Leak 2060 speakers - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

martin.m · 5th Apr 2019, 2:13 am

I recently bought these large vintage speakers for my home audio system but wasn't able to hear them first. Cosmetically they are in very good condition but when I tried them out the sound was distorted and scratchy, especially at low volume. A little investigation involving gently pressing the cones of the woofers revealed that the voice coils were scraping. Following advice on this forum I removed the four bolts from each woofer, turned each one through 180 degrees then re-fitted them. Two days later the scraping had gone and the speakers sound superb now. They are connected to a Leak Delta 30 amp of about the same vintage as the speakers. I'm not a member of the "golden ear" brigade and have no time for mystique and snake oil, but would describe the sound of the 2060s as neutral and open. Does anyone know if the BBC ever used these as monitors?

Regards
Martin

Diabolical Artificer · 5th Apr 2019, 6:26 am

Glad you got them fixed Martin, re "foaming" them would be tricky as they have a hessian or similar surround, bog knows where you'd get them. I have a spare woofer that should fit these if you need one.

Andy.

Radio Wrangler · 5th Apr 2019, 8:32 am

The cones are also Leak's signature aluminium foil and expanded polystyrene sandwich which need an awful lot of care if any work is done on the surrounds.

David

GrimJosef · 5th Apr 2019, 8:52 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by martin.m

... Does anyone know if the BBC ever used these as monitors?

No mention of them here https://www.markhennessy.co.uk/rogers/bbc_txt.htm - it seems that the BBC were looking at polypropylene cones in the 1970's (the Leak 2000 range was only in production from 1974-6). But Mark is the guru here and he would be the person to ask.

Cheers,

GJ

crackle · 5th Apr 2019, 9:44 am

I have a pair of these speakers, I got them for £40 from the Audio jumble. They were to replace my Goodmans Achromat 400 speakers. The Leak ones are the best sounding speakers I have owned, even my son who is musically inclined and has a very good understanding of instruments and their sounds likes them.
The bass is extremely good and life like, and the mids and trebles seem to bring out more in the music, so much so that even with my limited top range of about 8kHz I still keep the treble control on the amp down one notch.

Recently though I noticed one sounding odd and no matter which way I turned the speaker I could not stop the slight scratching noise.
As a last resort I loosened the magnet bolts and realigned it to the speech coil.
Sounds great again.

Mike

Ted Kendall · 5th Apr 2019, 10:47 am

The Beeb didn't use them, but that leaves plenty of room for them to be good...

Beobloke · 5th Apr 2019, 12:52 pm

I've owned a couple of pairs of these and they are lovely speakers and still fly under the radar of most other hi-fi junkies. The midrange unit was designed by Alex Garner, who later went on to Tannoy and was very advanced for its day - the pattern of 'dots' on the cone are strategically placed holes to break up standing waves and reduce distortion.

I recommend you just enjoy them but, just in case you do ever have the urge to tweak then the tweeter, which can be a bit "edgy", responds well to new capcitors in its section of the crossover. Before the audiophile-bashers descend on me, however, there's no need to go silly and with these, though - just some new film capacitors for crossovers from the likes of CPC will be fine.

The next best upgrade you can make is to change them for 2075s, but this is not for the faint-hearted!

5th Apr 2019, 2:13 am	#1
martin.m Hexode Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Bishop Auckland, County Durham, UK. Posts: 373	Leak 2060 speakers I recently bought these large vintage speakers for my home audio system but wasn't able to hear them first. Cosmetically they are in very good condition but when I tried them out the sound was distorted and scratchy, especially at low volume. A little investigation involving gently pressing the cones of the woofers revealed that the voice coils were scraping. Following advice on this forum I removed the four bolts from each woofer, turned each one through 180 degrees then re-fitted them. Two days later the scraping had gone and the speakers sound superb now. They are connected to a Leak Delta 30 amp of about the same vintage as the speakers. I'm not a member of the "golden ear" brigade and have no time for mystique and snake oil, but would describe the sound of the 2060s as neutral and open. Does anyone know if the BBC ever used these as monitors? Regards Martin Attached Thumbnails __________________ Regards Martin

5th Apr 2019, 6:26 am	#2
Diabolical Artificer Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Sleaford, Lincs. UK. Posts: 7,670	Re: Leak 2060 speakers Glad you got them fixed Martin, re "foaming" them would be tricky as they have a hessian or similar surround, bog knows where you'd get them. I have a spare woofer that should fit these if you need one. Andy. __________________ Curiosity hasn't killed this cat...so far.

5th Apr 2019, 8:32 am	#3
Radio Wrangler Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Fife, Scotland, UK. Posts: 22,903	Re: Leak 2060 speakers The cones are also Leak's signature aluminium foil and expanded polystyrene sandwich which need an awful lot of care if any work is done on the surrounds. David __________________ Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done

5th Apr 2019, 9:44 am	#5
crackle Rest in Peace Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Basildon, Essex, UK. Posts: 4,100	Re: Leak 2060 speakers I have a pair of these speakers, I got them for £40 from the Audio jumble. They were to replace my Goodmans Achromat 400 speakers. The Leak ones are the best sounding speakers I have owned, even my son who is musically inclined and has a very good understanding of instruments and their sounds likes them. The bass is extremely good and life like, and the mids and trebles seem to bring out more in the music, so much so that even with my limited top range of about 8kHz I still keep the treble control on the amp down one notch. Recently though I noticed one sounding odd and no matter which way I turned the speaker I could not stop the slight scratching noise. As a last resort I loosened the magnet bolts and realigned it to the speech coil. Sounds great again. Mike

5th Apr 2019, 10:47 am	#6
Ted Kendall Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Kington, Herefordshire, UK. Posts: 3,675	Re: Leak 2060 speakers The Beeb didn't use them, but that leaves plenty of room for them to be good...

5th Apr 2019, 12:52 pm	#7
Beobloke Heptode Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Southampton, Hampshire, UK. Posts: 824	Re: Leak 2060 speakers I've owned a couple of pairs of these and they are lovely speakers and still fly under the radar of most other hi-fi junkies. The midrange unit was designed by Alex Garner, who later went on to Tannoy and was very advanced for its day - the pattern of 'dots' on the cone are strategically placed holes to break up standing waves and reduce distortion. I recommend you just enjoy them but, just in case you do ever have the urge to tweak then the tweeter, which can be a bit "edgy", responds well to new capcitors in its section of the crossover. Before the audiophile-bashers descend on me, however, there's no need to go silly and with these, though - just some new film capacitors for crossovers from the likes of CPC will be fine. The next best upgrade you can make is to change them for 2075s, but this is not for the faint-hearted!