfedales are not your speed and you happen to be in my area.... let me know.
And that reel-to-reel (if it's a 1710W) is a nice one. Should be tube-powered.
Can't believe it. Some people have all the luck.
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Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
The funny thing is, I've heard people over in the UK talk about the Leak stuff like it's mid-fi crap at best (and I've seen the insides of these things, so I know what you mean... all arrow-straight point-to-point wiring). They say that the TLS50 is decent, but not the Stereo 50/Stereo 20. Go figure.
I never believe what other people tell me though, especially those crazy Brits.... I want one.
By the way, there's an AK'er from Texas who knows the old Akai reel-to-reels inside and out, and he even has one of those 1710W's (I can't remember if they made a 1710 [with no letter after it], but since everything else in that lot is tube-era, I have to assume that the Akai rtr is too, and Akai made excellent reel-to-reels back then... That's actually their biggest claim to fame as far as I know, aside from making a boatload of cheap crap much-later on). That Sansui 1000A is worth restoring as well. Really-nice '60's tube-powered receiver.
Those speakers had surrounds that would disintegrate when stored in ultra-dry conditions, so you'll want to check that out (I think you can do that from the back of it, since they're an OB-type... If the surrounds on any of the drivers HAVE disintegrated, you'll want to make sure you use the proper replacement surrounds... Those came with felt/polystyrene surrounds that were rather-unique and not the usual foam-type that you see on modern speakers... Also, the drivers MAY need to be rotated 180 degrees, but only if you hear any voice-coil distortion... This is because these had super-heavy magnet-structures that would sag over time after 50 years of sitting the same way with gravity pulling them down). But those would be a fine match for that Leak OR the 1000A. But the important thing is, you want to restore them PROPERLY. I'm a big fan of the "Golden Age Of Stereo" sound, especially the warm stuff like this. That Leak (with the corresponding preamp) would be perfect for my Wharfedale W90's (My ultimate goal is to have a full-on British setup from the tube era... I already have the speakers... Just need the amp'age... My Fisher will do for the time being
).You put the proper effort into restoring that stuff, and you'll have the kind of system you keep for life.
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hatrack71
distracted by everything
If I were you, I'd try to locate the appropriate Leak Preamplifier for it. Either a Point One Stereo or Varislope Stereo. Despite the mentioned issues I was not aware of. That is a VERY desireable amp and I'll leave it at that as far as value. ;^) You will find out sooner or later that the Stereo 50 is a destination piece. Hopefully sooner and you restore it and find the matching pre. It would be cooler as a matched pre/power set. IMO anyway. Oh, the Sansui is a keeper too. 7591 goodness.
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NOSValves
Super Member
I have a single LEAK TL-12 Plus (240 Volt) in my stuff somewhere. I don't see any reason a stepper pot in the input wouldn't let it take pretty much any line-out input sig cleanly.
Sure it will work and I already explained why it will not be optimal by any stretch of the imagination. The problem is often referred to as "miller effect" a volume or level control works horribly if used near minimum. Geezzz this is a pretty well known fact at least I thought it was. 125mV input sensitivity rating is nearly 10 times lower then the norm for a power amplifier.
Pio1980
AK Member
Thnx, I was wondering about the Miller on the 22K into the EF86 being part of the deal breaker. Otherwise I get what you are saying re the additional series resistance of the long side of the pot at low settiings. I have noticed relatively low resistance passive pot set-ups sound better to me than the higher but demand a more robust drive from the preceding device. My present set-up uses a 10K passive stepper.
modge
Super Member
Good amp, recap and keep it. The Leak.
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
The 1000A uses 7591's? Didn't know that (My Fisher 800c is my first experience with that particular power tube... I had been strongly-considering buying a 1000A when I was searching around for my first tube amp, so it's interesting to hear that it uses the same tubes as the one I ended up buying).
Pio1980
AK Member
The first series '1000 used 25E5 sweep tubes like the SM-80 that preceeded it.
See; http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=227641
NOSValves
Super Member
The funny thing is, I've heard people over in the UK talk about the Leak stuff like it's mid-fi crap at best (and I've seen the insides of these things, so I know what you mean... all arrow-straight point-to-point wiring). They say that the TLS50 is decent, but not the Stereo 50/Stereo 20. Go figure.
I never believe what other people tell me though, especially those crazy Brits.... I want one.
By the way, there's an AK'er from Texas who knows the old Akai reel-to-reels inside and out, and he even has one of those 1710W's (I can't remember if they made a 1710 [with no letter after it], but since everything else in that lot is tube-era, I have to assume that the Akai rtr is too, and Akai made excellent reel-to-reels back then... That's actually their biggest claim to fame as far as I know, aside from making a boatload of cheap crap much-later on). That Sansui 1000A is worth restoring as well. Really-nice '60's tube-powered receiver.
Those speakers had surrounds that would disintegrate when stored in ultra-dry conditions, so you'll want to check that out (I think you can do that from the back of it, since they're an OB-type... If the surrounds on any of the drivers HAVE disintegrated, you'll want to make sure you use the proper replacement surrounds... Those came with felt/polystyrene surrounds that were rather-unique and not the usual foam-type that you see on modern speakers... Also, the drivers MAY need to be rotated 180 degrees, but only if you hear any voice-coil distortion... This is because these had super-heavy magnet-structures that would sag over time after 50 years of sitting the same way with gravity pulling them down). But those would be a fine match for that Leak OR the 1000A. But the important thing is, you want to restore them PROPERLY. I'm a big fan of the "Golden Age Of Stereo" sound, especially the warm stuff like this. That Leak (with the corresponding preamp) would be perfect for my Wharfedale W90's (My ultimate goal is to have a full-on British setup from the tube era... I already have the speakers... Just need the amp'age... My Fisher will do for the time being
You put the proper effort into restoring that stuff, and you'll have the kind of system you keep for life.
Yea well you know the old saying about opinions... I bet a good number of the Naysayers used the Leak amps without modification with some other brand preamplifier. Done up properly the Leak can sound stunningly good. They can be easily made to work with any brand quality preamplifier....no big deal it just should be information the OP who is a self professed complete newbie to tube audio and maybe audio all together should be aware of IMHO.
NOSValves
Super Member
Never use the RCA input jack condition to determine if the Leak has been used the mating Leak preamplifier did not connect to the Leak with RCA cables. I bet somehow the mating Leak preamp that was used with this amplifier was lost in the shuffle which is a darn shame. This amplifier from the pictures has obviously been used.
That sounds about true about me, closest thing I have gotten into is some car audio, but other then that it was a few 1970's/1980's receivers, a newer sony receiver that went with a cd player and some speakers laying around. As far as a tube set up, I am at a complete loss on what I am doing.... Yet at least.
NOSValves
Super Member
Well I think the best advice I can give you while you research and try to learn....BE VERY CAREFUL with the information you garnish from internet forums. Remember you have no idea what the person behind the keyboard experience is or what might be the motives behind the information... The old saying goes believe little of what you hear and read and be careful believing what you witness with your own eyes!! False or incomplete information runs rampant on internet forums. In most cases no ill intent is behind it, but the results are the same regardless.
I suggest you think long and hard about what your time is worth...then factor in the value of the Leak...then think really hard about having it professionally restored if you intend to put in regular service.... or if that seems to not be worth it to you just sell it in original condition. You will be shocked at the interest and dollars you would get for it on eBay. Also realize that every year it will go UP in value.
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
I bet they're nice though, those early 1000's... The internals seem to be cleanly-laid-out, and I know they specialized in transformer-design back in their early days, so I figure those early tube-models were something special (back in the late '50's and early '60's when Sansui was first trying to make it's mark in the amp/receiver market... Kikuchi really-knew his stuff, from what I understand).
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NOSValves
Super Member
100% original from what I can see.
