Just a few lines about the Leema. I've been meaning to update you guys and gals and thought I'd wait until I became familiar with the changing sounds hitting our living room. And what a change too - the pulse is certainly an adroit little machine with bags of talent and the looks to match.
LEAN AND MEAN
As most of you know I've heard a fair few amps at differing price levels in my personal conquest, including invaluable help from a couple of retailers and WHFI S&V themselves when Andrew, Joe and Chris kindly set up a Reader rescue. Most of the amps I've heard at home and at dealers have all had merit, yet failed to really grab my attention. The Roksan Kandy LIII for example was/is a fabulous machine and ticked most of my sonic boxes (if that makes sense), but found it a tad too heavy-handed with certain music. Not the amps problem, more of a room topology/speaker issue.
Most of the reviews (including WHFI S&V) described the sound as a little "querulous" and lean if not partnered correctly, so you could imagine my thoughts when I decided to purchase another pair of Monitor Audio RS6 speakers. The perceived lack of bass to the Pulse is noticeable when played side-by-side with the Caspian and Naim XS, but not by much. Where the Leema lacks in outright bass depth it more than makes up for in precision - and in all truth, in isolation, you wouldn't notice that ever-so-slight deficiency.
The traits the Leema has in its favour is fabulous detail, attack and great cohesion, with a rather rugged (organic) overtone. Referring reluctantly to the backstory: At first, I was unsure about the midrange and its ability to deal with vocals. To set my mind at rest I set up my old Arcam Alpha 7 (something I wouldn't recommend), but in my case I'm pleased I did. After a day of Arcaming it [again] I found the Leema to be very strong in this area.
NEEDS BETTER SOULMATES
Regardless of whether you spin Rock, Soul, Classical it sooths and stirs with fantastic ease. The low volumes are a joy also; at no point do you think "I wish this could be...." - it does what it says on the tin. That said, and although my sources are well matched synergy-wise, the Leema does need far better partners to really spring to life. I suppose it's like fitting a Focus RS engine to a Morris Minor. Great in straight lines (or adept with my tuner and 73T)... but that's it.
Just to summarise: this is a brilliant machine for the money (£749[
]) and produces a leanish and accurate presentation. I would certainly recommend anyone looking for a new amp to listen to the Leema. But if, like me, you've listened to one brand for over a decade, give it plenty of time to adjust to your ears and room acoustics, or, on a short listen, it could lull you into false sense of security, and like me, for a very short period, convinced I'd deficated on my carpet.
LEAN AND MEAN
As most of you know I've heard a fair few amps at differing price levels in my personal conquest, including invaluable help from a couple of retailers and WHFI S&V themselves when Andrew, Joe and Chris kindly set up a Reader rescue. Most of the amps I've heard at home and at dealers have all had merit, yet failed to really grab my attention. The Roksan Kandy LIII for example was/is a fabulous machine and ticked most of my sonic boxes (if that makes sense), but found it a tad too heavy-handed with certain music. Not the amps problem, more of a room topology/speaker issue.
Most of the reviews (including WHFI S&V) described the sound as a little "querulous" and lean if not partnered correctly, so you could imagine my thoughts when I decided to purchase another pair of Monitor Audio RS6 speakers. The perceived lack of bass to the Pulse is noticeable when played side-by-side with the Caspian and Naim XS, but not by much. Where the Leema lacks in outright bass depth it more than makes up for in precision - and in all truth, in isolation, you wouldn't notice that ever-so-slight deficiency.
The traits the Leema has in its favour is fabulous detail, attack and great cohesion, with a rather rugged (organic) overtone. Referring reluctantly to the backstory: At first, I was unsure about the midrange and its ability to deal with vocals. To set my mind at rest I set up my old Arcam Alpha 7 (something I wouldn't recommend), but in my case I'm pleased I did. After a day of Arcaming it [again] I found the Leema to be very strong in this area.
NEEDS BETTER SOULMATES
Regardless of whether you spin Rock, Soul, Classical it sooths and stirs with fantastic ease. The low volumes are a joy also; at no point do you think "I wish this could be...." - it does what it says on the tin. That said, and although my sources are well matched synergy-wise, the Leema does need far better partners to really spring to life. I suppose it's like fitting a Focus RS engine to a Morris Minor. Great in straight lines (or adept with my tuner and 73T)... but that's it.
Just to summarise: this is a brilliant machine for the money (£749[
]) and produces a leanish and accurate presentation. I would certainly recommend anyone looking for a new amp to listen to the Leema. But if, like me, you've listened to one brand for over a decade, give it plenty of time to adjust to your ears and room acoustics, or, on a short listen, it could lull you into false sense of security, and like me, for a very short period, convinced I'd deficated on my carpet.
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