Leak's Stereo 230 integrated amp is the latest retro-styled offering from the legendary British hi-fi brand. Touted as a "step-up" from 2020's Stereo 130, which we reviewed with the company's CDT back in 2020, the Stereo 230 ups the power to 75W per channel and upgrades the internals, including an enhanced DAC stage.

Obviously, the Leak Stereo 230 retains the same vintage aesthetic as the Stereo 130, which shares DNA with the classic Stereo 30 amplifier of the 1960s - apparently a favourite of one Jimi Hendrix, who liked to crank up the Stereo 30 in his London pad.

While the 130 and 230 sport Leak's signature bass and treble tone controls, the 230 is 14cm deeper due to its uprated circuitry, including a low-noise 270VA toroidal transformer followed by 2x15000uF reservoir capacity. The result is said to help the amp maintain firm control of the music whilst enabling excellent dynamic range and hands it an extra 30WPC power output through 8 ohms compared with the 130.

Furthermore, the newcomer benefits from a top-spec, 32-bit Sabre ES9038Q2MDAC chipset from ESS, alongside proprietary circuitry that aims to reduce noise while boosting dynamic range.

The Leak Stereo 230 boasts HDMI ARC, optical, and USB-B inputs with that DAC decoding hi-res audio up to 32-bit/768kHz (PCM) and DSD512, alongside MQA support. Additionally, it also does the business streaming audio from your mobile via Bluetooth 5, meaning there's also support for aptX and AAC codecs.

For vinylistas, a built-in MM phono stage enables turntables to be connected; meanwhile, a pair of RCA stereo inputs welcome further legacy hi-fi. Finally, the high slew rate, current-feedback design headphone jack allows for late-night listening.

The Leak Stereo 230 integrated will be available from January 2023, priced at £1,249 with the walnut enclosure or £1,099 without.

Visit Leak for more information