Leema Pulse III - How Good is the DAC?

[plastic penguin]

PP - no need to apologise . Good to see some passion and enthusiasm for a product. I drive my OH mad when I get the bit between my teeth on something. She's already sick of listening to talk of Hi-Fi.

Have you made a decision yet?

Back to the look thing. I've described my Pulse (to Mrs. P) as the "Barbara Streisand of amps". It is attractive, although not sure why. But compared to the MKIII version it is catwalking glamour puss.

Sorry for the tacky cliches.

The best looking amp I've seen at a reasonable price is the Creek Evo. Having spewed out that rubbish, I do like an amp to look like a... amp. :twisted:

 

[BluePotato]

Well I was casually hedging my bets on this one. Ebay suggested there were 4 black new original Leema Pulse left so was waiting to see if any mega cheap Pulse iii's came on. (I'm waiting for the B&W CM8's to go in the Superfi sale so no rush!)

This morning I log on and the listing has ended and been replaced with a single black and single silver original Pulse, new and boxed and sent direct from Leema. :type:

Blind panic - were these the last ever new original Pulse to be made? No idea, but felt some urgency now to make a decision. So I did the only honourable thing, manned up and purchased the last black Pulse. Phew - relief. £695 inc postage. Considering I'd not heard of Leema a week ago this is fast work for me!

Only problem now is that it sounds like my DacMagic isn't going to 'enhance' the system when finally complete. I will be streaming a combination of Apple Lossless and 320kbps from the Mac - do I need a DAC?

 

[plastic penguin]

Well I was casually hedging my bets on this one. Ebay suggested there were 4 black new original Leema Pulse left so was waiting to see if any mega cheap Pulse iii's came on. (I'm waiting for the B&W CM8's to go in the Superfi sale so no rush!)

This morning I log on and the listing has ended and been replaced with a single black and single silver original Pulse, new and boxed and sent direct from Leema. :type:

Blind panic - were these the last ever new original Pulse to be made? No idea, but felt some urgency now to make a decision. So I did the only honourable thing, manned up and purchased the last black Pulse. Phew - relief. £695 inc postage. Considering I'd not heard of Leema a week ago this is fast work for me!

Only problem now is that it sounds like my DacMagic isn't going to 'enhance' the system when finally complete. I will be streaming a combination of Apple Lossless and 320kbps from the Mac - do I need a DAC?

Well done. It is genuinely a classy amp. One of the positive things is I've converted about 4-5 people on this forum, and so far, without a single complaint. OMG, that's the kiss of death.

I've put some speaker suggestions on your thread.

Re the DacMagic, mine was used in conjunction with Arcam CDP - used as transport - so this may not apply to you. But I do know that the Leema sounds best with a source that's organic or natural sounding, as opposed to mechanical or analytical.

 

[Crocodile]

I seem to recall reading recently that Leema had discovered enough parts laying around to make a few more. Someone on here was actually waiting for theirs to be built. As these are shipping direct I guess that's what you've bought.

Yes you'll need a DAC to stream from the Mac so you may as well give the DM a try for starters.

Another option to consider is the Squeezebox Touch, using the Mac as a server.