Leema Pulse Mk 1

[emptage]

I am very tempted by the Leema Pulse Mk 1 at £600. What characteristics do they have ?

 

[plastic penguin]

What traits are you looking for?

Edit - I've just read your other thread and you've heard a few different amps. What do those amps lack?

I going out now, so I'll give you brief run down on the Pulse and hope it'll answer all of your concerns.

The Pulse definitely majors on dynamics and imaging. In addition to this, it has a very tight, fast (and strong) bass, although not the deepest. Tonally it has a lovely organic sound with the right source and speakers.

Obviously, I'd recommend MAs and Totems with the Pulse, but I assume Dyns would sound really good. Spendors also worth considering, although, to my ears, didn't quite knit together as well as the aforementioned brands.

I've no idea how it compares to the new MKIII, but going by reviews, the new kid has deeper bass and a chunkier overall presentation.

But don't let the slight lean tonal qualities put you off: In isolation it sounds beefy enough for most tastes.

Having listened to a large number of sub-£1,000 integrateds over the years, and a number of price compatible amps (Caspian M1, Naim XS in particular), the Pulse has a certain quality the others don't have: pace.

All in all, the Pulse is fantastic value for money at the ORP (£1,300), even better at £600.

 

[Inter_Voice]

I have been using Leema Pulse II since last X'mas which coupled with a pair of Spendor SA-1. Though SA-1 lacks its bass department on account of its size and sealed box design I supplement it with MJ Acoustic Pro MKII and the frequency response is now at full range. You may see the link in my signature for more details. As to the SQ, to my ears it is perfect in particular if your favourates are on vocals, acoustics, jazz and classical music. Some reviews said Pulse II is lean but I don't think that is a true statement. From what I have been listening Pulse II is fast, dynamic, neutral and honest to the input signals.

Leema now provides 5 years warranty to Pulse II and its after sales service is friendly and excellent.

 

[emptage]

I have been using Leema Pulse II since last X'mas which coupled with a pair of Spendor SA-1. Though SA-1 lacks its bass department on account of its size and sealed box design I supplement it with MJ Acoustic Pro MKII and the frequency response is now at full range. You may see the link in my signature for more details. As to the SQ, to my ears it is perfect in particular if your favourates are on vocals, acoustics, jazz and classical music. Some reviews said Pulse II is lean but I don't think that is a true statement. From what I have been listening Pulse II is fast, dynamic, neutral and honest to the input signals.

Leema now provides 5 years warranty to Pulse II and its after sales service is friendly and excellent.

Thanks for this.

You talk of the the Pulse II, I thought there was only the original and the III, I hadn't realised there was a II as well.

 

[Inter_Voice]

This is how Leema Pulse 2 looks:

http://www.listeninn.com/product/407001-10239/Integrated-Amplifier/Leema-Acoustic-Pulse-2#_self

I think the performance of Pulse 2 and 3 are basically the same except that Pulse 3 uses digital display in the panel and a few more digital in/outputs at the back. BUT the price is a huge difference. I bough Pulse 2 at a bargin price of around £700 while Pulse 3 costs around £1300 retail.

 

[plastic penguin]

This is how Leema Pulse 2 looks:

http://www.listeninn.com/product/407001-10239/Integrated-Amplifier/Leema-Acoustic-Pulse-2#_self

I think the performance of Pulse 2 and 3 are basically the same except that Pulse 3 uses digital display in the panel and a few more digital in/outputs at the back. BUT the price is a huge difference. I bough Pulse 2 at a bargin price of around £700 while Pulse 3 costs around £1300 retail.

Yup, same as mine. I've always been confused over Leema 'Marks'. As far as I know the one previous to the MKIII (as in the link), and like yours and mine, is the original Pulse.

 

[Anonymous]

Bought the Leema Pulse based on the review and recommendation from this forum :cheers:

Its a steal at £599.

@plastic penguin

Thanks for the recommendation.

A link to the group test

http://hotfile.com/dl/129587660/631aeed/Integrated_Amps_GroupTest_HiFi_World_Oct_09.pdf.html

A pic of my Leema Pulse which I received today.

 

[plastic penguin]

Bought the Leema Pulse based on the review and recommendation from this forum :cheers:

Its a steal at £599.

@plastic penguin

Thanks for the recommendation.

A link to the group test

http://hotfile.com/dl/129587660/631aeed/Integrated_Amps_GroupTest_HiFi_World_Oct_09.pdf.html

A pic of my Leema Pulse which I received today.

No probs. Pleased to like it. Enjoy!

Keep us updated...

 

[emptage]

Bought the Leema Pulse based on the review and recommendation from this forum :cheers:

Its a steal at £599.

@plastic penguin

Thanks for the recommendation.

A link to the group test

http://hotfile.com/dl/129587660/631aeed/Integrated_Amps_GroupTest_HiFi_World_Oct_09.pdf.html

A pic of my Leema Pulse which I received today.

Thanks for this.

What speakers do you use with it ?

How would you descibe the characteristics ?

 

[damonster]

Hi ,I would just like to add I purchased the Leema mrk1 3 weeks ago for 599 and still can't tear myself away from it. matches well with my audiolab 8200 cd player .Nice organic sound and deep soundstage.I would like to know if anyone has heard the Leema xone speakers with this amp as I'm very tempted.Although im very happy with my acoustic energy aelite 3 speakers which fill the room with sound.The Leema fanclub seems to be growing rapidly on this forum at 599 I'm not surprised.

 

[emptage]

Hi ,I would just like to add I purchased the Leema mrk1 3 weeks ago for 599 and still can't tear myself away from it. matches well with my audiolab 8200 cd player .Nice organic sound and deep soundstage.I would like to know if anyone has heard the Leema xone speakers with this amp as I'm very tempted.Although im very happy with my acoustic energy aelite 3 speakers which fill the room with sound.The Leema fanclub seems to be growing rapidly on this forum at 599 I'm not surprised.

The Mk 1 seems to be getting a very good press, especially at £599. It begs the question as to what extra you get when you buy a Mk III except an onboard DAC. Is the onboard DAC good quality, how does it compare with the Rega DAC which gets rave reviews

 

[ABM78]

Add another fan who recently purchased the Leema when was 699 and still happy I did! I would say get them while you can, the MKIII surely cannot be worth the price difference, you could prob buy the Leema and a sep dac and get a better sound for less money! Thats just a guess though as have not heard the mkIII. No regrets!

 

[plastic penguin]

Add another fan who recently purchased the Leema when was 699 and still happy I did! I would say get them while you can, the MKIII surely cannot be worth the price difference, you could prob buy the Leema and a sep dac and get a better sound for less money! Thats just a guess though as have not heard the mkIII. No regrets!

Well, if I can add a little substance to all the positive vibs. Although I've not heard the MKIII version my Pulse is a slightly souped up version: When I first purchased it it sounded absolutely fine, then fours days afterwards I tried the headphones and found there was a distinct hum (which could not be heard through the speakers). Anyway, to cut a long story short, Leema repaired it FOC, incl. delivery and collection. There was a problem with earthing so Leema re-earthed the whole amp using the layout of the MKIII version. They also replaced the circuit board with a board used in the MKIII version. As a consequence I have a sort of halfway house: slightly better than the original MK but not quite as good as the MKIII, according to Leema.

I fear, also, that I may have started the ball rolling on the Pulse: I know of 4 who purchased as a direct consequence of my recommendation.

 

[Anonymous]

This sounds great!

Has anyone heard the Leema with Proac speakers? I have the Response 1sc, and I know that my Arcam A85 is the weak link in my chain...

I know that WHF likes the Leema Tucana with the Response D18, so I wonder what the Pulse/Response 1sc combi would be like.

Thanks,

Hedgehog

 

[Inter_Voice]

In some way what pp mentioned is correct but it only applies to some very old stocks in some hifi stores where Leema has no chance to recall the items to make the modification.

In my case I sent back my Pulse to Leema for a check due to noise in the headphone (I had posted my case in this forum in the past, do some search and you can find it). Leema advised me that the earth circuitry of my Pulse had already been modificed before I sent it back to them and there was no problem with the amplifier at all. I was told that in their workshop my amplifier was dead silent. Eventually with the help of a very nice Leema engineer talking over the phone several times who advised me what I should do and eventually I got rid of the noise which was mainly caused by an earth loop.

For those who have recently bought their Leema Pulse don't be worried. Leema confirmed to me that they had changed the earthing circuitry of all of their existing stocks since the end of last year and unless what you have bought is those very old stocks the new circuitry should have already been in place.

 

[plastic penguin]

In some way what pp mentioned is correct but it only applies to some very old stocks in some hifi stores where Leema has no chance to recall the items to make the modification.

In my case I sent back my Pulse to Leema for a check due to noise in the headphone (I had posted my case in this forum in the past, do some search and you can find it). Leema advised me that the earth circuitry of my Pulse had already been modificed before I sent it back to them and there was no problem with the amplifier at all. I was told that in their workshop my amplifier was dead silent. Eventually with the help of a very nice Leema engineer talking over the phone several times who advised me what I should do and eventually I got rid of the noise which was mainly caused by an earth loop.

For those who have recently bought their Leema Pulse don't be worried. Leema confirmed to me that they had changed the earthing circuitry of all of their existing stocks since the end of last year and unless what you have bought is those very old stocks the new circuitry should have already been in place.

I'm well aware what Leema said to you. I was just trying to reply to the previous poster, who asked the question about the MKIII version. I've not heard one, but since mines been modified last year it's much crisper...

 

[Anonymous]

PP,

I would also be interested in hearing your thoughts on the synergy between the Leema and the Arcam CD73, given that I have one of these, too. Do you think they work well together?

Thanks,

Hedgehog

 

[plastic penguin]

PP,

I would also be interested in hearing your thoughts on the synergy between the Leema and the Arcam CD73, given that I have one of these, too. Do you think they work well together?

Thanks,

Hedgehog

The synergy between the two is very good however, but because the 73T is essentially a budget model, when compared to Audiolab 8200 and Arcam 192, there's a decent step-up in quality.

The only caveat to the Audiolab is speaker matching: I personally wouldn't match the Audiolab/Leema with RS6s. This a conclusion I came to as it was a shop only demo, so in my home environment it could be different. The 192, however, is a different ball game...

FWIW, I think WHFI tested the new MKIII with ProAcs D something and found it was good.

Anyway, the Pulse really needs a really good source to fully shine.

Hope that helps.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for this, PP. I'm a bit weary of replacing my CDP, because I assume that more and more of my music listening will become computer-based, but in the meantime it's good to know that the CD73 will go well with the Pulse.

I guess it's a question of getting a good DAC, then, but that's another topic.

Hedgehog

 

[emptage]

The comment that the Pulse 'needs a really good source' is interesting. About 90% of what I listen to will be either from my PC or from Spotify, does that count as a really good source ?

 

[plastic penguin]

Thanks for this, PP. I'm a bit weary of replacing my CDP, because I assume that more and more of my music listening will become computer-based, but in the meantime it's good to know that the CD73 will go well with the Pulse.

I guess it's a question of getting a good DAC, then, but that's another topic.

Hedgehog

Maybe this will help: http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/dacmagic-and-rdac-yet-to-be-convinced

or: http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/what-do-i-need

 

[plastic penguin]

The comment that the Pulse 'needs a really good source' is interesting. About 90% of what I listen to will be either from my PC or from Spotify, does that count as a really good source ?

I've no idea about new fandangled sources, but certainly relevent to conventional sources.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi emptage,

It'll depend on the DAC and the quality of the files. If you have Spotify Premium, you can enable 320kps streaming, which is good. But avoid low-quality mp3s, if you're after high-quality sound.

I hope this helps,

Hedgehog

 

[plastic penguin]

Thanks for this, PP. I'm a bit weary of replacing my CDP, because I assume that more and more of my music listening will become computer-based, but in the meantime it's good to know that the CD73 will go well with the Pulse.

I guess it's a question of getting a good DAC, then, but that's another topic.

Hedgehog

Like to add with my current source and speakers I'm probably utilising about 70-75% of the Leemas full potential (CD73T@£400 and RS6s@£600), but this isn't a scientific conclusion, just based on my findings when I tested PMC DB1i and Totem Arro speakers and Audiolab.

 

[DIB]

I was just watching a Leema Pulse Mk III on Ebay, looked in perfect nick and only a few months old, well its just gone for £580 which considering they are about £1500+ new is a pretty good deal to me. I must admit my finger was hovering over the bid button at the end.

I wonder if the new owner is off these boards perhaps?

.