I cannot agree with the opinion of the previous review regarding the performance of Leema Tucana II.
For quite some time I had been using Leema Pulse II coupled with Spendor SA1 and supplemented its bass department with MJ Acoustic Pro50 MKII subwoofer to achieve a full range system. The match had proved to be great but in order to strive for even better music reproduction recently I have upgraded the amplifier from Pulse II to Tucana II. The result is stunning which is well beyond my expectation and is to my entire satisfaction. I can only say the performance of Tucana II is at a different league from that of its little brother Pulse II. There is a huge jump in overall performance in every aspects. I fully share and can agree without reservation on everything what had been said by WHF in its review. Tucana II is so powereful, so detailed, extremely dynamic and without added color that I consider it to be the best amplifier in this price tag. I can hear a lot of music details and there is no sense of fatigue even at high volume output on long time listening. IMHO the performace of Tucana is so good that it can be used as a refence amplifier by HiFi reviewers.
BTW I am a part time music player and my ears can distinguish what is good and what is bad in music playback.
Well, I had a good listen to this Amp yesterday at my dealer, with a Linn Akurate DS as source and PMC OB1is as the speakers. I had great hopes given the wonderful reviews it has received in the press almost everywhere. Plus, it is manufactured in Wales, and being Welsh I really wanted to support the local economy. Unfortunately I was extremely disappointed. To my ears the sound was completely unbalanced. The treble was way too bright and "fizzy" and the bass somewhat recessed in comparison creating a very harsh sharp sound. With recordings that are strong at the same frequencies (Particularly Vierne Messe Solenelle at Notre Dame with Piere Cochereau) the sound is truly horrible and puts one's teeth on edge. I imagine it is just that this amp does not get on with my source and speakers, which just goes to show there is no substitute for a good audition. I compared with Linn amplification and opted for a Majik-I with Akurate power amp to bi-amp my speakers. This combination is a little more expensive but much more musical and enjoyable. I also listened to the Majik-I/Majik Power combination which was still much better than the Tucana II, and at the same price point. I also had a listen to a �6000 Rega integrated and this was pretty much on a par with the Akurate. A very similar if not identical sound for �1300 less. Oh well, seems like the Scots have won this match. Just waiting for my Akurate 2200 to be delivered now
Comments
I cannot agree with the opinion of the previous review regarding the performance of Leema Tucana II.
For quite some time I had been using Leema Pulse II coupled with Spendor SA1 and supplemented its bass department with MJ Acoustic Pro50 MKII subwoofer to achieve a full range system. The match had proved to be great but in order to strive for even better music reproduction recently I have upgraded the amplifier from Pulse II to Tucana II. The result is stunning which is well beyond my expectation and is to my entire satisfaction. I can only say the performance of Tucana II is at a different league from that of its little brother Pulse II. There is a huge jump in overall performance in every aspects. I fully share and can agree without reservation on everything what had been said by WHF in its review. Tucana II is so powereful, so detailed, extremely dynamic and without added color that I consider it to be the best amplifier in this price tag. I can hear a lot of music details and there is no sense of fatigue even at high volume output on long time listening. IMHO the performace of Tucana is so good that it can be used as a refence amplifier by HiFi reviewers.
BTW I am a part time music player and my ears can distinguish what is good and what is bad in music playback.
(More details on my system can be found in this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64195350@N03/ )
Well, I had a good listen to this Amp yesterday at my dealer, with a Linn Akurate DS as source and PMC OB1is as the speakers. I had great hopes given the wonderful reviews it has received in the press almost everywhere. Plus, it is manufactured in Wales, and being Welsh I really wanted to support the local economy. Unfortunately I was extremely disappointed. To my ears the sound was completely unbalanced. The treble was way too bright and "fizzy" and the bass somewhat recessed in comparison creating a very harsh sharp sound. With recordings that are strong at the same frequencies (Particularly Vierne Messe Solenelle at Notre Dame with Piere Cochereau) the sound is truly horrible and puts one's teeth on edge. I imagine it is just that this amp does not get on with my source and speakers, which just goes to show there is no substitute for a good audition. I compared with Linn amplification and opted for a Majik-I with Akurate power amp to bi-amp my speakers. This combination is a little more expensive but much more musical and enjoyable. I also listened to the Majik-I/Majik Power combination which was still much better than the Tucana II, and at the same price point. I also had a listen to a �6000 Rega integrated and this was pretty much on a par with the Akurate. A very similar if not identical sound for �1300 less. Oh well, seems like the Scots have won this match. Just waiting for my Akurate 2200 to be delivered now