leema pulse, HK or Yamaha a-s1000

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Hi.I'm still looking for stereo amp for my MArs6. I chose 3; leema pulse, HK 990 and Yamaha a-s1000, but I can't decide which one wiil fit better for my speakers.My room is 30m2, i lising to rock, pop and rnb, I don't want spend more that 800 pounds.
 
This could hinge on what source you have...

If you have a smooth/neutral cdp, like Arcam, Yamaha, Roksan Caspian or Exposure and you like to cartwheel around your listening room, then Leema Pulse will hit the bullseye. Otherwise choose one of the others....
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Actually (a pp afterthought), Exposure 2010S amp is brilliant with RS6s regardless (almost) of source. But for around £600 the Creek Evo 2 is a perfect match - heard one recently, and well impressed....

Can't comment on HK or Yamaha amps, but the latter does have a smooth presentation, so I'm reliably informed.
 
By an odd coincidence, I heard two of your shortlisted three yesterday and have one of them at home just now.

Popped in to the rather excellent Home Cinema Centre on Edinburgh's Morrison Street and had a listen to the Harman Kardon HK990, the Leema Pulse and, briefly, the Exposure 3010S.

The gear was partnered with the HK HD990 CDP and a pair of Dali floorstanders, the name of which my memory forgets but may have been the Ikon 6s with ribbon tweeter and double bass drivers.

First off, let's discount the Exposure. Possibly unfairly, but with a brief listen, compared to the other two, it sounded a tad grainy and a little harsh, but this is likely with it being coming straight in and no half hour to warm up a bit. Didn't work for me here though.

The HK990 is a BIG amp. Dual mono layout internally, massive toroidal transformers and heatsinks, it gives off a lot of heat and you'll need to leave plenty of room above to let that heat get out. Features-wise, it's laden with smoe good stuff, which can be bypassed and an internal DAC which uses the same one found in the higher end Cambridge and Esoteric players. There's a good MM/MC phono stage as well. With room friendly EQ settings and a sleek design, it's a good looking bit of kit. Major downside is the plastic volume control ring. I say ring as that's precisely what it is. No knobs here and - given the cost of the thing at the £1k mark - that's a big miss. Yes, there's a fancy-dan feature that illuminates the ring to give a kind of "half-moon" effect, but come on, make it a nice metal finish and be done with it.

Lastly, the Leema. No quibbles with the minimal finish here - high quality machined fascia, not sure of the material, but it's sturdy and matte silver looks good. There's a standy switch (meh, what's wrong with On/Off manufacturers?!) and a volume and selector switch are yer lot.

The volume's worthy of some note, rather than just straight up and down, the dial displays the volume steps and within each 'step' there's a secondary display all represented by blue dot LEDs.

The tale of the tape has the Harman weighing in at 19kilos and 150wpc (but we suspect a bit of bulking up in the gym beforehand; this amp's been reported at carrying 200wpc and one test had it peaking at 300wpc so it's going to handle anything from the dynamics end), the Leema is a lean 'n' mean 10 kilos and 80wpc.

The music came from four of my own discs - Julee Cruise "Floating Back Into The Night" album (track: "Rockin' Back Inside My Heart"), Genesis "A Trick of the Tail" (tracks: "Dance On A Volcano", "Entangled" and "Squonk"), Led Zeppelin "II" (track: "Whole Lotta Love") and lastly Yes "The Yes Album" (track: "Starship Trooper"). All were first editions, non-remastered.

Seconds out...

First off, neither amp is of the thundering and brash style - the HK is pretty refined and softer with some tracks, the Leema the faster and slightly more forward of the two, but otherwise, things stay classy and in control. Both were good, the Leema edged it in terms of presentation at lower volumes, which is how we usually listen at home, but if you're a rocker and like to turn the wick right up, check out the HK. All that power on tap will kick in but I was surprised that the dynamic floor wasn't as deep as I'd expected.

Both amps tracked the bass well however, if accepting the Leema's slight edge here. Mids and trebles were good on both. Of the tracks used, the Yes track has a fine presence and Chris Squire's bassline decays wonderfully at the start but , the Leema held out on that one a little longer I felt and the speakers managed the bass extension well. Mind you, with two drivers and a forward facing port, that's maybe a bit if a given!

The first edition Zep II album was mastered on a second or third generation tape by all accounts (according to mastering engineer Barry Diament), so this isn't going to be great, however, the Leema had a clear edge with this one. All the edge of the track was there and that was really missing on the HK990. I got a taste of Zep with one, I got the real deal with the other.

Julee Cruise was far more evenly managed between the two. This sparsely sounding album is all haunting vocals, deep basslines, and the odd instrumental break in the track I picked (and sometimes in the rest of the album). No quibbles with either here. The Genesis album is one of my favourites, both for the mastering and for the music and both delivered well on this one. Not much to choose as both presentations had their merits, the Leema maybe edging out on more scale but the HK gave me more of the "whole" picture in the song.

Instruments are well separated by both, with little given up on either side by the sense of cohesiveness of the music as a whole. The detail is there, but it's not at the expense of the overall piece thankfully. Some kit becomes so analytical in the delivery that the final picture is delivered in closeup rather than viewed as a whole.

All of the tracks I heard sounded good, but instore, the Leema had it just for me, but it was very close to call. If you had the hours in the day, you'd take in a wider range than I did, including orchestral, electronic, acoustic, etc., etc., but I listen mostly to rock and that's what fits the demo bill for me.

Between the two however, it's horses for courses; it's really NOT that clear cut. If you need a lot of power, both will deliver it, but the HK has it in spades and we never really pushed it on that score. The Leema is excellent at low volumes and that's going to count for a lot of people who can't let rip with Motorhead in a Scottish tenement and 200wpc burning a hole in the Cerwin Vegas! Sonically, both have their pluses and minuses and the HK shouldn't be written off on the basis it's a bit more relaxed than the Leema.

Unfair of me to comment right now on the Leema at home as not really had a chance to listen to it properly. Will report it back in a few days.
 
IMO out of those 3 the Leema would be first choice with the Yamaha a close 2nd but the Yammy is a smooth but detailed amp so bear that in mind!

Whats your overall budget and what's your source? Would you consider 2nd hand as you can get a lot more ;bang for your buck' that way?

Edit: Saw the OP's budget... Take a look at the Rotel RA1520 as that'd be a superb amp to go with your speakers!
 
I've had a Leema Pulse and it's a great amp, well built, phono stage and especially with the price reductions on the outgoing range making them great value (750 quid? 5 Year Warranty? Bargain!
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