Re: Leak Stereo 20 - caveman

Vintage Asylum

Classic gear from yesteryear; vintage audio standing the test of time.

Re: Leak Stereo 20

Posted by caveman on October 1, 2001 at 05:17:47

In Reply to: Re: Leak Stereo 20 posted by Joe Rosen on October 1, 2001 at 02:30:29:

Well, you forgot to mention that in addition to the moths-in-the-wallet factor, apalling management and badge engineering finally put paid to the British auto industry, 30 years ago, allowing famous names to be gobbled up. And just how long can you capitalize on the genius of one man, or idea, and not be left behind ? Like Jaguar, Leak seems to have pretty much been a one man show. The stated aim of the immediate successor to the TL12 was to produce something that could be sold in quantity - HJL was after market penetration, and cheapness. The admirable layout of the amps no doubt arose from the dictates of mass production - easier to build, and therefore cheaper to sell. Good badge engineering too - produce an inferior replacement, label it the 'plus', implying an obvious upgrade. One thing that may amuse is the clipping of the solder tags for certain (underrated) resistors, so that when the circuit eventually goes berserk, the solder melts, and they fall out onto the carpet. Gives you a chance to sort things out, before something more substantial is destroyed. And unlike a fuse, they can be soldered back in - brilliant.
There are distinct parallels with Jaguar. Bill Lyons may have been a genius, but using the same engine for over 40 years was pushing it. The original engineering was marvelous, and innovative - but to sell in quantity, and to a price, Lyons utterly screwed his suppliers, using the cheapest components that could be gotten away with. It was the only way to sell such high performance, so much cheaper than the European competition (there was no competition from the US, none whatsoever.) This meant that random failures of ancillary components dictated frequent servicing, and the doddery (but utterly gorgeous) XK block actually got enough attention, and lasted the distance. Genius at work.............

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Leak Stereo 20 - leakamp 05:46:36 09/20/01 (15)

and now for something completely different... - caveman 13:51:11 09/28/01 (1)

Re: and now for something completely different... - caveman 06:04:06 10/1/01 (0)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 - Joe Rosen 01:01:31 09/27/01 (0)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 - caveman 08:59:01 09/20/01 (11)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 - valvesr4me 09:31:29 09/20/01 (10)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 - Scott G. 15:38:27 09/20/01 (9)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 - Joe Rosen 01:16:27 09/27/01 (8)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 - caveman 07:50:14 09/28/01 (7)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 - Joe Rosen 02:30:29 10/1/01 (6)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 - caveman 10/1/0105:17:47 10/1/01 (5)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 - Joe Rosen 03:15:16 10/4/01 (0)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 - Joe Rosen 02:48:27 10/4/01 (2)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 ???? - caveman 07:54:12 10/5/01 (1)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 ??????????? - Joe Rosen 00:46:02 10/7/01 (0)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 - caveman 07:47:05 10/1/01 (0)

Follow Ups

Re: Leak Stereo 20 - caveman 10/1/0105:17:47 10/1/01 (5)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 - Joe Rosen 03:15:16 10/4/01 (0)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 - Joe Rosen 02:48:27 10/4/01 (2)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 ???? - caveman 07:54:12 10/5/01 (1)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 ??????????? - Joe Rosen 00:46:02 10/7/01 (0)

Re: Leak Stereo 20 - caveman 07:47:05 10/1/01 (0)

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