Leema Acoustics Neutron Preamplifier and Graviton Power Amplifier Review
Leema Acoustics was at this years Bristol HiFi Show demonstrating the new Quantum range featuring the Neutron preamplifier and Graviton power amplifier, Lee Taylor the founder was also at show and their room was incredibly busy with people wanting to get a listen and even though I went back for another listen the room was too packed to get entry for another session, paired with the Serhan Swift speakers they produced some beautiful sounds so I could not wait to get the Neutron preamp and Graviton amplifier into my own listening room here at The Speaker Shack to review.
I reviewed the incredible Tucana II Anniversary Edition Integrated amplifier from the Constellation series last year and absolutely loved it as it picked up a Reference award from The Speaker Shack, this is a no nonsense integrated amplifier for the analogue purists and I fell in love with the sonics that it was able to create in my listening room. The Neutron and Graviton share so much in common with the Constellation series of components but scaled back to make them more affordable but share a similar sonic signature to Leema's flagship range.
Features and Build Quality
The Neutron and Graviton may be scaled back slightly from the Constellation series but they are in no way scrimping on any features as they are fully loaded and packed with a comprehensive array of inputs and outputs. Build quality of the Neutron and Graviton is excellent which can be ordered in either black or as I have here for review the brushed silver and have to say they do look superb with their sleek lines and solid build, the Neutron preamplifier has a nice large display in the middle of the unit and two dials either side, one for the volume control and the other to select inputs, it even has a 1/4 inch headphone jack on the front. A small remote is included which has the most important features like volume and input select so pretty basic but it does exactly what it is intended to do. On the rear of the unit it is a different story as the Neutron is jam packed with inputs, a grand total of 13 ! There is even a balanced input as well as output, built into the Neutron is a high quality ESS 24bit 192kHz DAC if you don't have an external one to connect to, with 3 optical inputs 3 coaxial inputs plus the USB input to connect to a streamer or PC, it even has a MM/MC phono stage for your vinyl collection, 12V trigger input/output for seamless operation with the Graviton amplifier or other Leema products.
The Graviton power amplifier is a weighty beast and this is down to the oversized toroidal transformer at the heart of the amplifier, large heat sinks are also built into either side of the unit which keeps it cool. A power on and off button on the front and the Leema Acoustics badge and that is it, on the rear you have the balanced input on the left and right to coincide with the left and right dual speaker binding posts, also standard RCA inputs. This amplifier is heavy and a sure sign of the quality and has an impressive 150 watts of power output into 8 ohms and nearly doubling to 260 watts of output when impedance is halved to 4 ohms so capable of driving a wide range of speakers, mains power and trigger input/output on the rear and that completes the package.
For connecting up I am using the balanced connection output of the Neutron preamp to the Graviton amplifier and the balanced input of the Neutron to connect from my Chord Electronics Hugo TT2 DAC / M Scaler. The other components that I am using is my Denon DP400 turntable for vinyl playback and my Bluesound Node for streaming from Tidal and Spotify, I have a large music collection on my NAS drives for streaming and for CD playback I am using my Cyrus CD8SE and PSX-R for CD playback, all my cables are from the Chord Company and for speaker cables using the stunning Chord EpicX which I have just reviewed, these are connected to the brilliant AVID HiFi EVO Four speakers which have been with me for a while now and absolutely love the music they produce.
Sound Quality and Performance II
For my first album I am listening to the beautiful new album from Khruangbin A La Sala in high resolution 24bit 48kHz, this is one of my favourite bands who have such a unique but mesmerising sound, there latest offering being their fourth studio album has some new music with an utterly 70s psych rock and funk sound which is unique to them and they have a huge following on the Indie music scene, for good reason their music is superb. Track 1 Fifteen Fifty-Three starts with the bass notes from from Laura Lee Ochoa’s bass guitar and immediately the deep notes pulsate out of the speakers with real power with the Graviton showing how much grip it has on the AVID speakers placed centre stage and then to the left of the stage the beautiful sounds of the steel guitar plays in the usual 70’s spaghetti western style that is so Khruangbin, the drums have enough dynamics for this mellow track, instrument separation is excellent with a wide soundstage projected in my room through the EVO Fours, the bass guitar is always lead with the main bass line and in such a rhythmic way, the Leema pairing gives such a dynamic and enjoyable sound similar to the Tucana II that I reviewed. Track 5 Pon Pon is my favourite from this new album and again the bass line underpins the music with powerful bass notes but with a much faster rhythm and quick playing from the electric guitar and the drums, the Leema pairing manages to create such a large and convincing soundstage from the AVID speakers, I find myself completely immersed into the music and feet tapping to the rhythm and the beautiful music from the Khruangbin trio, making me love the music that these brilliant artists create. Track 8 Hold Me Up (Thank You) is another favourite with such a wide and spread out soundstage on this track with the steel guitar sounds coming from my right and vocals centre left while the percussion fills the sound stage, the more I listen to this album the more I love it, the Leema pairing really do produce some sweet sounds and music proving how proficient and capable they are at delivering the musical goods.
My next album I was first introduced to it by Peter McGrath of Wilson Audio fame when he was treating me to some of his music from his playlists and I immediately went out and bought it on CD, it is the incredible Keith Richards (Rolling Stones) Main Offender album first released in 1992 and is a fusion of reggae/rock inspired tracks and done in a way that is most certainly in Keith Richards rock and roll style. Track 1 999 is a fast paced rock and roll gem and the Leema Acoustics duo produces a powerful performance with stunning dynamics and perfectly focused vocals, the soundstage is full of instruments but the instruments all have their own space within the soundstage, shimmering cymbals and the powerful kick drum and drumming centre and guitars off to the right of the stage with Keith’s vocals projected front and centre, it also manages to have incredible depth to the music presented in front of me. Track 3 Eileen is more of a pop rock track and is presented with fast and relentless drumming and even faster guitar riffs but the Leema duo never put a foot wrong instead presenting the music in a sure footed manner, vocals and imaging of the music is perfectly projected within the soundstage and sounds so musically adept with the amp having a real grip on the AVID speakers producing this brilliant track, Track 3 Words of Wonder is simply a masterpiece and my favourite from this album with a wonderful reggae inspired bass line, the bass notes are deep and powerful and fills the room with a pulsating beat of the music, Richards vocals are projected to the front of the stage with harmonies from the backing singers behind him and to the left and this is all rendered perfectly painting a 3D image of the music around me, the Leema Acoustics duo are so musically right in how they present the music and in such an enjoyable way. Track 7 Hate It When You Leave has some beautiful harmonies and vocals and verges on soul and that is what I love about this album in that has so many different takes on the styles of music and the Leema Acoustics Neutron and Graviton pairing has reignited my love for Keith Richards music.
The new Quantum pairing really has been so much fun listening to all the different types of music I love and own and also allowed me to fall back in love with music that I had not heard in a while injecting new life into it, the Tucana II AE was so much fun and so is the Neutron preamplifier and Graviton power amplifier!
Conclusions and Final Thoughts
When you consider the pricing of the new Neutron preamplifier and Graviton amplifier you realise how brilliant these pre/power components are as they manage to produce stunning music and represent astonishing value for money, the feature packed Neutron and powerful Graviton gives the end user a real taste of high end HiFi from this iconic brand. I absolutely love the new Quantum line and if looking for a pre/power combo then look no further than the Neutron and Graviton.
The Speaker Shack awards the new Neutron preamplifier and Graviton amplifier 5 stars and Outstanding award for what is a truly formidable pairing !
Price at time of review: Neutron £1500 Graviton £1500 and if bought together £2,800.
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