ProAc–Leben–Aaaah

FSI 2008

By Robert Deutsch • Posted: Apr 7, 2008

For me, the last day of a show like FSI is for checking up on rooms that I somehow missed (and that I heard people talking about), and re-visiting rooms that were particular favorites.

Rooms that I had missed, but was able to catch up on, included the Tenor Audio/Avalon/Audio Aero room, the Fidelity Audio/Nagra/Verity room (with Rene Laflamme playing the superb high-resolution version of his official FSI show recording), and the Ayre/Verity room: all offering great sound—and all in a price range that's expensive by almost any standard.

At a price substantially lower than these stellar offerings—although not quite entry-level—was the room featuring ProAc D Two speakers driven by the Leben CS600 integrated amplifier. This just seemed to me like a well-balanced system in every way: sound quality, with equipment that's not over-the-top in price but offers solid value, and has an elegant appearance. I was quite taken with the retro look of the Leben CS600 ($5000, EL34 tube-based, hand-built in Japan, with point-to-point wiring) which just oozes quality in a way that recalls the classic Marantz components.

Comments

Submitted by Robert C on April 8, 2008 - 10:25pm.

Classic Marantz? Looks like late 70's Pioneer stuff to me, that's what hit me when I first saw it. Perhaps Pioneer copied earlier Marantz?

Submitted by Robert Deutsch on April 9, 2008 - 5:26am.

By "classic Marantz," I meant something like the Marantz Model 1: see http://www.hifi-museum.com/js/marss/1_fs.htm

Submitted by Stephen Mejias on April 8, 2008 - 7:10am.

So pretty.

Submitted by selfdivider on April 8, 2008 - 9:59am.

Hooray, Leben! I'm glad that the Stereophile editors' impression of the CS600 was very favorable, esp. JA... (I don't work for Leben or anything, just own it.) Nice that they went w/ EL34 tubes; the standard configuration is 6L6, as the stock Sovteks which come w/ the amp are the 6L6GCs. Now I'm very curious about those ProAc D2s...

Submitted by Jim Ross on April 9, 2008 - 4:11am.

ProAcs new D2s are absolutely amazing; the best speaker any where near this price category that I've ever heard - and I've heard a lot! And they don't seem to be too fussy about amps either, just make sure you give them a bit of juice to work with.

Submitted by michaelavorgna on April 9, 2008 - 7:13am.

Mr. Taku Hyodo, the designer/owner of Leben Hi-Fi worked for Luxman pre-1979. He certainly kept that cool vintage vibe. See http://www.thevintageknob.org/LUXMAN/SQ38D/SQ38D.html

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