[ Leak Trough Line Stereo ]

Technical specifications

This is one of the most desirable components of the Leak range of equipment. With the Quad tuners, the Leak Trough Line tuners are the best FM tuners made during the golden years of the british hifi industry. This unit was made in 1966. The Trough Line Stereo is the last tube tuner made by Leak. After this model, the transistors replaced the tubes, and the Stereofetic replaced the Trough Line. How good is this tuner? The people at Hi Fi World has selected this unit (and the Trough Line mono and the Trough Line II) to listen to the radio. It sounds great, with astonishing good bass and very clear sound if you have a good aerial.

Some comments about the classic FM tuners. If you want to buy a classic tuner like a Quad, a Marantz 10B, a Mcintosh MR71 (or earlier models) or even one of the excellent Fisher units (tuners or receivers) and Scott Stereomaster, you have to know some important questions all related to the age of this equipment. First, be sure that the FM range goes from 88 Mhz to 108 Mhz. Some tuners (for example, the very first Trough Line) have a range only to 100 Mhz, because in the 50s this was common. Second, be sure if you buy a FM mono tuner that it has a multiplex adaptor connector in its back that allows you to connect such adaptor in order to tune stereo stations in really stereo. This is very important when buying tuners from the 50s and early 60s (for example, the Mcintosh MR55). Also, understand that you're buying units from the beginning of the stereo era and that the multiplex adaptors fitted in them are not as good as the ones you can find inside new tuners. Finally, be sure that the unit has been aligned by an expert. Aligment is very important and it must be done by a technician because is very difficult. Don't worry about this, all the models can be aligned and even the multiplex sections can be replaced by new ones that will give you excellent results.

If you have a Leak tuner and you want to modify or adapt a multiplex decoder, I suggest you to contact Nick T. Besley at The Emporium. He can modify or install a decoder in your Trough Line. Another good design for the Leak is Tim de Paravicini's decoder that you can find at Hi Fi World. You can also find more information at Kiewa Valley in the Leak Tuners section.

Now a pair of pictures of my Trough Line Stereo