A Quantum Leap Through Sound - Leema Acoustic's New Quantum Series Amplification

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In this month’s article, Matt from Audio T Cardiff leaps into the fantastic new Quantum amplification pre and power system from Leema Acoustics and takes a deeper look (and listen) to see what makes it fantastic value for money and a big combination tick…

My journey with Leema started not long after I joined Audio T, almost two and half years ago (my how time flies when we’re having fun!)

I listened to what I consider to be one of the best integrated amplifiers I have ever heard in a Hi-Fi system and quickly became one of my favourite two channel amplifiers in existence the Tucana II Anniversary. Going back over a year ago I wrote about this wonder of an amplifier, and at that time I was writing about the Tucana I was introduced to the pre production Quantum range at a Leema event we had in our store. The system comprised of the Positron streamer, the Electron CD player and the two components I am focusing on today, the Neutron preamplifier and the Graviton power amplifier. I remember being completely mesmerised by the sound of this new combination we had for our Leema event, and thinking at the time I can’t wait to get my hands on this fantastic kit.

LEE Taylor at the Leema Event Cardiff August 2023

Fast forward to the summer of this year where we had a pre launch event with Leema Acoustics to showcase the new quantum range. At this time I got my chance to meet the man himself, Mr Lee Taylor, and talk about his pursuit in sonic perfection. As he said to me, “You get out of a system what you put in, and perfection is not worth rushing as we all know it’s better to take your time and get things right”.

Perfection is what I personally feel about the new Quantum range, but we’ll get to that in a sec…

From talking with Lee, I think about the advice my Dad gave me many, many years ago about music and how it should sound. Lee seems to be on the same wavelength. We want music to be played more honestly, you want to hear those finer details in music, both good and bad (sometimes imperfection is perfection) as well as a great sound stage. No matter what source is feeding into the preamp, as we know the source is important, but arguably the amplifier is the heart of the system, breathing life into the sound we hear through the speakers.

Exciting times are afoot…

After what seems like a long time we have received our eagerly awaited delivery of our first Neutron preamplifier and our Graviton power amplifier. I can defiantly say they are worth the wait.

Now I get to do one of my favourite things, which is to get the equipment home and put it to the test, as there’s nothing like your own surroundings to get to know new Hi-Fi components.

Quantum Range Neutron Preamplifier

neutron preamplifier rear panel

Before I talk about my setup and how it sounds, let’s look at a few tech specs on Leema’s great power combination. Starting of course with the Neutron preamp. The preamp benefits from both balance and unbalanced inputs as well as RCA and XLR outputs to connect the power amplifier. The Neutron also has a rather good switchable moving magnet moving coil phono stage which comes out of Leema’s essentials range. It also has a very capable Wolfson digital to analogue converter (DAC) onboard.

Quantum Range Graviton Power Amplifier

leema graviton power amp rear panel

Now onto the Graviton power amplifier. The Graviton offers 150 watts into 8 Ohms, doing the maths the lower the impedance of the the loudspeaker the more efficiently it will allow the signal to pass, and in this case more watts into 4 Ohm rated loudspeakers. This power amp is a true class AB design with its oversized toroidal transformer. It also benefits from both balanced and unbalanced inputs as well as two sets of speaker terminals, which means you can run two sets of speakers if you need to.

System Configuration

Before settling down for a listen to this fantastic amp combo I will give you a rundown of all the equipment used in my setup.

dynavector 10x5 cartridge

Extreme - SIX

Demo Music Used

Now let the listening commence…

Vinyl

clutch - earth rocker

  • Extreme - Other side of the rainbow

Album: Six

  • Clutch - Gone cold

Temple of the dog - temple of the dog

Album: Earth rocker

CDs

  • Temple of the dog - Hunger strike

Album : Temple of the dog


After a good long warm up of the pre and power combination, the fun begins. Starting with the vinyl side of things I’d say this is where this pre and power combination really shines for me. Each Track sounds big and open with a wide sound stage. Instruments such as the Extreme track with Nuno Bettencourt’s twelve string guitar really chimes, and when the rest of the band comes in it doesn't sound messy. There’s perfect separation between vocals and instruments. On the Clutch track there’s a-lot of reverb and space in the track and I could definitely hear and feel more emotion in Neil Fallon’s voice.

On the CD side of things using the Neutrons DAC this didn't disappoint. The Wolfson DAC has more of an analogue feel to it, clean yet has that layer of warmth to it. The Temple of the dog track Hunger strike when it really gets going half way through with Mike McCready’s big riff, you can hear him really pushing his amp and really sounded how a Fender Stratocaster through a Marshall stack should. In short Quantum really performed well. This pre and power combination definitely controlled my Dynaudio Evoke 10 speakers and they are not the easiest to drive.

Leema has their own sound right from the Constellation range like the Tucana, Pyxis and Hydra. Sonically the Quantum pre and power combination sounds closer to the Pyxis & Hydra pair than Leema’s previous ranges of amplifiers, supplied at a fantastic price point too. The Quantum has definitely made that dream of owning a pre and power set up less of a dream and more of a reality, without breaking the bank.

If this has piqued your interest, then why not pop in for a demonstration and let me know what you think of the new Quantum pre and power.

Thanks for reading

Matt, Nick and Kerrin - Audio T Cardiff

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