Leak Sandwich 150 Loudspeaker

Sandwich 150 Loudspeaker
The Leak Sandwich 150 and 250 are the pinnacle of innovation that commenced in 1961 with the original Leak Sandwich. Those technological advancements are implemented with the utmost regard for tradition, as well as the continual aspiration to forge sound reproduction equipment of the highest quality, accessible to every discerning audiophile.

A Major Loudspeaker Invention
Throughout the history of broadcasting and recording, certain exceptional developments have become milstones in the progress of sound reproduction. One such milstones was the world's very first low distortion amplifier -the famous original Leak Point One, in 1945. Another was the pioneering major breakthrough with the invention of the fantastically rigid leak sandwich cone diaphragm - which was demonstrably of great stregth and many times stiffer than all conventional forms of cone, of its time.

To understand the impact of this innovation, one must remember that to obtain low distortion, the movement of a loudspeaker diaphragm, or cone, should follow as accurately as possible the waveform of the signals applied to its voice coil. The ability of the current to follow these impulses accurately depends upon the lightness and stiffness of the cone assembly. Many conventional cones : paper, impregnated fabric, plastics, aluminium etc all generally suffer from low stiffness. This results in significantly larger area of the cone vibrating in motion, uncontrolled by the voice coil. These uncontrolled emotions produce transit " hangover ", amplitude distortion (peaks and troughs in the frequency response) and intermodulation distortion (lack of clarity of spurious tones). Those shortcomings are inherent in almost all direct radiator loudspeaker systems using conventional cones, irrespective of cost.

All of these shortcomings are overcome by the Leak Sandwich construction. Originally presented in 1961, the Sandwich used engineering and design principles applied to airframe construction. Now, reintroduced and re-engineered with modern-day learnings, the new Leak Sandwich cone comprises of a stiff aluminium skin for the outer surfaces (where the stresses are greatest) bonded to a thick core of a polymethacrylimide (PMI) based structural foam, often used aerospace and the automotive industries. This applied, precision-engineered use of the most suitable materials in optimum proportions and dispositions give immense rigidity. This means the Leak Sandwich cone reproduces the signal applied to the voice coil, totally free from mechanical break-up and its associated. The result is a remarkably smooth frequency reponses, free from violent peaks or troughs over a very broad frequency range, indicative of an excellent, transient response.

It is not often sufficiently realised how profound the influence of the loudspeaker housing (the cabinet) is on the overall acoustic performance. Its design requires a great degree of electroacoustic knowledge as a design of the motor units themselves. The new Leak Sandwich cabinet benefits from 60 years of technological development since the original. The structure consists of a composition of MDF and composite board, thus creating a second ' sandwich ' reference, with the boards layered for optimum cabinet strength. While the new cabinet fuses intelligent bracing with this 'sandwich' of materials, it also maintains a specific front-rear bracing, with the distinct, visible countersunk screw on the rear - a famous trait of the original.