I measured a different sample of the Leak Stereo 230, serial number LH000805CFD1195, than the one RS had auditioned. I performed the measurements using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system.1 I preconditioned the Stereo 230 by following the CEA’s recommendation of running it at one-eighth the specified power into 8 ohms for 30 minutes. At the end of that time, the black grille on the amplifier’s top panel was hot, at 118.1°F/47.9°C.
Looking first at the amplifier’s behavior with its single-ended analog line input, with the Leak’s volume control set to its maximum the voltage gain at 1kHz into 8 ohms measured 32.7dB from the speaker terminals, 0.6dB from the preamplifier output, and 10.37dB from the headphone output. The line input preserved absolute polarity (ie, was noninverting) from both output types, and the input impedance was slightly lower than the specified 10k ohms,
