Leema Acoustics has been a company who I have admired for many years harking back to the days when the mini Xen Speakers first came out and lusting over them at the various HiFi Shows that I attended, they seemed to tick all the right boxes for what I needed, compact but excelled musically when compared to other brands that I was looking at and at the time home cinema was my main focus and I very nearly went for a 5.1 system but that’s another story, anyway time flies and Leema Acoustics are also creating their own electronics which started in 2006, comprising of amplifiers, CD players and DACs to complement their speaker ranges, the Tucana II Anniversary Edition which I have here is a testament to how far this company has come and my first Leema Acoustics product review at The Speaker Shack.
Leema Electro Acoustics as they are known was formed by Lee Taylor and Mallory Nichols in 1998 hence the name (Leema) who were both ex BBC sound engineers with a passion and the technical know how to create their own line of products, successfully this company has gone from strength to strength and catered with a wide range of electronics in full width Constellation and Spectrum series, half width Elements series and then the micro series of products, the Tucana amplifier is from the Constellation range and has been a successful amplifier since it’s conception and to celebrate 10 years the Anniversary Edition was created.
Build Quality and Features
The industrial design and clean look of the front panel looks absolutely gorgeous machined out of solid billet, some might think there is no difference in looks between the Tucana II amplifier and the Anniversary Edition which is denoted by the chrome badge on the front, all the critical upgrades have been made under the hood of this amplifier with the main circuit board tracks having thicker copper to reduce resistance on the PCB traces, also their reference 2 speaker cable has been used inside with 16 woven cores and high purity copper to connect the main components, with two massive power transformers one for each channel in dual mono configuration, there is also an additional transformer for the PCB, the capacitors have all been upgraded to the Nichicon high quality audio grade MUSE series to bolster the amplifiers performance and this shows in the power output which is nearly doubled to a whopping 290watts into 4ohms and then to 520watts into 2ohms. It also has a healthy 50Amps plus of current in its delivery so some serious power on offer.
On the rear of the amplifier it has a selection of six inputs RCA and a single set of XLR balanced inputs, on the front you have a headphone Jack and also an input for MP3 / Phone if you so wish to connect. I like the fact that this no nonsense approach which keeps the amplifier pure with no fancy DAC cards and if I’m honest only hinder the amplifiers performance and I’d much rather use an outboard DAC, a single set of speaker binding posts for Left and Right connections also the Leema LIPS link for use with other Leema products. The front panel is very clean looking with all the relevant input buttons for operating and is lit by blue LEDs on the volume dial which light up when the volume is increased or decreased.
The amplifier also comes with a beautful remote which is solid metal and has rubber feet to allow it to sit proudly where ever you locate it, but the really clever approach that Leema have used to replace the batteries in the remote is that if you start to unscrew the rubber feet it removes the screws which the feet are attached to, it is the attention to detail like this which sets it apart from other makes and shows how much thought has gone into every part of this amplifier it’s accessories and their use.
For this review I am using my ProAc D2R speakers connected with Chord Company cables for both speakers and interconnects, the Chord Electronics Hugo 2 DAC connected to my Bluesound Node for streaming and my Denon DP400 turntable for vinyl playback, CD is from my Cyrus CD8SE player. For music I have been listening to all types with the Tucana but I have been listening to lots of Pink Floyd lately on the various formats that I own and in this case high resolution streaming, vinyl and CD playback, also the brilliant Talking Heads 1988 album Naked in high resolution.
Sound Quality and Performance
To start off I am listening to Pink Floyd’s 1979 The Wall album remastered on 180g vinyl and this is an absolute masterpiece with track one In The Flesh, the opening if not careful can catch you off guard and immediately I feel the power on offer from the Leema amplifier with the guitar and drums kicking in with visceral attack, I must state that I have not connected my REL subwoofer up as the bass on offer and being mustered up from the Leema and ProAc pairing simply doesn’t require it, controlled powerful and extremely tuneful from the pairing, Nick Mason on the drums sounds absolutely brilliant. The soundstage that the Leema manages to produce is big opening up the D2R’s sound with excellent control and seperation of instruments, the tonal balance is very well balanced but most importantly the musicality of this amplifier shines through which is addictive to listen to as it just sounds so good, what I was not expecting was the impeccable handling of bass and how it delivers it, sledge hammer but with an iron grip on the bass drivers but only when the music requires it and then with delicate subtlety in parts. This is more apparent on Track 3 Another Brick In The Wall with the kick drum slamming in, David Gilmore’s guitar sounds wonderful, tuneful, rich and rhythmic with excellent timing, this is foot tapping stuff and like I said so addictive. Vocals are articulate with Roger Waters and David Gilmores voices sounding so different but together they work so well and musically the Leema Tucana projects this perfectly. On side 3 Hey You Gilmores voice is soothing and then Roger Waters steps it up with his forthright commanding tone, what is most impressive is how powerful the presentation is with rock solid imaging, the Leema Tucana amplifier presents a commanding performance with sheer musicality.
For my next album I have once again chosen Pink Floyd from the live album PULSE taken from their 1994 European leg of The Divison Bell tour in high resolution 24bit 88kHz, I also have this album on DVD and CD so know it well and it’s a great concert. Track four Learning To Fly shows off the true power of this amplifier with some of the best bass delivery I have heard from my ProAc D2R’s I never thought that they would drop this low but with complete control and power, bass is presented with a vice like grip and with the spatial context of the concerts soundstage, I have to keep repeating it as it leaves a huge grin on my face every time I hear the bass on offer, very satisfying and a testament to how good the Leema Tucana amplifier performs. The Great Gig in the Sky is another fantastic piece with some stunning drums and bass but also at the beginning the delicacy of the piano, notes are so well defined and then the epic vocals from the backing singers, bass guitar is rich and textured with excellent seperation with each instrument having its own space in the soundstage, closing your eyes you can visualise the musicians on stage and grandeur of the performance. Wish You Were Here and the acoustic guitar has an almost tangible feel to David Gilmore playing in front of me. Percussion is on another level with the Leema Tucana Anniversary Edition.
On to another iconic band and this time with the brilliant album by Talking Heads and their 1988 Naked album, which was remastered in 2005 for this high resolution offering at 24bit 44.1kHz, I remember buying this on cassette back in 1988 and playing on my car stereo how times have changed but the first track Blind is a fast and dynamic track and the Leema excels in this department with stunning dynamics and timing, hearing the brass section which is rich and never tiring to listen to which has not always been the case on some systems that I played this song on, again the percussion is centre stage and David Byrne’s voice is as hypnotic as usual and totally natural sounding. Track 5 (Nothing But) Flowers is so fast and a great example of how rhythmically engaging this amplifier is and how it can project it’s musical ability through the speakers, there is no sacrifice in any of the performance and the percussion on this has a soundstage full of drums, tambourines maracas with my ProAc’s playing such a wide image off to the right of me with a wrap around affect, bass guitar hits some deep rich notes of bass, so impressive. Track 9 Big Daddy has some wonderful harmonica playing with so many layers of detail on offer with the Leema revealing every nuance.
Conclusions and Final Thoughts
I have enjoyed every minute with this amplifier and it has to be one of the most musically engaging that I have had the pleasure of listening to and reviewing, I have had a fair few over the years. It has masses of power on tap and it shows in its delivery of bass but always having a vice like grip on the speakers drivers and not losing an ounce of detail or dynamics, Leema have managed to refine the Tucana II and produce a reference grade Integrated Amplifier with this Anniversary Edition.
The Speaker Shack awards this special amplifier with a Reference badge for a very highly polished product.
Price at the time of review £5,495
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